### Back in my early forties, when I worked in London’s Bunhill Row, I signed up for a Colour Me Beautiful course that was running in the nearby Bishopsgate Institute during my lunch break. (Other colour consultants are probably available.) At the first session, the consultant introduced the course and held up a coloured scarf … Continue reading Colour Me Faded
Fashion?
Who remembers fashion in the nineteen-sixties and seventies, when it seemed that whatever the fashion gurus told you was ‘in’ was what you had to wear to be 'with it'? Or was that just me being young and easily-fooled? It seemed to me, that by the time my own kids were teenagers they wore whatever … Continue reading Fashion?
The Camino Santiago – The Way of St James
My youngest daughter has just returned from a 780km walk across Spain. Read about it on her blog at... http://www.mycancerand.me/camino-santiago/ ### ### (By the way, Jen was diagnosed with dyslexia when due to sit her GCSEs at 15... Setbacks? hurdles? ...not a problem.)
Living on Less
Photo by maitree rimthong on Pexels.com As a teenager, I recall my mum complaining when the cost of petrol went up from 4 shillings and fourpence per gallon in the late sixties and later swearing to give up beef when it threatened to approach £1 per lb. In the eighties we were paying 15% interest … Continue reading Living on Less
What Every Vacuum Cleaner Salesman Knows
Recently I read, or heard (sorry, can't recall where; I think it was on TV) that every vacuum cleaner salesman knows if (s)he demonstrates their cleaner (or, in fact, any cleaner) on a newly-vacuumed carpet, it will bring up more muck. I thought I would try this for myself in our living room. I planned … Continue reading What Every Vacuum Cleaner Salesman Knows
Giraffe Stance
Be warned... giraffe stance will not enable you to paint your toenails. ### The truth is, I no longer know what I can do until I try it and find I can't. Cutting toenails on my right foot, for instance... and varnishing them. The doctor on the phone asked if I could bring my right … Continue reading Giraffe Stance
Pondkeeping
I just had a minor panic when I went to feed the fish and the pond was practically empty. The fish were huddled over the pump in the bottom well of the pond. Had I left it until I came back from shopping the water would have gone and the pump would have cut out … Continue reading Pondkeeping
Making Amends
For those outside the UK who asked, here is my story recently published in The People's Friend. These knitting needles had an agenda of their own. They were of a length my gran would have branded “pickle-stabbers” and Sandy used to say my ten thumbs weren’t safe in charge of a cocktail stick. The memory … Continue reading Making Amends
Buttons
No, not about Cindy-Ella's dog in my book The Godmother (shameless plug). This post is about the kind of buttons that fasten up through buttonholes (or not). ### Why do duvet covers have to have all those buttons that take forever to do up (when you're already shattered from stuffing the duvet into the thing)? … Continue reading Buttons
On the Other Hand
According to oprah.com, your brain never stops growing. Scientists once believed that some of our brain cells died off when we got older. But it's now clear that we not only hang on to our neurons—we grow new ones, too. Throughout a person's lifetime, the brain continually reshapes itself in response to what it learns. … Continue reading On the Other Hand
Writing Wrinkles 