One of the real pleasures of having grandchildren is watching them grow into very distinctive individuals.

One minute, there is a little new born baby, looking sweet and untouched. Then, in what feels like no time at all, you suddenly have a child with a strong personality. It is quite breath-taking. Read More

Do you experience enormous aggravation when things don’t work properly – and, more disturbingly, break down? I don’t mean important things like your medication or even local transport. No, I mean the computers and numerous…

Until we all went into lockdown – the ‘before’ period that feels like another time altogether – I used to love to eat out. Although I am a moderately good cook (and my husband a willing sous-chef), there is so much to be said for it…

Are you a grandmother? Does that give you absolute joy or considerable worry? Or perhaps both? Read More

I would guess that most people who know me see me as a cheerful older woman, with a good life and little to complain about. All this is true. Yet, at the same time, I can feel myself turning into a Grumpy Old Woman. Read More

Time is a very strange phenomenon. For most of our lives, we don’t have enough. We struggle with children and jobs and housework and think “If only I had more time, I would get on with…”

In these new and – as everyone says – ‘unprecedented’ times, we are all stuck indoors, with a lot of time on our hands. I don’t know about you, but I am watching a lot more television than usual…

Do you remember when you thought your parents were so out of date, it was almost embarrassing? They didn’t know anything about the music you listened to…

A friend asked me recently whether she should take on the role of volunteer in a cause she believed in and for an organisation she trusted. My immediate reaction, based on my own experience, was “Yes, go for it…”

When Notre Dame was severely damaged by a massive fire recently, all the world mourned. In one sense, it ‘belonged’ solely to Paris or, perhaps, to France. But in another sense, it belonged to all of us…