I've kept a journal since I first came to London, nearly 40 years ago. Those journals have slowly accumulated on the top shelf above my writing desk, until they were crammed up to the ceiling and in danger of toppling. What to do with all these words, this record of my life lived mostly in …
Category: musings
where did it all begin?
Recently I was thinking about writing goals (not something I often do, actually), and thought how cool it would be to have one of my poems read on radio. Poetry Please, where listeners request poems on a theme, is perhaps the pinnacle, but I'd be just as thrilled to have one of my poems broadcast …
ruminating while running
While I was running around Battersea Park this morning, I started thinking about how much I hated exercise and sport as a child, and then well into adulthood. My younger self would have been amazed, and possibly appalled, to see me pounding along paths between trees and gambolling down grassy knolls. Running isn't my favourite …
a washout
Two people turned up for my Open Spaces in Nine Elms walk: Nick & me. Well, the weather was more like October than August; cold, gusting winds and heavy downpours. And I know London is half empty in August, so maybe it was the wrong time to try my first walk under my own umbrella …
A poem in the Morning Star
My poem Hotel Braverman was published in the Morning Star on Thursday, and you can read it online here: Hotel Braverman It's a poem I wish I hadn't had to write. I wish our government would live up to its obligations under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that 'Everyone has the …
Unilateral declaration of World Tahini Day
Tahini on toast. My breakfast this morning, and it set me thinking, not for the first time, what a magical food tahini is. Surely, I thought, there must be one day in the year when this delicious, nutritious and versatile ingredient is celebrated. I searched online and to my surprise it appears there is no …
some thoughts on thinking
A few weeks ago I saw a post by Mark Elliott, co-founder of Startup School for Seniors, on LinkedIn: Do you OverThink Things? I read the piece and thought about it. I thought about it all over the weekend. And then I finally replied 'I have been thinking about your post since I read it, …
warming up into 2023
Daffodils are already opening in the community roof garden where I volunteer. Those yellow trumpets certainly lift the spirits, heralding the promise of spring just around the corner. I've had a quietish start to the year and have used this to reflect and think about how I can build on the workshops and walks I …
half a dozen joys
It's not been the easiest year, but here are a few things that have brought me joy: Flickerbook by Leila Berg, published by CB editions. I have read quite a lot this year but this is the book that immediately comes to mind as my favourite. I loved it from the very first page. Berg's …
Happy Wombat Day
Today is Wombat Day, a day to celebrate those wonderful marsupials found only in Australia. The only time I remember seeing a wombat in the wild was as a child, on a slushy snowy mountainside, possibly Mt Buller, on a day trip with my family. It was probably the first time I'd seen snow too. …