Joy in Writing

For many years I have “suffered” from writer’s block. The inverted commas are to indicate that I don’t really believe such a thing exists. But writing was not happening. The impulse is to wonder why and here’s a list that may or may not explain it: Lack of confidence Perfectionism Bad time management Avoidance of hard work with a distant result Perceived lack of good ideas Social anxiety/fear of being seen Time spent reeling between terrorist attacks Awareness of climate Click for more

Don’t Panic!

Fittingly enough given it would have been Douglas Adam’s 60th birthday on the 11th of March these words have been running through my head repeatedly in the last few days. The government have decided to change the education system. This should be greeted with shouts of joy and delight as there are plenty of things that could be improved on. But instead of changing the curriculum or adjusting the exam system (which changes every few years anyway) the plan is Click for more

Branching Out

Many, many years ago, I was perhaps 9, I was amazed to find that our Saturday morning was disrupted by the arrival of a piano. I remember standing by the front door watching people carefully carry it into the house. I can’t remember who moved it or how, but there it was in our front room, where previously it had occupied my grandparent’s front room. It was magical, before we’d only been able to pick away when we visited my Click for more

Slow Learning

The children are out on their new bicycles at least once a day, rattling along on their training wheels. The Brown-eyed Girl has mastered the u-turn at the end of the road but Little Boy Blue sits and waits to be pushed around the turn.  Neither are ready to be left alone where cars may turn into our cul-de-sac at any moment. So I’ve walked the road more times than in the four years previous, chatting to the newly-arrived summer Click for more