In this life

1985, son aged 1. 2009, son aged 25, somewhat unshaven and all grown up, with girlfriend at family lunch. Daughter 2 cutting cake. Three...

I went to a book launch yesterday; not a common experience for me. The book, called “Addressing the Bard”, is an anthology to celebrate the ...

I found this in my tidyings of archives the other day. When I was a girl we had a white cat called Dido. I was in my mid-teens when I did so...

One of the reasons that I value writing so highly is that it’s the only thing we leave behind us when we die that conveys, very directly, qu...

So we took our boy his cake. We saw the flat where he’s living in Glasgow. Then we all went to the Kelvingrove Museum in the pouring rain an...

Today is the last day but one of my summer holidays. “Only the seven weeks, then?” Daughter 2 says cheekily. “Shame.” Well, yes. But it’s st...

To continue my ill-informed-gardener posting, here's a 2006 picture of my yellow nettles, which I now think are called lamium. Do click ...

This is going to be a very boring post unless you happen to be me, since I'm the only person who really takes a close interest in my li...

In defiance of Thimbleanna, who says “And when you start talking about the weather, you’ve run out of things to say and it’s time to sign of...

I had a list of minor tasks to accomplish this morning and got on quite well with most of them. Did the dishes Made the grouting in the bath...

Seven years ago, when I was much nearer fifty than sixty and my youthful forties were quite a recent memory, we bought a Ford Mondeo. With t...

I was in town today and thought you might like to see some pictures of Edinburgh. Just to let you imagine the layout if you don't know ...