Daring to hope that spring is around the corner, this winter has been especially for hard for some.  Illnesses abound, it is peak time for deaths, divorces, depression and any number of connected ailments.  Even in times of global warming, which has very obviously accelerated in recent years, the lack of light is trying for all of us.  Of course spring and the summer feel all the sweeter for it, and personally I still like the changes of the seasons.  Most of us however would

One of the most pleasing aspects of ageing is the ability to stop, notice and be grateful.  In my case this is partly to do with our kids maturing, but it also appears to be a change in brain chemistry or something.  I heard a snatch of an item on radio 4 the other day which said as much, but sadly can’t reference it as I can’t remember where.  No matter, there does seem to be something about the passage of time which appears more and more remarkable; the coincidences and luc

Our older child has now been at university for six weeks and all is apparently well.  He went with his instinct for his first choice - rather than settling for the place that was supposedly higher up on the league tables. It has meant that apart from the physical comforts of a well-resourced campus, he has ‘found his people’ - which is exactly the kind of higher education experience we all want for our kids.  None of us are complacent - but it’s good to know that at least the

A few years ago when my children were in reception and year one at primary school respectively, a new head was being interviewed for the...

I have tried not to be too overtly political on these posts.  Not because politics isn’t important - it is profoundly so - but because I...

Dear Smartphone Hi-tech People I’m writing to you with a request - not because I am a total Luddite, a fantasist or some dreamy backward...

A frustration with writing about music is that it is constantly going to slip through your fingers.  It’s a bit like explaining smell or...

Just under a year ago, I wrote about how my resolution for the new year was to quieten the mind.  I can’t pretend to have all the answers...

My Dad died a few years ago, and although he didn’t get everything about parenting right, there were the odd things that he said (and...

I went to an awards ceremony recently and it struck me that everyone who I had seen in the media was older, fatter and shorter in real...

A thought we like to flatter ourselves with is that we are individually different and interesting. Our ponderings are original and...