Back to Penrith recently and much delight to discover that our favourite fried food purveyor has gone mobile. Thank you, Shap Chippy. And – at long last – family gathered a bit. Simply wonderful to see everyone and, for a bit, forget about some of the more interesting bits of the past few months. Boy […]
Distraction diaries – write what you know
Write what you know, they say… So I’m trying, simultaneously, to craft a poem about kindness – which I don’t always understand, a short story comparing women to tuning forks, and to empty my head onto the page. Only none of it’s working. Write what you know, they say… I’m too damn distracted. Can’t concentrate. […]
Escaping the curse of the to-do list with a ta-da list
It may be another universal division – the list-makers and the, well, frankly mysterious people who don’t have to write their tasks down. (If that’s you… please explain how it works?) I have lists. Sometimes I have lists of list. I have systems of lists. I have lists with different timescales (today, tomorrow, sometime – […]
First midge bites of the year… what I learned lately
I love this time of year. It’s ‘get caught without sunblock’ season. There’s still a few pine needles under the sofa and actual summer is ages away, yet it’s warm enough to get out there. And it’s busy, busy with my favourite things, so, obviously, there’s lots to learn… L is for fear. If learning […]
Things I learned from going up the Glasgow Tower.
It’s not, in fact, broken. It first opened in 2001, proud above the Glasgow skyline, back before that part of the city became trendy. I don’t remember the grand opening, but I do remember the subsequent closings and even the slightly dramatic rescue of trapped visitors. All the problems have been fixed now, apparently. […]