lockdown – don't confuse the narrator

small town life

At first sight, nobody has really had much chance to travel over the last fifteen months, and yet when I talk to people, it seems that almost everyone I know has managed a getaway or three – to Cornwall, to Wales, to a B&B on the coast, a caravan or country cottage… I begin to think I am the only one who hasn’t had a holiday or a weekend away since 2019.

In fact I have travelled a few times, by train, to visit my aged mother, but I’ve not stayed overnight. Each time, I’ve returned the same day to the same one-horse town in Middle England.
Continue reading “small town life”

back in touch

While coronavirus continues to disrupt life across the world and “the Indian variant” gives particular cause for concern here in the UK, pandemic restrictions are beginning to be lifted.

Monday will see a major change in the things we are allowed to do, with pubs and restaurants being allowed to serve customers seated indoors and the size of groups permitted to meet outdoors being raised to 30.

I’m slightly bemused by the fact that the number of guests allowed at weddings, receptions and other “life events” is still restricted to 30, while the number allowed to attend a funeral is no longer limited. Continue reading “back in touch”

reductio ad absurdum

The other day, I posted a differently cropped version of the photo above on Instagram with the caption:

Blossom above my head;
clouds in the sky.

Since then, I’ve been niggling and tweaking and wondering whether and how I can turn that into something a little more poetic.
Continue reading “reductio ad absurdum”

desire towards the ‘otherness’

This last year, as there haven’t been any opportunities to go to meetings in person, I’ve been doing a lot of “virtual networking”. I used to attend face-to-face events regularly, and after the first couple, I was reasonably comfortable walking into a room of strangers and starting a conversation. But it’s been difficult to re-create the atmosphere and dynamic of a physical meeting in an online situation.

It’s certainly all a lot easier than it was back in spring last year, and everyone is a lot more confident about being seen on screen, but the hosts are still uncertain who will turn up and how experienced they will be in the virtual world, so they often fall back on fairly simple ice-breaker activities.
Continue reading “desire towards the ‘otherness’”

in vino veritas

One of the problems with trying to write a blog or participate on social media is that it’s not always easy to think of anything to say. And even when you do have ideas, it’s all too easy to look at all the noise and start to wonder whether anyone anywhere could possibly be interested.

When the world news is full of death and damnation, a few pretty pictures and a light-hearted comment or two can hardly compete.
Continue reading “in vino veritas”