The Mid Summer Fire

June contains a great turning pointing in the year as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, pauses there for a moment on June 21st and then begins the descent back towards Autumn and Winter. The date was marked by our farming ancestors as a date to remember that all would turn again…

The Invitation

The invitation sits in my in box. I think its spam but when I open it she asks me to meet on Friday. The last time we met I asked her to stop keeping me a secret. A Dirty Little Secret.  O Kate, mum says to me gently, why do you use those words? Because…

Saturday Notebook: Short film of Anne Lamott

So much wisdom and beautifulness in this short TED talk by Anne Lamott. There is an uneasiness in the country this weekend, that has all of us unsettled. Its a good day to view this talk on the “12 truths I learned on life and writing” and to remember this gem: “Grace always bats last”

The One-Pointed Arrow

OMG! The incessant chatter in my head Kick it into touch. Noise, words, thoughts, rolling round and around and around and utterly, superbly missing the point. Like some crazy whirling dervish around and around the centre of life, I miss and miss the point, miss the point, like a ball bearing in a tin, spun…

Reading Matters for the New Year

Hello 2017! So I am reading through blogs and newsletters on the internet, looking for inspiration, motivation for connection. You see, I want to be moved by something, anything to feel my stone heart leap. And then suddenly, it’s there for me in this short story. My entry point was listening to Lydia Davis read…

Epitaph, Footnote: Jo Cox, MP

Vibrant, courageous, compassionate: three words to describe a life. Another tragedy another mother lost in the battle against hatred. How devastatingly cruel to lose such a character as Jo Cox, MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire someone who could and was making a difference for her community. The Daily Telegraph describes her as…

Random Acts of Kindness

After my marriage broke down I moved to a large house with the children under an arrangement that was euphemistically termed “shared parenting“ But it never was easy. Never really shared either. Difficult Times In reality, my ex-husband would show up when he wanted and fail to show up when I wanted – particularly when…

Blossom Trees

May be its time to write a little of the time my first husband died. We had separated a few years prior to his illness. But it was at this time of year (May), six years ago, he passed away during complications to transplant his heart. When spring is high in the air I do remember…

Space to Think

No noise, clean, clear, white, natural wood, breeze, gentle and breathe: all is well.

“Shoot the Damn Dog”

I read Sally Brampton’s memoir of depression some years ago. I have never experienced the kind of depression that Sally described. Something has always lifted me higher and I know how lucky I am. But I was so very shocked this morning to pick up my newspaper and read of Sally’s death at 60. I…

The Purpose of Life

All my life I have wondered on this. What my purpose is, where will I  make a difference. I have sat and waited for something to happen.  Longing. I have asked for guidance and wondered often how come others find it so easy to find purpose and meaning in their life when nothing comes to…

Dispatches from Life #1

I wrote this piece after reading an article in the newspaper one lunch time. There was such a depth of recognition in Philip Gould’s writing about bliss and about being so deeply present in a single moment that my body felt electric, spun. He was writing about  his impending  death but in this, his death…