People are everything in life. Our relationships, how we communicate, what we understand (and misunderstand) about each other - people make up the essential fabric of our lives. They have the capacity to cause us the greatest headache or the greatest joy, and such extremes of emotion can often be triggered by the same person. … Continue reading They’re Human Too
I wake from a long sleep to heavy rain and a stiff back. For a moment I wonder if they are related. Can my body predict the weather? Then I remember yesterday’s Pilates session to which I had creakily returned after too long a break. Thank goodness - I’m not sure I want to be … Continue reading Visit
Sensory overload, information overload, news overload, work overload, people overload. What about, ‘thinking overload’? What about those same old, tired thoughts that, if you are anything like me, are heavy to lift and wearing to carry around? I’m going away from the weekend and I have to pack within a 10-kilo weight limit. Easy for most, but … Continue reading Being Human
Only the good die young; it’s an idea that has been around forever, or since about 445 BC, when dying young must have been a lot more common than it is today. The origins of the saying go way back to a proverb by Herodotus, who, all those millennia ago, wrote: ‘Whom the Gods love … Continue reading Where Have All The Good People Gone?
“I just saw Donald Glover on the Royal Mile; he’s doing on open-air improv show.” I told them this when I met them in George Square. They responded by speaking at the same time; S. with, “Who’s Donald Glover?” and E. with, “Let’s go see him now.” It wasn’t Donald Glover, but it could have been. Nothing would … Continue reading Festival Frenzy
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
“Of course you can stay, come on over.” The exodus had begun. Edinburgh was on shutdown as offices emptied out early in an attempt to get their workers home before 3pm when all public transport would grind to a halt. E. and S. had missed the last train out to East Lothian. A plan was … Continue reading Clunk
Once bitten, twice shy, goes the saying. On the basis of a quick straw poll I took around the table the other day, it seems this is not the case. All my dinner companions had been bitten again and again, although - granted - usually by different animals. A. had been bitten by leeches, a … Continue reading Once Bitten
Tell the truth: have you ever looked up someone from your past on social media to see what they look like, what they’re doing now, how they have…. matured? It’s almost a ridiculous question these days as, if you haven't, you are either over a certain age or you are a very centred, grounded, (incurious?) … Continue reading Tracking You Down
My Edinburgh Press 