A curious thing happened today. DB and I went to our local village fair, and among the things we do every year, we went into the Church to look at the Art and Craft Exhibition. One of the pieces was an arrangement of hand-made bears, with a sign saying something along the lines of: These…
Remembering and Forgetting
Not long ago, Katy got in touch. And I was remembering that she taught me one of the most important lessons that I have ever learned. At the time we were the best of friends but lost touch around about 20 years ago after I moved to London for a while. We both had the…
Stress Free Medieval Dinner Party
Turns out to have been a really long time since I wrote a Dinner Party, and for a while there I was really stuck on what to do, but then I watched The King and now I’m doing a Medieval Dinner Party. Though I suppose more technically it should be called a Banquet. Food We…
Alice ‘mid the Starships
“Normal” people get caught in social media quagmires, but I run down a different kind of internet rabbit hole. When I first saw this image I was intrigued because it’s a Victorian glass lantern slide titled ” Oh there, ‘mid the starships, Alice, I know a”. And I was really curious about the starships. The…
The Joyful Memories from Gifts of Love
I took advantage of the recent gloriously summery weather to catch up on some washing, starting with the towels because they take the longest to dry. As I hung them on the line, carefully stretching and straightening them out so they dry square (and are easier to fold neatly), I realised I hadn’t bought any…
Understanding Choice and What To Do With It
A while back, almost at the start of this blog, I talked about a place for setting goals for choice. And when it came down to it, understanding choice – consciously making choices, not having them thrust on me. Mind you, that also came with the intention of getting good at cryptic crosswords and I…
Your Hierarchy of Needs
In 1954, Abraham Maslow posited that all people are driven to fulfil a basic set of human needs. Essentially, you start from your most basic needs (at the bottom of the hierarchy) and work up. Only when you have satisfied your biological needs can you think about your safety. And not until you feel safe…
What I Need Right Now
The other day I was watching Men in Black: International, and among other things that made me laugh, were the red buttons. The “what I need right now” buttons that supercharge whatever thing they’re attached to. And as I thought about it more, I realised that a lot of movies, especially science fiction, feature some…
The Time of Great Regret
I generally call myself a forward thinker, but just lately I’ve been thinking backwards. It’s been a time of Great Regret. Especially given my recent transplant rejection scare, the last few weeks have been stressful and overly emotional, I’m feeling tired and regretful. And quite frankly, I’m a bit stuck. When I was planning 2019,…
5 Hints for Achieving Happiness
Some days it seems that all around you are exhortations to be happy. And some days, it feels like you might as well try to be cheese as be happy. So, how do you go about Achieving Happiness? What is Happiness? According to my favourite Oxford English Dictonary, happiness is: 1. The quality or condition…
The Happy Benefits of Overcoming Fear
One of the 2019 Emerging Writers Festival workshops I enjoyed was Madeleine Dore’s Reaching the Finish Line, but it was mainly about overcoming fear. Overcoming Fear of What? I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I tell you that procrastination is all about Fear. Fear is like cancer; it’s not just one thing. Big F…
Stress Free London Blitz Dinner Party
Just recently I’ve read (and written) a few stories about World War II London. I’m inspired to write a Stress Free London Blitz Dinner Party. Food shortages not withstanding, it’s easier than you think. Food Yes there were food shortages, and rationing – mainly meat, tea, dairy, sugar and manufactured sweets. Fresh vegetables were hard…