Category Archives: The stuff of daily life

It sat on the mantlepiece of the front room of my grandmother’s house. Slate with marble inlay, it is not of great value, I have seen similar for £20-£30, but it has been a continuing source of fascination since I … Continue reading →

One of the advantages of growing up in a farming community is that the idea of “retirement” is a very fluid concept. There is no fixed age, no expectation that one will stop work on attaining a certain age. The … Continue reading →

Catching up with material from earlier in the week, I discovered a BBC Culture article, Sylvia Plath: the literary icon destined to remain an enigma. Six decades after her death, there still seems a readership for such speculation, (admittedly, by reading … Continue reading →

It is the tenth anniversary of the death of Amy Winehouse. On 23rd July 2011, her name was added to those of the so-called “27 Club”, famous musicians who died at the age of twenty-seven.  Among the others to die … Continue reading →

A flock of gulls alighted on the school playing field. The absence of children meant there was nothing to disturb them as they basked in the warm summer sun. Some had found scraps of food. A magpie joined them. “Magpies … Continue reading →