Week thirteen: Picking Daisies

On my one day at home a week, I've developed a bit of a routine with the smallest chap. We play for a while, then get ourselves together and walk to the train station. We get the train two stops, to where I grew up (there it is again - another theme in my posts …

Week twelve: Crown shyness

Not much to say as a lead-in this time... A tougher week, broken by a lovely walk at Toy's Hill in Kent - a really welcome chance to watch some trees, get happily a bit muddy and chilly, enjoy the fresh air and views. Taking time to reflect on a few things via the contemplative course …

Week eleven: Hauntology

Cassette tapes have always been part of my life, it seems. One of my favourite childhood memories is of the Christmas I was given my first cassette-radio - a piece of kit that I (almost literally) loved to pieces.  By the time it finally played it's last, there were at least 2 buttons missing, the …

Week ten: Two grand pianos

I've never thought of myself as a piano music sort of person. Chopin, to the teenage me, went with doilies and genteel natures. Perhaps I had the latter, perhaps I didn't. But either way, there was something about the idea of listening to just a piano that I didn't understand the appeal of or find …

Week nine: Woodland Bathing

I'm beginning to see that a lot of these poems will be about walks - and that's OK with me, as they are often highlights of a week for me. There are good walking routes near us, and we're lucky to be a short walk from plenty of countryside, so it definitely makes sense to …

Week eight: The Colour of Spring (in winter)

I am a fan of winter. I love the cold, the dark nights and mornings, the frost-laden countryside. But I can't deny it's a thrill to see the first colours of the season turning. Even when it's (rather worryingly) very early in the year. This year, by mid-February I'd already seen snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils …

Week seven: Solace.

After a low week, I was happy to be able to take refuge in some silence. It's something that has become a bigger part of my life in the last few years, something that I value highly (and not just because it's a relief for my introverted self) and something that I'm really happy I …

Week six: Meant to be Found

I don't think there's much point in trying to hide that I'm not having a great time at the moment - things are tricky, and I'm finding that a lot of days are about just keeping going when I'd much rather stop, thank you very much. But (as often happens when dark clouds gather) if …

Week five: A Love Affair

We've been doing some clearing out - emptying boxes that have lain unopened since we moved into our place (longer ago than I think we ought to admit) and clearing out toys and furniture we no longer need or use. It's a lovely (if tiring) process, and has unveiled some areas of our rooms that …

Week four: Streaming

I took smallest chap off to a playgroup at the church I grew up at, and we got there very early, so we wandered around the nearby streets so he could see where we were. We came across a stream that meanders through the streets, and runs right alongside the church building. There's a culvert …