the crone

opening the door to ideas

I’ve been remembering one of the greatest moments of my life with my son when he was aged 8. SCENE: A Paediatric Psychologist’s consulting room. Various toys and bricks are placed strategically around the doctor’s desk. AFTER A PREAMBLE CHAT WITH THE BOY AND EXPLORATION OF TOYS … Boy: “I see this wind-up Bob the …

Continue reading

A muscular fist punches a hole through my chest.Why so scared? Why so scared? Why do you always want to be missed out, skipped over, anonymous? Why make choices that no one will ever see, comment on or know? Here I am still trying to break my arm in The Door rather than speak. I slam myself …

Continue reading

When did magic die for you? I always believed in magic. I mean, really believed in it. Aged 9 I thought if I wished hard enough my cat would talk to me. That he was only hiding his secret self behind his impassive cat face because he could not trust a human. Could never trust a human, not even …

Continue reading

I used to think that the clouds went to bed at night When I saw them softly wandering towards the horizon at sunset I imagined they gathered together In a heap On the horizon Resting Bedded down  Until morning came When it was time to stretch and pull away For another day wandering the open …

Continue reading

My cheese sandwich is not like the others. We all want to make a connection. We see a news story, read something on social media, or talk to a friend. We might think, “I know exactly what you mean!” But where we might see stunning similarities, others may only perceive glaring differences. My Cheese Sandwich …

Continue reading

I wanted to be a poet once upon a time. Ha ha. But please feel free to Open door Then a storyteller. Well, I ended up with a blog. Then I wanted to work in advertising. And I did. I was (and am) a creative copywriter. But along the way I learnt how to suffer when my creation was pinned to a …

Continue reading

Apprentice fever has hit our house again. I hate it (well, I love to hate it). It’s a guilty pleasure. Jeering at the candidates’ mistakes that all seem so obvious from the safety of your sofa, arguing with Lord Sugarpuff’s boardroom decisions and deriding the outrageously scripted puns. But once again what strikes me is how horribly uncooperative …

Continue reading

I’ve been talking to another blogger fourhillsfarm64 about the legacy of being a child who has grown up and lived with the long-term disease and death of a parent (or loved one). I’ve covered some of my own thoughts and experiences on this in previous posts. The outside calm and the inside crying My father was disabled and horribly ill for most of my …

Continue reading

I hate feeling that I’m ‘past it’. That maybe, just maybe, I’m now considered ‘too old’ to be a writer in advertising and marketing. This insecurity is all in my own head. Probably. But I’ve been mulling (ooh I love a good mull) over my 25-odd years in the business, and I’ve noticed a running theme. Good …

Continue reading

Walking to the station this morning. The Chemical Brothers banging away in my earphones. I was striding along. Pumping bass. Deafening synth chords. But, it was all a bit… loud. I got to thinking, “Is this the music I need to hear?” “Am I really enjoying these hyper dance sounds at 8.30am on a beautifully tranquil English summer …

Continue reading