All Blogposts

  • What the “je suis” hashtag means to me

    What the “je suis” hashtag means to me

    Carrying on as normal. You know that this isn’t a political blog and, if you follow me on Instagram and you’ve seen my rabbit pics, you’ll know that I’m not an intellectual.  I don’t usually blog about what’s happening in the News but I don’t think I can, today, write about poetry blogs or how… Read more

  • Write for an hour every day

    Write for an hour every day

    Hello and Happy New Year to everyone.  In our house we are variously curled up on sofas and beds, wrapped in duvets and fleecy blankets, still in our pyjamas or fully clothed, in coats, and wearing gorilla-shaped slippers, and scarves.  (It’s chilly in our house.) The teenagers might have overdone it with the fruity-flavoured cider last night, plus… Read more

  • Best wishes for Christmas

    Best wishes for Christmas

    I’m writing at speed on Christmas Eve to wish you all a Happy Christmas. There have been times in my life when I’ve been completely alone on Christmas Day, times when I’ve been with friends, times with family, and twice when I was working (as a Nanny) in a foreign country with someone else’s family.… Read more

  • Christmas stories and poems to read aloud

    Christmas stories and poems to read aloud

    I thought I’d let you know about some of the stories and poems I’ve read recently in my weekly read aloud groups for people who have dementia and memory loss. With Christmas fast approaching, you won’t be surprised that there’s  been a seasonal flavour to our choice of literature.  Whether or not you’re living with… Read more

  • My birthday week with a pamphlet launch thrown in

    My birthday week with a pamphlet launch thrown in

    In between present-buying and present-wrapping, Christmas tree-watering, bauble re-arranging, household chores, working for The Reader Organisation, driving to hospitals (for my husband, Andrew, nine weeks in to a snapped Achilles’ tendon injury) and driving down Wiltshire lanes at midnight (to pick up my teenage daughter from another Christmassy party), I’ve launched ‘The Misplaced House’, my… Read more

  • On Setting Yourself Goals

    On Setting Yourself Goals

    There’s been a lot on my mind this week. I found out that I hadn’t taken all of my owed leave (for my job with The Reader Organisation) so I hastily arranged cover for my read aloud reading groups, tied up a few loose ends and sorted out some days off. Very handy they’ll be… Read more