Category Archives: Life in general, family and otherwise
Relative
Christmas was going to be a real drag this year, Felicity decided. Mother was coming, which meant that the house was actually going to have to be cleaned for once. Not so much for mother’s benefit as she was mostly … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Life in general, family and otherwise, Uncategorized
Tagged Flashfiction, relative, whimword
4 Comments
Standing up for the NHS
According to an on-line quiz to resolve which party you should vote for in today’s European Elections, wanting to protect the NHS equates to believing that its destruction by privatisation is the worst thing that could happen to the UK. … Continue reading
Posted in Life in general, family and otherwise, Ranting away
Tagged European Elections, NHA Party, NHS, Tax
2 Comments
Where do you come from?
This has always been a very difficult question for our family to answer, because it gets to the point where answering the question with any meaningful detail leads to eyes glazing over. And that’s if the kids can remember the … Continue reading
Cherry blossom
We planted a flowering cherry in the garden of our last house, so long ago now I hope it’s matured as I hoped. A new tree was one of the first things I added to this garden after moving here, … Continue reading
Posted in Life in general, family and otherwise, Photo Album
Tagged blossom, cherry blossom, spring
2 Comments
Frederick Pohl, part of my reading life.
When our children were small we signed them up for conversational French classes, on the basis that learning a language is something that seems almost like breathing when you’re that young. The hope was that having got at least some … Continue reading
The things you have to do when you’re a parent
This is in response to a request on Twitter for reviews of programmes we end up having to watch with our children. Not the joyous ones we share willingly, the ones that are like having teeth pulled. If Betty thinks … Continue reading
Posted in Life in general, family and otherwise
Tagged flu, hell, Parenting, Topsy and Tim, VHS
2 Comments
Learning, libraries and such
My son who has ADHD was not diagnosed until he was at university, in his 20’s. That doesn’t mean we didn’t strongly suspect he was ADHD, it was fairly obvious to anyone who spent more than a cursory amount of … Continue reading
Posted in Life in general, family and otherwise, Ranting away
Tagged ADHD, Books, education, Gove, learning, literature
2 Comments
Candle wax drips and wood ash
Not my favourite things, but I’m grateful for them. After spending 32 hours without power because of the recent storm we’re now in the process of putting everything back to where it was. To those who are going around saying, … Continue reading
Posted in Life in general, family and otherwise
Tagged log fires, Pah!, power cuts, Storm, Stroke clinic
2 Comments
Battening down the hatches
It seems autumn is well and truly upon us – the garden furniture has been stacked, put away, hidden from the coming weather and just generally put out of harms way. The temperature is still very mild, the trees are … Continue reading
Posted in Life in general, family and otherwise
Tagged 1987, autumn, extreme ironing, hurricanes, Michael Fish, sting jets, storms
3 Comments
The Wrong Trouser Leg of Understanding 