'We are doing this project,' she said, 'because the kids who come to this school won't get out of town, and we need to show them that the wider world does exist.' This was a recent conversation with a school-teacher friend, working on a lovely project whereby people from all over the world are invited … Continue reading Walls in the head
Degrees of silence
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
Looking at snow it’s hard to imagine August
“Look at how green and sunny the garden looks,” I say, proffering my phone to hubs and forcing him to look at an image of verdant abundance from the back end of last summer. “It’s hard to imagine it looking like that,” I continue, “when it’s so frozen and wet, and dead-looking at the minute,” … Continue reading Looking at snow it’s hard to imagine August
Mindfulness sketching
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
To record or not to record?
Last Friday my son’s school put on a truly beautiful mother’s day afternoon, complete with songs, handmade creations, poems, tears, and, cake. The abundance of cake baked by the school’s cook was one of the big highlights for me; pavement-sized pieces of rocky road and thick triangles of cherry-topped Bakewell tart, washed down with tea … Continue reading To record or not to record?
