“It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me, won't see another one And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew I turned my face away And dreamed about you” (Fairytale of New York, The Pogues) “Is anyone going to help me peel this bottomless bag … Continue reading Can’t Make It All Alone
According to an Ipsos-MORI poll, a large majority of people (79%) think that there is more swearing on television now than ten years ago. And here’s another poll-generated statistic: only 55% of people trust civil servants to tell the truth. I generally skim over such statistics, for, when I read claims about the pulse of … Continue reading Avert Your Eyes
There are times writing, when I remember a story someone has told me because it fits whatever convoluted point I’m trying to make. Often I go right ahead and recount it – a stich here, some beading there, a nip, a tuck, a little glue and glitter. Occasionally I stop and think: this is not … Continue reading Tell Stories
The way through the forest to get to the cottage on Crosby Lake is definitely not a road, but it’s not quite a dirt track either. Whatever you might call it, it has ‘gateway to wilderness’ written all over it in the form of chipmunks scurrying across the path, the hindquarters of deer disappearing into … Continue reading Gratitude
Someone once told me that each time he embarks on a new period of his life – such as a new job, a new relationship, moving house, going to live in a new town, (and especially to a new country) - he would deliberately burn his bridges. That’s the very phrase he used. He explained … Continue reading To Burn or Not To Burn?
It’s year two of living alone, for the first time in 10 years or so. I had no nervousness about it. Not from the point of view of feeling vulnerable, or frightened by things that go bump in the night. Being on my own in a house has never bothered me. The main thing that … Continue reading Linked Together
“Have you been there recently?”B. asked me in the course of a meandering catch-up conversation. I hadn’t. It was a café she’d visited the week before and she was remarking that, although it had one of the most amazing views in town, the staff were unfriendly to the point of her being put off ever … Continue reading Eye Contact; We Contact
I have some people close to me who are sad at the moment, for different reasons, juggling a variety of challenges that life cruelly hurls from time to time. And sometimes the trigger for the sadness may have passed, but the feeling lingers. Like a bad flu you just can't shake, the gloom sits in … Continue reading Send In The Clowns
People watching: the daydreaming it gives birth to is a great pastime, as one comes up with imaginary back-stories for him in the mustard trews with a Harris tweed waistcoat, or the older lady in a belted kimono with chunky amber clipped round her neck. The older I get, though, the more I realise that … Continue reading Invisible Load
My friends: where would I be without them? These days, as I’m still in the early stages of finding new friends – and it’s much easier to find pennies lying on the street than it is to find new friends – my old friends support me from afar. They shout from the wings: line prompts, … Continue reading Friends
