T’was the week before Christmas, when all through the land Not a creature was safe from austerity’s hand. The P45s were placed in the OUT-tray with care, While Chairman and MD made sure they weren’t there. At home, children nestled all snug in their beds, While downstairs mum and dad raged off their …
There was a zombie woman on my early morning train. Her face was a skeleton. Smooth tea-coloured skin stretched over dry bones. Milky blank eyes of faint cataract blue. Colourless dry wisps of hair stuck to the dome of her skull. Her maw was opened. Dark. Like a tunnel. The dry lips strained. Mouthing. She stared forward. Focusing …
I’ve been researching the rise of ‘Pauper funerals’ in the UK. Also called Section 46 funerals, these are burials that are paid for by the local authority when someone dies alone, with no known next of kin. What struck me as I read through case studies, watched news articles and looked up Gazette postings, is that when …
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 …
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 …
So I’ve brought up both of my children up to be individuals. To celebrate that everyone is different. To understand that being unique is something to take pride in. My son is very different to most 10 year old boys. Not because he has Aspergers Syndrome or Autistic Spectrum Disorder … he really is quite eccentric. His …
Sir Nicholas Winton died this week. If you want to know who he was and what he did, read a bit about him at The Power of Good. He rescued around 669 children from the Nazi death camps. It was only when his attic was being cleared that the story of what he had done became …
I have some new snippets in my collection if you’d like to glimpse briefly into other people’s worlds for a moment. Bus Stop Snippets
I got a call (well, a tweet) from an ex-colleague on Monday, offering me the chance of a few days work at a large ad agency in London. As I’m not that busy with my own business, I thought ‘Why not?’ I’d give it a go. Just a few days writing. A few days freelance. …
Now I’ve moved house, I’m trying to get back on track with my health and fitness. (Mmmm, just seeing the word ‘track’ makes me think of a delicious nutty treat…) I don’t need it. I think I am obsessed with food. Having a wobble So my week pans (…mmm crispy fried bacon) out like …
the crone 