Category Archives: Books

Connexions

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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Imaginary Friends

‘I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space’ Hamlet, II ii We’re all bounded in nutshells at the moment. At an early stage in the pandemic, my best friend needed to self-isolate for … Continue reading

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Dawn chorus

I wake frequently at night.  It’s nothing new – I don’t think my depth of sleep ever recovered from the disturbance of having babies, while menopausal hot flushes have, more recently, put paid completely to long continuous stretches.  I don’t … Continue reading

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Let be

With the publication of The Mirror and the Light I am – and I want to say ‘of course’, with the fond exasperation and indulgence one uses when talking of a friend’s characteristic idiosyncrasies, but applying it to myself.  The … Continue reading

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I (don’t) know where I’m going

In the magical film ‘I know where I’m going’   the young heroine (played by Wendy Hiller), bright and determined, is clear-sighted and purposeful about what she wants to achieve.  Until the fog halts her journey and a Scottish island – … Continue reading

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Meeting myself

We spent our holiday in North Yorkshire.  This is a region I had driven past or travelled through on journeys further north, but never before stopped in or explored.  We discovered an utterly beautiful combination of dramatic coastline and glorious … Continue reading

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Books do furnish a room

The house clearance has reached the bookcases.   I have known people who say they never get rid of any of their books and feel that disposing of them is somehow diminishing:  perhaps we need to keep the physical object in … Continue reading

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Homeless, with a good book

I found myself with an enforced absence from home. My son had requested a birthday party. He is a young adult, a ‘bounce back’ after university, so he didn’t want us to organise it.  Rather the opposite: he asked if … Continue reading

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ResearchEd again, naturally

I am off to the national ResearchEd conference for the third time. Last year I said I wouldn’t do this: the date clashes with my local agricultural show, a major community event, and I am no longer an Education student. My … Continue reading

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“A sad tale’s best for winter”

It’s probably obvious already from this blog that I love stories:  I love them in books, I love them even more incarnate in the theatre.   I spent three years getting an English degree merely because it meant (in those heady … Continue reading

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