SPRING/SUMMER 2020 Aren’t viruses impolite? Unannounced, they sprawl on the periphery of our minds, shifting inconspicuously into an unsurprise with a sprightly ETA on our own personal turf! Mille Millions de Mille Sabords! Even before the current elephant moved into the room, recurring bouts of tonsillitis have left the kids wondering about this sort of…
Read MoreREADY, STEADY, SUMMER!
SUMMER 2019 Sports Day – it’s a thing! Little E and Tiny E have been exercising their “gecko muscles” and “blazing speed” since Christmas. With picnic baskets, rain covers, sunscreen, eggs, spoons and plasters at the ready, they could hardly wait for the pinnacle of the year! On the other hand, the…
Read MoreRIOT WEATHER AND WHAT TO NAME YOUR NEXT HURRICANE
SUMMER 2018 Until recently, Tiny E had been calling his sister “THIS”. Following a breakthrough, he has relinquished his ultra-laconic style and is now savouring the full three syllables of her real name. The development has been enthusiastically supported by all of us keen to avoid further misunderstandings effusing from the rather wide range of…
Read MoreWINKLEPICKERS AND BROTHEL CREEPERS
SUMMER 2017 It’s Career Day at Little E’s school and I’m introducing the Reception class to the wonders of contemporary music and the work of a composer. For most of these children, I am the first composer they’ve met “for real life” and, surprisingly, also the only one they know. Their eager minds, free of…
Read MoreTHE RASPY YODEL OF THE ISLAND SWANS KEEPS YOU LIGHT ON YOUR FEET
SUMMER 2015 Think. Choose five things to take in your suitcase and two more for your pockets! We’re off to the remote Finnish isles of Näsijärvi! Undaunted, Little E selects a congeries of dollhouse paraphernalia and playmobil princesses while I make a quick note about my own desert island items. My parents-in-law are still astounded…
Read MoreGOOD OARSMANSHIP AND THE ODDS OF TRAVELLING LIGHT
SUMMER 2014 It takes a certain kind of skill to carry something stone-heavy with nonchalance, like it is featherweight. Seemingly, I’m travelling as light as can be, mine de rien… 23kg. The waiting. The weighing. The odds of having to unpack, reorganise, reshuffle. The scorning looks all around. Skin cells shedding underneath the bulky clothing…
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