It’s party time. Another rite of passage lately – the teenage party. The campaign began months before, a subtle and effective manoeuvring of the notion from a slight suggestion to an in-the-calendar fact. I tried to think of a reason to say no, but there really wasn’t one. The teen in question and his friends […]
Things I’ve learned since spring sprung
Months and months of cold and damp (and snow too), then all of a sudden, there’s bird on the wing and grass riz. My favourite season because, just for a while, I can persuade myself that there’s going to be an endless period of wearing shorts and loafing about during long balmy evenings. Balmy, I said. […]
Why I love getting the sleeper
My favourite way to travel to London is by sleeper train. It gives me a sense of how Harry Potter felt when he pushed his trunk and owl-laden trolley into the other world of platform 9 3/4. Instead of being pursued by a vast bearded man on an enchanted motorbike though, I just need […]
How can you cure a rising inflection?
And that is a question. It has a question mark at the end, giving it permission to rise when spoken. However, it’s getting confusing so many speakers seem unclear about whether they need an answer so let their voices pop upwards. Now, apparently, our young are all in the grip of a serious affliction… the […]
New year new snooze: Is smart sleeping even a thing and is it worth thinking about?
Remember when sleeping was just a matter of lying down and shutting your eyes? I was brilliant at it – talented. My only concern was that I wasn’t particularly good at doing it on public transport or for all that long after the sun came up. But I could do it pretty much anywhere else […]