There are moments in life that are so absurd you can’t help but laugh at yourself afterwards, although that laughter usually arrives a little later than you’d like. Then all of a sudden you realise that emotional healing is weird. Mine happened standing barefoot in my kitchen, peering into the fridge with all the optimism […]
There is always that one box. It doesn’t matter whether you’re helping parents downsize, clearing a much-loved family home or simply sorting through a lifetime of belongings after someone has moved into a smaller place. Among the neatly labelled boxes marked Kitchen, Books and Linen, there is always one that sits quietly on its own. […]
If you’ve ever helped clear a family home, you’ll know that it usually begins with a wonderfully optimistic plan. Everybody agrees to meet at nine o’clock, someone volunteers to bring coffee and another promises to arrive with extra cardboard boxes. There’s a cheerful confidence in the air as people walk through the front door. Surely, […]
There is something almost magical about opening a cupboard that hasn’t been touched for years. You never quite know what you’re going to find. Sometimes it’s exactly what you expected – neatly folded tablecloths, a stack of old magazines or a collection of serving dishes that only made an appearance at Christmas. Other times, it’s […]
There is a moment that seems to happen in almost every family, no matter where you live or how organised you think you are. It usually begins with the best of intentions. Someone puts the kettle on, another person opens the curtains to let the morning light in, and somebody cheerfully announces, “Right, let’s get […]
There’s a very unsettling moment that sneaks up on most of us somewhere in middle age. It doesn’t arrive with a fanfare or a flashing sign to warn you. It simply appears one ordinary day when you least expect it. Mine happened in the supermarket. I was pushing a trolley through the fruit and vegetable […]
One Saturday afternoon I found myself standing in the kitchen with a tea towel over my shoulder, absent-mindedly stirring a pot on the stove while one of my adult children enthusiastically explained a brilliant new plan. They spoke with all the confidence that only youth can muster, complete with dramatic hand gestures and the unmistakable […]
There are evenings when the washing up has been done, the house has finally gone quiet and I make myself one last cup of tea before settling into my favourite chair. I tell myself I’ll spend ten minutes browsing online before heading to bed. Ten minutes somehow turns into an hour, and before I know […]
There are some places that seem to call your name long before you’ve even packed a suitcase. Sometimes it begins with a photograph that appears while you’re scrolling through your phone late at night. Other times it’s a story told by someone who has already stood in those streets, watched those sunsets or wandered through […]
Sometimes the busiest part of life is our own mind There have been seasons in my life when the world around me appeared perfectly ordinary, yet my thoughts refused to slow down. Nothing dramatic had necessarily happened that day. There was no emergency demanding my attention and no obvious reason why my shoulders seemed to […]
