Things I’ve lost and the art of growing down

I am one of those people who sometimes puts things down and can't find them again - lesson plans, cheques, small children. I once left my  son in the meat aisle in a supermarket while I popped round the corner for salad, then couldn't remember which meat aisle (Chicken? Beef? Delicatessen?)  He turned up eventually, … Continue reading Things I’ve lost and the art of growing down

The Blessing of Good Signage

I've had a revelation. About signage. It happened the other day at a church in the middle of Derbyshire. Despite the cold, and slicing rain, the approach was beautiful - a thumb of stone, a fist of graves and  beneath the lychgate, crocuses.  Inside did not disappoint either. There was amber light, wood and brass, … Continue reading The Blessing of Good Signage

How to Age and the Joy of Nasal Flushing

I'm trying to decide how to age. Not on the outside - I have little choice about that and am coming to terms with veiny hands and neck wrinkles like the skin of a T Rex - but on the inside, where it counts. After all that's the only part I can control. Like when … Continue reading How to Age and the Joy of Nasal Flushing

Advent, sheep and a kiss from a stranger

It's been a strange week. I'm on my way home from work after what is called a challenging day. It's a fitting end really; that is to say, there is darkness, traffic, and rain-galloping cats and dogs. And the lower lid of my right eye keeps doing this thing where it moves without my help. Like … Continue reading Advent, sheep and a kiss from a stranger

Reasons to look out of windows

I am guest-blogging for my friend, Fran Hill, with my latest post about windows. You can catch it here at - http://ilurveenglish.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/reasons-to-look-out-of-windows-guest.html Have a look around her site while you're there. It will brighten your day no end...      

Eyebrows

Welcome to the incomparable Fran Hill, who is an old friend,  fellow writer. and a blogger whose site I visit again and again when I need a laugh or another way of looking at life. Or both. If you enjoy her musings (below) you'd really enjoy having a click-around on her site,  Being Me,  at … Continue reading Eyebrows

Habits of Delight and the Myth of Joyful Parenting?

The international happiness expert (yes, there is one), Paul Dolan, was on Radio 4 this morning. He says true happiness is finding the balance between things we find pleasurable and things we find purposeful. He cited having children as an example, saying that according to all the happiness data, we shouldn’t bother. At best they … Continue reading Habits of Delight and the Myth of Joyful Parenting?

In Praise of Useful Things?

I’m shopping in that vague way where you can’t actually remember what you want to buy. And all that’s keeping you is the £2.90 bus fare which you now wish you’d spent on a Kindle Single or a bar of Green and Black’s chocolate to be eaten, slowly, while reading the paper or someone’s blog … Continue reading In Praise of Useful Things?

Shoes and Other Taboos

When I was a little girl, my dad used to line up all the family’s shoes on a Sunday night and clean them. So I had never cleaned a shoe in my life. In fact I didn’t even know where the shoe cleaning stuff was kept or where to buy it. My father just produced … Continue reading Shoes and Other Taboos

My Brain, Summer and the Wives of Henry VIII

I sometimes wish I was the kind of person who could look at something and say “That’s interesting,” and move on. You know, have a cup of tea and think about the garden or something. Or think about nothing. I know people who can do that (Or at least when I say to them, “What … Continue reading My Brain, Summer and the Wives of Henry VIII