Although we’re constantly being told by those who seem to know that we should live in the moment, I think there’s a lot to be said for anticipating what’s to come as well. A lot of the pleasure of going out, seeing your friends or a delicious meal has already been had in the anticipation…
A book is in the eye of the beholder
Recently a friend asked me if I thought that the essence of a book was lost once it had been translated into another language. I couldn’t help but be impressed by how impressive some of my friends are. However, it was early in the morning (well, it was before 10 o’clock), I had only had…
It’s not easy being green
I used to be stricken with guilt about all the flying we did, but since February we have travelled only by foot, bike, train or electric car so that has made me feel slightly better about past excesses. But, still, trying to lead a green life isn’t easy – it’s full of difficult decisions, compromises,…
Doing nothing in a foreign language
Lifestyle gurus (who are these people?) are constantly telling us how to live our lives and I suppose we must want to be told, judging by the many millions of books and products that are sold as a result. In recent years this lifestyle advice has involved unpronounceable foreign words like hygge and gezelligheid, with…
Here we go again – wearier but wiser
As a second lockdown looms on the horizon, I have been thinking about what we’ll do when confronted once again with oceans of time. Specifically, what I’ll do. I do love a plan because it gives me the illusion of control when in fact I have none. During the first lockdown I was brimming with…
The plane to nowhere
Most people I know don’t enjoy flying very much. What used to be considered a glamorous adventure has become a dreary slog in recent years, at least for those travelling in economy. The airport experience was particularly bad, involving long waits, searches, frisking and the passengers’ walk of shame through the metal detector – shoeless,…
Herd mentality
I try not to quote the American super-spreader in chief, but something he said recently really amused me. He referred to ‘herd mentality’ protecting us from coronavirus, even though I’m fairly sure what he meant was ‘herd immunity’. Although we’re all armchair epidemiologists these days, I’ll spare you my uninformed views on herd immunity, but…
Cancel the retreat
It feels like a lifetime ago, but it was only last autumn when I spent a few days on a retreat at the Royal Foundation of St Katharine in London’s east end. It’s hard to believe now that I thought it would be a real luxury to withdraw from the world and to spend a…
Wasting time used to be so easy
Wasting time never used to be a challenge. You could read a rubbishy airport novel (the kind with titles that had raised letters in gold), take a nap, do a jigsaw puzzle, wander round the garden or simply stare into space. All these activities were reassuringly pointless. But nothing is pointless any more – no…
Summing up 2020 in a word
Soon it will be time for the Oxford English Dictionary to choose its word or phrase of the year and I’ve been wondering which one they’ll select for 2020. This alarming and baffling year has not only seen the creation of lots of new words, but also old words being used in new ways. Upcycled,…