I have been wondering what to write in this my January blog. It's not that my life isn't an exciting package of daily surprises. It is, even in these times. I could write a blog called Daily Surprises, but today I picked up a book called 'Paradise is a Place' by Gillian Mears. It didn't take long ... READ the POST

Christmas is on the horizon - my third one without my mate. It's a particularly lonely time. On my way to swimming this morning I saw a couple - about my age - tourists - walking hand in hand as Warren and I used to do on holidays. How I miss that. Until Warren died I had never lived alone. I ... READ the POST

Poetry helps me see life in its reality. Or maybe my reality helps me see a poem. To follow is one I wrote in the seventies - PLEASURE Fifteen minutes more in bed on a cold and wintry morning Face inhumed in soft white pillows Conjuring breakfast Breakfast in a ... READ the POST

In my previous two blogs I have 'walked' around my town. Maybe by the time I've finished this one today the series will be complete. Then of course there is the potential to depict other country towns I have known. There's something wholesome and rich about the social and parochial aspects of a ... READ the POST

When we travelled Australia in the seventies - our home hooked up behind our Toyota Land Cruiser and with two toddlers wide-eyed and trusting as trapeze artists - leaving our home, our roots, our security behind was something that flattened me for a while. Gradually though I began to take ginger ... READ the POST

My sister and I walked to school in the fifties. About a mile. Uphill. Took us about fifteen minutes. Mostly heads down, focussed on getting there quickly, avoiding puddles or rapid storm water in the winter, running our hands along the rosemary or lavender hedges which would have helped subdue the ... READ the POST