Ever looked in someone else’s freezer? — I looked after my friend's house a few weeks ago so I could walk his dog while he was on vacation. ‘Anything in the freezer’s yours,’ he said to me before he left. Talk about a peek into someone’s fucked up world. It was only one of those small chest…

Simply work days at the beach — When my father went on vacation. He went on vacation. Sounds like I’m stating the obvious. But wait, I haven’t finished yet. When our family went on vacation in the summer, my father left his work behind. When he shut his office door, he would be incommunicado for two long…

And why I loathe it in all its forms — I’m the caretaker/groundsman for an estate in Normandy. It used to be a farm, but they shut it down. So most of the time I piss around mowing lawns and weeding flower beds that don’t have any flowers in them. This summer, the owner is renovating the old cottages to…

The best pasta you’ll get this side of Paris — Four years ago, I worked as a chef on a retreat in an old château near Cahors in South-West France. I cooked mostly duck, duck sausage, duck stew, duck casserole, and to finish off, duck pate. …

And why do I write about it? — I write an occasional column for The Press Box here on Medium. It’s a sports publication that focuses mainly on North American sports. But occasionally the editor lets me write a football piece. A friend of mine recently asked me why I write about football. ‘It seems totally incongruous with…

And do I agree with them! — With less than two weeks to go until the Premier League season kicks off on August 5, let’s have a look at the favourites. Arsenal With a string of impressive summer signings such as Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko, Vieira, Marquinhos, and US goalkeeper Matt Turner, there’s a feeling among Arsenal fans that…

This is what happens when someone brings you the wrong sandwich — It was Sunday, and having walked into town past the church, I went into my favourite café, and ordered a bacon sandwich. Ten minutes later it arrived along with a coffee that was cold. …

And can we stop it? — You don’t have to go too far along the dial on the radio these days to run into a bad song. In fact, a tiny tweak of the knob and it’s not long before some mindless DJ is in your room telling you how they absolutely adore this track, before…

A Real Life Food Story — I was in town yesterday when I spotted a coloured piece of paper on the floor. At first, I thought it was a €10 bill. The market had been on that morning, and I was hoping a stray note had blown out of a vendor’s till. No such luck. It…