A Disorderly Retirement
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…
After being away for nearly six weeks, I’m getting used to being at home again. I’m settling back into the routine of cooking, dreary admin, yoga, book club, gardening and all the many things that make up daily life. In fact, I was washing the dishes the other night and it occurred to me…
Ever since we moved into our house, nearly three years ago now, we have been struggling with what to call the various rooms. No, we don’t live in a mansion and yes, I know it’s not the biggest problem anyone ever had, but still. The kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms are obvious, but any other rooms…
It’s surprising what happens when you venture outside on foot with no techno gadgets attached to your ears or flickering in front of your eyes. A few days ago I was walking along the canal path and a man asked me to take his photo. He did laughingly say that he was trusting me not…
I’ve just been listening to one of my favourite podcasts – Off Air with Jane & Fi – and they were talking about words they’d like to ban. Not the obvious terms that are blatantly offensive, racist, violent, misogynistic or scatological, but words that are overused or just plain annoying. Their list included hubby, pamper…
Well, we’ve done it! We have finally completed the Thames Path, all 185.2 miles of it. I have to admit that we didn’t do it in one go, day after day, unlike those hardy pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. I’ve just calculated that we did it in 28 sections and it took nearly two…
I am confined to quarters at the moment. Two men are building some steps outside and one man is painting the kitchen. Building steps is beyond me, but until a few years ago all decorating in our house was definitely done by amateurs – namely, us. Then one day a leaking shower led to a…
From time to time I do a French course just to remind myself that I once studied the language. To see what’s still lurking in the depths of my brain. I enjoy the month-long challenges taught online by the ebullient Géraldine Lepère. At the moment I’m right in the middle of 30 days of Les…