Tag Archives: hope

Christmas Lost And Found In America

Born in England, my firstborn son didn’t meet his American grandparents until he was three-years-old. His father, tired of the rain and dismal British economy of the mid 1980s, decided we would have a better life in the land of … Continue reading

Posted in Christmas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 90 Comments

What I Wanted To Tell You At Christmas

What I wanted to tell you at Christmas is how spectacular the illuminations at Stourhead this year.  I wanted to show you the carpet of lights twinkling down to the lake and the Pantheon lit up like a beacon in … Continue reading

Posted in Christmas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 67 Comments

Lest We Forget

Escaping the clamour filling news headlines and social media lately, I stood alone in my living room this morning at eleven o’clock to observe two minute’s silence. With the television on, as Big Ben chimed, cameras caught moments throughout the … Continue reading

Posted in HIstory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 111 Comments

Big Bright And Beautiful: The Annual #BloggersBash 2016

When Sacha,  Hugh, Geoff (Geoffle) and Ali said this year’s Bloggers Bash was going to be bigger and better than ever, they weren’t kidding. Their hard work (and from what I hear some shenanigans too, but I know nothing…) paid off.  What … Continue reading

Posted in Bloggers Bash | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 160 Comments

Blogging And The Three Year Rule

Dear Blogger, How are you?  It’s been a while since you and I had a proper talk, and this seems like the perfect time. I saw you walk around the park a few times last week; that’s good news,  you … Continue reading

Posted in Asperger's Syndrome, Blogging, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 196 Comments

A Field of Sheep For A Happy New Year

Only seven days into 2016, not too late I hope to wish you all a Happy New Year!  I’m a straggler, always it seems… Bogged down with other, behind-blog ‘stuff’ at the moment and finding it pretty impossible to get … Continue reading

Posted in Current Affairs, Nature & Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 168 Comments

Of Guns And Flowers And A Car Crash

On Wednesday just before lunchtime, somebody drove across my path in the middle of a roundabout (I had right of way). I barely had time to slam on my brakes before crashing with a sickening thud into the side of … Continue reading

Posted in Current Affairs, Family Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 107 Comments

Sanctuary in Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei

There is a tiny village in Normandy called Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei that is so charming, it is known officially as a ‘Most Beautiful Village of France’.  It was a privilige to spend my birthday afternoon there in September with my family ~ … Continue reading

Posted in Current Affairs, Grief, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 92 Comments

Breathe

This flash/poem (if there is such a thing) is dedicated to my friend Charli, who in her grief for the recent loss of her best friend asked us to write a 99 word Flash Fiction about a breathless moment, to … Continue reading

Posted in Flash Fiction, Poems | Tagged , , , , , | 65 Comments

The Black Dog, A Palm Tree And A Flash Fiction

Palm trees are so perfectly designed to survive powerful tropical storms, that even when bent so low as to touch the ground, they straighten up as the storm passes through, stronger than they  were before. I was nineteen when I … Continue reading

Posted in Asperger's Syndrome, Family Life, Flash Fiction, The Black Dog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 102 Comments