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Ann Richardson’s most popular book, The Granny Who Stands on Her Head, offers a series of reflections on growing older. Subscribe to her free Substack newsletter, where she writes fortnightly on any subject that captures her imagination. Ann lives in London, England with her husband of sixty years. Please visit her website for information on all her books: http://annrichardson.co.uk.

Latest Posts By Ann Richardson

3 years ago

The Painful Truth About Unhappy Grandmothers

There are many happy grandmothers about. I know; I am one of them. We play with the kids, we bore our friends by talking about how wonderful they are and we generally feel very pleased with the way grandchildren have enhanced our lives…

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3 years ago

Let’s Talk About Our Lifelong Search for Intimacy

If the infamous ‘man from Mars’ were to suddenly arrive on this earth, what would he think that people were all about? From scanning traditional media, not to mention social media, I would surmise that he would see a search for wealth…

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3 years ago

What It Means to Say “I am Not a Grandmother”

We do not usually identify ourselves by what we are not. We do not say I am not blonde or not good at knitting or I do not come from a large family. Nor do other people think about these things when they think of us…

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3 years ago

Old Age Is Not Another Country

When I was young – pick any age up to 55 or so – I definitely thought that the future was a foreign country. It would be strange to me, and it would be difficult to cope with. And they would definitely “do things differently” there…

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3 years ago

Does Being a Grandma Change How You Look at Your Own Grandmother?

Now we are 60 (as A.A. Milne of Christopher Robin fame might have said), we are of an age to think about grandmothers. Perhaps you are a grandmother or hoping to be one. Perhaps your friends are grandmothers…

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3 years ago

Celebrating a Diamond Wedding Anniversary

There are certain things we all know about our country’s ways. You grow up knowing them, like the National Anthem. Or, in the US, how to salute the flag. You can’t even remember where you first learned them…

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3 years ago

My Experience of Getting Covid After All This Time

I got diagnosed with Covid two weeks ago. But it is SO last year! No, worse than that, it is so 2021!! Nobody gets it now. The world has moved on. Hardly anyone wears masks these days. Or worries about the odd cough. We all think it has gone away…

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3 years ago

Have You Considered the Phenomenon of Reciprocity?

When you were younger but already adult, your parents most likely helped you in every way they could. Not everyone has such help, but a huge number of us do. And perhaps your grandparents did the same. Maybe it was financial help…

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3 years ago

Life Is Full of Surprises

Things don’t always turn out as expected. More often than not, I think, the expectations were probably too optimistic in the first place and the surprise is an unwelcome one. This is a lovely story of the reverse…

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3 years ago

Finding Some Time on Your Own

I have never hidden the fact that I am happily married. My husband and I very much enjoy each other’s company. We talk a lot and laugh a lot. And each is the go-to person when either of us want to discuss some problem – large or small…

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