Posts from the category Life (and how to live it)

  • A touching story behind one of my favourite R.E.M. songs.

  • I have tons and tons of drive. When I get interested in something, I can easily go overboard and spend a lot of time thinking about it. I’m no genius by any means, but if I set to something which I’m passionate about, then I can usually get up to speed relatively well. My wife…

  • Starling in a fig tree

    Neighbours who worry about fruit, and nature which gets there first.

  • WordPress expert Mark Howells-Mead

    Stepping back from involvement in the future development of WordPress as a system.

  • Michi in the train

    Working in the web industry, I began getting fed up of trailing all the way to an office to work. When I moved to web agency Say Hello, I vowed to make the most of “remote working”.

  • Audi Quattro, sliding down from Lombachalp, January 2023

    Another year and another fresh start to a series of monthly recaps. (The complete set from 2022 is here.)

  • Mark Howells-Mead on the shores of Lake Thun in Switzerland

    Going on large and small adventures has always made my life a little richer.

  • Lunchtime dip

    When it used to get hot back in the days when I used to work in Brienz, a lunchtime dip in the freezing waters of Lake Brienz was the thing. When I worked in Bern, I used to go to the river with colleagues and float along for 20 minutes or so to cool down.…

  • Age catching up

    I had a busy week. Two work projects are due for completion soon and because I felt that I was behind on them both, I decided to go back to the computer after dinner and work on them. I used to work late into the night when I was first establishing my career here, and…

  • Everyone sees photos differently. Some simply see a place they know or blots on the landscape like electricity pylons and motorways, whilst others see a sunset or sunrise and the beauty of a single cloud, illuminated in a beautiful colour. The same photo can conjure up myriad memories for myriad people, whilst remaining completely boring…

  • All good things come to an end, and it’s time to say farewell to my trusty Avant.

  • Catching the first train from Zermatt onto the mountain and photographing the most well-known peak in Switzerland.

  • Spoilt for choice

    With so much to do and so many beautiful places to visit, the choice can sometimes be overwhelming.

  • Thousands of second chances

    I spent the afternoon working at home in front of the computer, and listened to Kenneth Williams – a well-known actor, comedian and diarist – reading from his autobiography, Just Williams.

  • Snow in Lauterbrunnen

    A stomp in the snow

    Note to self. When the cloud is low, the snow is falling gently and the village paths are empty, get out and enjoy it.

  • Giving up on trying to make sense of the public attitude to the coronavirus.

  • “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck…

  • On two wheels

    After many years, I’m back in the saddle with my own e-bike. And I’m loving it.

  • Family playing on the glacial run-off sands at the Moiry glacier

    The simple things

    A family came to enjoy the landscape and ended up drawing patterns in the sand.

  • After some rushing around, I find myself on my own in Zurich for a couple of days. After dealing with the day job, I have the evening to myself, with no pressure and no responsibilities. Leaving work behind, I head for the old town and the anonymity of a familiar, traditional and noisy restaurant. The…

  • All I need is air

    Taking a little too much air to take things off my mind.