Making an Impression on the world ~ or why we can never be merely observers
Making an impression on the world ~ or why we can never be merely observers My most recent trip brought home to me in a number of ways how much of an impression we can make as individuals on the world...
View ArticleBeing Queen is a lonely thing ~ why life at the top may not be as sweet as...
(This is a post from almost a year ago that for some reason, WordPress destroyed. For those who are interested, the queen mentioned below is doing very well still and we now have four hives and a spare...
View ArticleLost in translation ~ or the perils of being a teacher of English as a...
Lost in translation ~ perils of being a teacher of English as a foreign language. As regular readers may have picked up, one of my jobs is as a teacher of English as a foreign language; the summer...
View ArticleThe Sea-gull’s Tale ~ knowing when or if to intervene
The Sea-gull’s Tale ~ knowing when or if to intervene. The place where I live is rich in wildlife, but where I work that wildlife is mainly confined to a slice of nature that most people would prefer...
View ArticleRakes in the Grass ~ Hidden Triggers for Emotional Meltdowns
Rakes in the Grass ~ Hidden Triggers for Emotional Meltdowns. I used to think that the kind of accident you see usually in cartoons where someone steps on a rake and it springs up and hits them in...
View ArticleWhy the poet’s garden may be a jungle, the artist’s house a mess and why...
Why the poet’s garden may be a jungle, the artist’s house a mess and why writers often live on noodles A couple of years ago, a friend expressed puzzlement at why we had stopped making our own wine and...
View Article“The Black Mist Descended” ~ a guest post by the legendary Jake Barton
My guest blogger today is the amazing Jake Barton, enigmatic author of Kindle bestselling thrillers Burn, Baby Burn, its sequel Blood and a number of others (one of which is FREE currently). Do go and...
View ArticleThe myth of permanent growth ~ or what goes up must come down
The myth of permanent growth ~ or what goes up must come down Recent news reports on the British economy have been pretty depressing lately. I really don’t find either politics or economics even...
View ArticleSo what now? ~ every ending is a new beginning, isn’t it?
So what now? ~ every ending is a new beginning, isn’t it? Yesterday I taught my last ever lesson in my current job. It’s not even current, so I must get used to that first. I’ve known this was...
View ArticleMind-worms ~ The Spotters’ Guide
Mind-worms ~ The Spotters’ Guide We all know what ear-worms are: that annoying phenomenon when a song or jingle lodges in your consciousness and keeps on playing over and over and over again until you...
View ArticleMessage in a Bottle
Message in a bottle On Friday I managed to tick off an item on my bucket list. Except I don’t have a bucket list, but you know what I mean: a much cherished hope, dream or ambition. For some my little...
View ArticleWriter Burn-Out and Other Things.
Writer Burn-out, and other things Burnt-out. Conjures images of forests devastated by wildfire, of cars reduced to shells of blackened metal and puddles of melted rubber and plastic, of electronics...
View ArticlePermission to rest?
Permission to rest? It’s almost the end of January as I write this; Imbolc/Candelmas will be upon me in a few days and I was thinking, I ought to write something. I ought to do another Cave post. I...
View ArticleThe fear of imperfection is a paralysing thing ~ some musings on the process...
The fear of imperfection is a paralysing thing ~ some musings on the process of “settling” I’ve been stuck so long I thought I might begin to fossilise in the crevice between a rock and a hard place....
View ArticleCause for celebration or commiseration?
Cause for celebration or commiseration? (This is going to be one of those posts that might get on the nerves of the optimists among you, so perhaps bear with me rather than tutting. I could do with a...
View ArticleWhat to do while you’re waiting for the postman…
What to do while you’re waiting for the postman… About ten days ago, I wrestled my way through the long-put-off edits for Little Gidding Girl, excising any direct quotes from T.S. Eliot and adding in...
View Article“There’s gold in them there hills…oh, no, now wait a minute…!”
“There’s gold in them there hills…oh, no, now wait a minute…!” A couple of years ago now we worked our way through a dvd box set of the hit series Deadwood. Set in the town of Deadwood (a real place)...
View ArticleAn Epiphany, of sorts
An Epiphany, of sorts Today marks Epiphany, the festival that for most marks the end of all things Christmas. It commemorates the arrival of the Magi, coming to pay their respects to the infant Jesus,...
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