Alan Russell
Bio
When you read my words they may not be perfect but I hope they:
1. Engage you
2. Entertain you
3. At least make you smile (Omar's Diaries) or
4. Think about this crazy world we live in and
5. Never accept anything at face value
Stories (249)
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I Got Stoned on a Bank Holiday Monday for a Fiver
I found a Rolling Stones album, Hurragh! It would have been easy to have ordered one online, paid for it and received it within twenty four hours but that really wouldn’t have been much fun. Instead, in our travels I would peruse the CD collections of charity shops in towns we were staying in or stopping in for a few minutes break looking for a Rolling Stones album.
By Alan Russell10 months ago in Beat
Aston Martin Vantage
I had three Aston Martins to drive. I know the way I worded that opener that I may have made it sound like a bit of a hardship. It wasn't really as the experience was Christmas present from Heather, my wife. So what better way to spend an hour or so on an airfield on a Saturday morning in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside releasing my inner James Bond?
By Alan Russell10 months ago in Wheel
The Jurors @ Runnymede
When I set out to visit Runnymede I had two very clear objectives. They were to visit both the JFK and Magna Carta memorials. From the main road from Staines to Windsor I saw very briefly what looked like a set of chairs in the middle of the meadow arranged as if in readiness for picknickers. I had acquired a third objective. A sort of Runnymede bonus.
By Alan Russellabout a year ago in Journal
The Magna Carta Memorial @ Runnymede
I had closed the gate on the acre of land that used to be part of England but was now forever part of America, the John F Kennedy Memorial. I felt flat and empty. Not because of the lack of excitement or anticipation that or an inherent part of the border control experience or the mid-winter gloom around me. No, it was because of seeing the memorial stone in such a weathered condition.
By Alan Russellabout a year ago in Journal
The Kennedy Memorial @ Runnymede
The events of 22nd November 1963 in Dallas have been forensically analysed. Acres of paper and gallons of ink have been consumed in the quest for the truth. Yet, fifty-seven years later there is no substantial evidence available. Evidence that could be brought into the courtroom of history to once and for all answer those perennial one word drivers of journalism: who, what, why and how.
By Alan Russellabout a year ago in Journal
Ullwell Gap - where Ballard Down and Nine Barrow Down almost meet
Ulwell is to the north of Swanage along the road to Studland. It is the last concentration of urban development before the Purbecks reveal themselves and justify their designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. At Ulwell Gap, which is a deep cleft in the chalk uplands between Nine Barrow Down and Ballard Down, there is a layby overhung by branches of trees and a sign welcoming visitors to Swanage. Where the road passes through this gap it looks like a very tight tourniquet was tied between the two bulging downs.
By Alan Russellabout a year ago in Journal
The Kindness of Strangers
London was shrouded in a continuous cloche like cloud of greyness this one Saturday in February. The cold air vortexing through the streets and alleyways was impregnated with the aroma and threat of snow. What sunlight that did filter through the clouds was so diffused it could not cast any shadows. The wind’s cold energy had infiltrated the weft and weave of my multiple layers of clothing, some of which were sold as being suitable for even the most extremes of climate.
By Alan Russellabout a year ago in Wander
