Traditionally, New Year is a time for adopting new resolutions. I don’t follow this custom as such, but I do assess what I have worked on over the previous 12 months to decide if and how I might modify my approach. This year, five qualities stand out which have become valuable to me and which … Read more

All Hallows Eve, the first day of Allhallowtide, turns my mind to those souls no longer on earth. During the long hospital vigil before my Mum’s departure, a clinical psychologist talked with us about the approaching change and how we would create new traditions to replace those we had celebrated happily with loved ones over … Read more

What a marvellous holiday in the garden. Building another raised bed using planks from an old shed door so we can grow more potatoes – their flavour is sublime. Preparing for another water butt to increase our rainwater harvesting – we have no shortage of naturally occurring fresh water when we can be bothered to … Read more

Both my parents were tailors and sewing was a constant activity in our house. Dad conjured jackets and suits out of rolls of cloth and canvas, while Mum’s hand-sewn buttonholes were works of art. But there were pins everywhere. Often sticking in our feet: ouch! One day, some of those typically pointless questions popped into … Read more

This morning when I walked down our high street with the Four-Footed Financial Controller, one shopkeeper was sweeping the pavement while another had a mop and bucket and was washing it down. These businesses are 100+ and 60 years old respectively, but still care not only about their customers but our community and place too. … Read more

Freeze! A human response to threats. At one time, I had nightmares where I tried to escape from a threat but was literally glued to the spot – at which point I would wake up startled. I also went through a time of grief when I found it tough to do the simplest things: getting … Read more

When we bought our first house, interest rates rose 2% between making our offer and completing the sale. We barely had any money left to live on each month. Moving in with furniture donated by families, we bought a set of cheap stainless steel cutlery from Woolworths with a view to buying a more expensive … Read more

Over the past year, I’ve come to exchange greetings with an elderly couple who go out for a daily walk, stopping many times to rest. They put one foot in front of the other to keep walking, to stay mobile, to experience life as fully as they can. But it can seem the most difficult … Read more

Rest. For the rest of the year, rest.  It’s important. In this winter scene, all appears at rest. The shops and cafés are closed, the boats have been lifted out of the harbour for safety, the trees have withdrawn and shed their leaves. But there’s a lot going on. How many of the business owners … Read more

In 2016 I chose three words to focus on during the year, following a suggestion by Chris Brogan, and I repeated this in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, when I chose: vital – work – jigsaw. How did I do in 2020? Vital – My aim was to live more in the real world and … Read more

Sometimes we don’t realise how much we can change our own lives and need to be shown the way. We could not have foretold the impact that an event taking place on 21 April 2000 would have on us. That was the day our first cocker spaniel, Felix, was born. I wanted a dog, an … Read more