Author Archives: lesleyjonesberry

The Habit of Love

Posted on February 18, 2022 by lesleyjonesberry

Good Morrow, friends. St Valentine’s is past A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act IV Scene i What is love?  This huge essential word.  It motivates us so strongly, and at the same time it is ubiquitous and clichéd.  Patently, it ranges … Continue reading →

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It is time to speak of Julia

Posted on January 30, 2022 by lesleyjonesberry

I am re-reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. It’s a striking, indulgent, flawed novel, I think. Not entirely successful, but somehow it communicates a – to me, irresistible – sense of beauty, loss and yearning which repeatedly draws me back. … Continue reading →

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The Mad Woman in the Attic

Posted on January 2, 2022 by lesleyjonesberry

Sometimes I dream of being in a familiar house, opening a door and finding a forgotten room. This is a common dream theme, a recurrent trope. The discovery brings with it with a strange small mis-step lurch of emotion: how … Continue reading →

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Portway

Posted on December 21, 2021 by lesleyjonesberry

At the top of our road is a thoroughfare named Portway. It heads roughly east to west, with houses and side roads along its southern edge and West Ham Park bordering to the north. This park was originally part of … Continue reading →

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Sunday

Posted on December 4, 2021 by lesleyjonesberry

Stephen Sondheim died on Friday November 26th. ‘91 year old man dies peacefully in his sleep’ is not unexpected news. But the impact was great, and in a small way I shared it. Others will be able to articulate the … Continue reading →

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Staying, still

Posted on October 10, 2021 by lesleyjonesberry

Sometimes we know when we are about to create significant memories:  a marriage vow, a graduation, a last visit to the vets.  But other times they creep up on us and only that wise counsellor, hindsight, recognises significance.  So with … Continue reading →

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How does it make you feel?

Posted on May 16, 2021 by lesleyjonesberry

‘Our possessions outlast us, surviving shocks that we cannot; we have to live up to them, as they will be our witnesses when we are gone. In this room are the goods of people who no longer use them’ Hilary … Continue reading →

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If I knew you were coming

Posted on January 27, 2021 by lesleyjonesberry

I made a cake at the weekend.  I don’t often bake these days but it was my son’s birthday and traditions are reassuring.  My mixing bowl is a Mason Cash – you know the type, surely in the UK it … Continue reading →

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In My Mind’s Eye

Posted on January 10, 2021 by lesleyjonesberry

Another national lockdown returns me to Dickens.  I have written already about the reassurance and pleasure provided through long novels.  Good audiobook versions are my substitute for live theatre:  more than anything else, this is where I can find compensation … Continue reading →

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Connexions

Posted on November 22, 2020 by lesleyjonesberry

In the midst of what, for convenience, I’ll call the ‘second lockdown’ I have rejected Zoom. My head recognises its benefits, but my heart has rebelled. 

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