A Disorderly Retirement
I tend to skim the Letters to the Editor in our newspaper, but this week my attention was caught by one in particular. The writer was speculating that various things would become obsolete with the passing of his generation. I imagine he’s in his 60s or 70s. He thinks those wayward younger generations will no…
I’ve been thinking about saints this week, for various reasons. I’m doing an online course with the National Gallery and saints crop up a lot in paintings. I was also reading that the Catholic church has started proceedings to canonise a 21-year-old man called Pedro Ballester, who died in 2018. The First Gen Z saint,…
I’m home from my travels and wondering why it’s been so long since I wrote a blog. I have been away for five weeks, but I have no explanation for the silence before that. One of the many perks of travelling is that you return home with a fresh view on your own life. On…
I suppose this should come with a trigger warning – I’m about to discuss the possibility that people might die. Stop reading now if you think it’ll all be too much. I am quite blasé about such things, though, and am happy to talk about them. Which might explain why people get a wary look…
There is great excitement in the neighbourhood. It doesn’t take much because very little happens in these parts. But something is definitely stirring and it’s our local starling population. They’re treating us to a fabulous display most evenings. Social media is awash with images of thousands of birds all swooping, looping and diving together. I…
I have just been to see the film Hamnet. I thought Maggie O’Farrell’s novel was wonderful and, judging by its 2 million copies sold worldwide, I wasn’t the only one. It’s always a challenge to make a film from a book that people have loved so much, and there’s usually some griping. We know, of…
I can remember being outraged at the end of 2024 when Spotify issued their annual ‘Wrapped’ summary of their users’ listening choices throughout the year. It really is a marketing triumph – who can resist a personalised list of their ‘year in audio’? However, when Spotify informed me that my most streamed artist of the…
I know this is the traditional time to look back on the highs and lows of last year, but it is not one I have any desire to linger over. In fact, I’m planning to draw a veil (or maybe a large blackout curtain) over the whole thing and pray for better times ahead. Instead,…
Sometimes I can hardly believe what I’m saying. Sentences come out of my mouth that I immediately want to stuff back in. They’re the ones that old people use, the ones my parents and grandparents used to say. They usually start the same way: As I get older…, I remember when…, Young people today…, It…
Having just taken part in my third art workshop, I have decided it’s time to admit defeat. I am simply not artistic. I love art, but I cannot make it and should leave it to those with more talent than me, which is nearly everyone. The first workshop I attended involved using old letterpress stamps…