When I was at school I loved athletics, especially long jump. The feeling of sprinting up to the board as fast as I possibly could and then taking off into space filled me with expectation and elation, with the wind in my face and the dappled shadows of the trees in the sand, freshly raked […]
Tag: Haibun Monday
Kintsugi
Most people like their gardens to be neat and tidy, organised into geometrical flowerbeds and manicured lawns. Any plant that shows signs of running riot is tamed into submission and so-called weeds are relentlessly chopped and ripped out of soil. Not so in our garden. We allow it to grow in its own way, creating […]
The Poet’s Kitchen
A Sunday morning treat I like to make is crumpets topped with a mixture of cheese, spring onions and mayonnaise. First you have to prepare the topping by grating plenty of tangy mature cheddar cheese in a bowl. Cut up the spring onions nice and fine, inhale their fresh, green scent, and stir them into […]
Twisted
When I lived in London, I owned a silver Mini Ritz with a brilliant sound system. During the summer holidays, I would take my daughter to work with me as I had a colleague with a girl of the same age and they would play together at her house, which was just down the road. […]
The only thing we have to fear…
is not fear itself but ourselves. I am my own worst enemy – or maybe my mind is. It keeps me awake at night with a stream of thoughts and nightmares. It started when I was a child. Listening to adults talk or the news on the radio sparked so many fears of the unknown: […]
Bay Leaf Shadows
Our bay tree had to be trimmed back. It’s a sad fact. When we first moved in, almost seventeen years ago, it was a neat little tree, reaching just above my head. I loved it. I still do. But it evolved into a giant that was wrecking the gutter, the roof, the paving stones that […]
Melanzane Parmigiana
My husband David is an excellent cook. He has some marvellous signature dishes and isn’t afraid to experiment when time allows. We love food from the Mediterranean, particularly Italian food for its freshness, rich flavours and colours. The first time David tried his hand at one of my favourite Italian dishes, I was transported to […]
A Walk in the Rain on Pewley Down
My daughter Ellen and her husband moved from South London to Guildford in Surrey just before Christmas and, as she was working over the holiday, in between unpacking all their worldly goods, we agreed on a date in February for my first visit to their new home. My mother’s death in January and her funeral […]
Free as Light
Living between the North Norfolk coast and the Broads, and having moorings at the bottom of our garden, I am drawn to water. Not that I swim or even paddle, but I like to sit and watch the free light shows: sequins sparkling on water, underwater shadows, light refractions and sky reflections. Now that winter […]
Here Comes the Bride
Under blue skies on a sunny day at the end of May in Tuscany, I trod the stony, dusty track from the farm buildings to the wheat field where the wedding ceremony was taking place. After a busy morning placing five almonds in each of a couple of dozen mini Kilner jars and tying them […]
writing in north norfolk 