Silence is a word that we think we all understand, but Sara Maitland's A Book of Silence has prompted me to think about the role silence plays in my own life. A few years ago, I suffered a bout of seriously debilitating nervous exhaustion. In the years I've been recovering I've realised that I have … Continue reading Degrees of silence
I've been to lots of mindfulness sessions, and somehow whenever I'm supposed to be lying on a beach, relaxing and feeling the warmth of the sun, something random will arrive in the sky, a giant fly, or a thought reminding me that's it is, in fact, raining, and I need to bring the washing in. … Continue reading Mindfulness sketching
I've become rather familiar with my bedside cabinet from many nights with my face pressed against its cold smoothness. It provides some surety that I won't end up tumbling out of the bed during the night. 'You'll miss him when he stops' is my familiar refrain to hubs when he complains about our five-year-old coming … Continue reading Three in a bed…
"Pack your rucksack, we're going on an adventure," I said to the small boy last night. Okay, a spontaneously booked train trip to Saltaire in Yorkshire may not be the most obvious child-friendly entertainment to spring on a child in half-term, but I figured it was worth the risk. I'd heard a lot about Saltaire … Continue reading Spontaneity refreshes the brain
I’m coming to have a real and visceral hatred of Kinder eggs. My son and I come to these little symbols of everything that’s wrong with the modern world from completely different viewpoints. His cherubic little face lights up as he peels off the foil, but for each of his squeaks of glee my shoulders … Continue reading Kinder eggs represent what’s wrong with modern life
The House with the Blue Door 