Blogs

GABRIEL’S GIFT
When anyone says something lovely or compliments me I have a few seconds of joy taking it in, I’ll probably grin or flush with colour a bit then the silliness kicks in. The knee jerk reaction that I don’t think about but that just happens. The humour, the joke, the changing the subject, the deflection.

IRIS PART 4 – THE MODERN RESILIENCE DROUGHT
If you’ve read our Iris series of posts you’ll know she is an amazing 95 year old lady I met in an Aldi queue one freezing cold day and offered a lift to. A friendship was formed during that lift and she trusted me enough to invite me into her home. Being shown around her

IRIS PART 3 THE FULL HOUSE TOUR
If you’ve read Iris and Iris Part 2 you’ll know she is a lovely 95 year old lady I met in an Aldi queue, offered a lift to, accidentally nearly broke her, but still got invited in to her house for a coffee. If you haven’t read about how I met her or nearly broke her do

IRIS PART TWO – HOW I NEARLY BROKE A 95 YEAR OLD LADY
If you read the previous article about Iris you’ll know she was a 95 year old stranger I met in an Aldi queue one cold February day and nervously offered a lift to. You’ll know we tentatively got to know each other during that lift and when I dropped her home she invited me in

IRIS – HOW HELPING A STRANGER HELPED ME
Trust is a funny thing, a commodity to be bargained. You give a bit then you see the results and give a bit more – always testing, always monitoring. You can snatch it back as soon as it doesn’t feel right and back peddle until you feel the right amount has been given. Some people

SISTER SISTER
Rebecca Rewind exactly ten years ago and I didn’t know my sister. Those words sound crazy now to even write them down. “I didn’t know my sister”. My sister who looks so much like me, IS so much like me and is so much part of my life. I didn’t. Even. Know. Her. I hadn’t

FROM A HOLIDAY TO A WEDDING – PENPALS FOR OVER TWELVE YEARS (& COUNTING!)
Holiday Penpals Camille and I first met on holiday when we were 11 years old. Both shy, we smiled at each other across the dining room of the hotel each evening. I assumed she was German and therefore wouldn’t be able to talk to her. After some encouragement from my parents I invited her and

GEOFF WITH A G
Loneliness, Serendipity and Ice Cream Yesterday was full of serendipitous moments the type of timing that you think can’t be accidental. The creation of a series of events you know can’t possibly have been random. I love those kinds of days, they restore my hope that magical things exist and life is more positive than

A HOUSE SOME LAND AND A BUNCH OF SPANNERS HOW TO MAKE DECISIONS
How to Make Decisions When you think of emigrating you think of the sun, the beaches, the chance to make a new life for yourselves. But how does the reality shape up? In January this year, we; that is my husband, my two children and myself, upped sticks and moved to New Zealand. In this

FIVE REASONS WE SHOULD LOOK FORWARD TO VALENTINES DAY
Five Valentine’s Day Ideas to Set you Apart There is so much more to St Valentines Day than red roses, gifts, chocolates and meals for two. Just ask love supreme (get it) Diana Ross. These 5 Valentine’s Day ideas are easy and will get you in the good books quick smart. Stop! In the Name