A sofa sits on the edge of woodland close to home, fly-tipped by some inconsiderate being who expects someone else to clear up after them and thinks nothing of the eyesore… “FLY TIPPING UNDER INVESTIGATION" reads the tape around it so that no one can sit on it. Not that we’d want to! No doubt …
For the Seasonally Challenged
(Photo by kind permission of Lucy Edhouse Dallas: 'Cromer RNLI crew out on exercise on a darkening August night'.) * ‘Please can you leave the light on? A predictable request from our little girl, and it’s understandable. Light is comforting, anchoring, and we are drawn to it. As the nights lengthen here in the UK …
Paintings: The Writers’ Kindling
Inspiration for MAKING IT HOME On my ‘artwork’ tab you can read about my cover painting of the silver clock – where I found inspiration and how I ‘made it’ my own (clue: I didn’t buy it). You don’t need to paint to be a happy writer, of course, and it is an appreciation of …
A creative writing class – is it for me?
Join a creative writing group? You laugh a little nervously. Well, I did enjoy English at school, you say. Still a scary prospect? So is cladding yourself in Lycra and going to an exercise class, or joining the gym for the very first time. Yet this is good for your mental agility and will strengthen …
Nature Notes ~ Glimpses of God in the Natural World
NATURE NOTES has been out for a month now and the questions have started. How did it come about? Why did I write it? How long did it take? Some of the notes have their origins in this blog, which has been going since 2017. Over time the blog became more about my faith and …
Continue reading Nature Notes ~ Glimpses of God in the Natural World
Blackbird Song
There is a happy blackbird who sings outside our house with such a carefree , Jack the Lad song. It contains a boastful, fit-to-burst whistle, like he’s dating the best catch around (perhaps attracting her is the intention behind his song), and some gorgeous trilling. The household have all noticed and love him. I've never …
Tidings of Comfort and Joy?
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com ‘You haven’t had a stroke – you are having one and we don’t know when it will stop. There is usually a window of opportunity but that passed at about twelve noon.’ It was by now late afternoon and a challenging day was reaching its crescendo. At around 6am …
One for the Mums
I am writing this one for myself as much as anyone else, and I’m far from having mastered it. But the season of departures is here: the new academic term is beckoning many youngsters, and you might be about to wave off your son or daughter. The reality is, no one prepares you for it! …
Write me a story…
'Can you write me a story?' asked a little girl we were fostering. And so I did, though she wasn't around long enough to witness it. Writing the story was a kind of therapy for me after she moved on. When living here, bedtime stories were a new thing for her, and she'd listen well, …
White Sparrow
Today's white sparrow Don’t you love it when nature takes you by surprise? There I was this morning, walking a well-trodden route of ours, when a chatter of sparrows burst out from a nearby bush and into the air, disturbed no doubt by the dogs. There, in the middle of this group, was a lunar-white …
