Nostalgia

I made some soup earlier today and, in order to serve it, I reached for my ladle. It is absolutely not a classy ladle – it has a red plastic handle. It probably came from Woolworth’s or the equivalent. But I suddenly had a memory of how and when I got it…

There’s a lot to love about being in your 60s. And, if you are 60, you may remember the 1960s. That may depend on how many mind-altering experiences you had in the 1960s, however. These two “60s” have a great deal in common…

When winter rolls around, it usually triggers a wistful feeling, a sense of completion and a sense of loss. The mornings are cool, the days are short. It’s hard to avoid the feeling of shrinking away! All of Nature seems to be saying, “Stop, listen, think about what you have been, and wonder what you will become…”

A charming married man in his early 40s, a father of three, has a two-year affair with his young secretary. So, what’s new? It happens every day. Indeed, it is an old, old story. What is new is that it was my father. I was in my early teens at the time…

Jewellery, in all its forms tells the story of our life. Whether we choose a necklace or a bracelet, they all tell people more about who we are, and they remind us of places and people, events and special things…

Some years ago, at the age of 61, I quit my job, rented out my flat and flew to Australia to research my family history. It was not an easy business. In the days before Airbnb and other similar organisations made letting so much more flexible…

In the pandemic, with days on end of isolation and worry, writing was found to be cathartic. Some of you may have used the time wisely and now you are able to look back and see that it was a very constructive time.

We are all worrying about prices and the cost of energy, aren’t we? We wonder how we will cope this winter. I feel for young families in 2022. But it has made me think what life was like. I grew up in the 1950s when…

I am sure you recall hearing kids groaning ‘oh, not that story again.’ It might have been in a private setting or embarrassingly public, but the sagging shoulders and bored faces are the same. You might even have been one of those…

It was a damp Seattle evening in May, as I settled into my seat at Benaroya Hall to hear the Seattle Symphony. I was attending an event with a friend, and it was our “pre Mother’s Day treat” to ourselves…