Bare Foot Snail Crushing in a Rose Garden
There are a lot of people out there who think that gardening is all about pretty flowers and sitting in a deckchair admiring them. I used to think that a bit when I moved away from a house with a…
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I always knew I was irresistable
People who know me may not realize this but I am alluring, deeply attractive even in a crowd of models and football stars or even tennis players. I can’t help it – it is just there. I think it is…
What it feels like to be getting better – crap!
The quiet world of being a recovering brain haemorrhage victim was livened up somewhat over the last Bank Holiday weekend. Not only was there a house full of people, lively and humourous ones too, but there was also a list…
With A Song In My Heart – Ella Fitzgerald, Lorenz Hart and, oh yes, Richard Rodgers
With the poetic world in uproar yesterday ( all 27 of them I suspect – see yesterday’s blog if you are interested), I turned away from the resigning Professor of Poetry at Oxford University with a shrug and a “silly…
Poets are only human – even Ruth Padel
Now if I were to write the word sex here, woops, I have just done it, sorry, you would all read on, probably. On the other hand if I wrote words like Professor, Oxford University, election and, worst of all,…
A good week for democracy
I have good news for the British people today. There are signs of real hope that our politics is about to be transformed. First of all, for all of you who are lucky enough to be living away from Britain…
An eerie day in Richmond, Virginia
I spent some interesting time in Richmond, the State capital of Virginia in the very hot Summer of 1995. It was hot for me anyway being a mere Brit on a foreign trip. I was working on a television programme…
My brain scan results, six months after the haemorrhage
It has been a time of mixed feelings. I have had the results of my brain scan and my neurologist says that the results are “very reassuring.” I take this as medical speak for “fantastic” or, as people say these…
Rising to the Occasion
When President Barack Obama met the recently elected Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, he said to the press that he believed that Mr. Netanyahu was “going to rise to the occasion. Let’s hope so. The Israeli prime minister was in…
Hints of Summer in My Courtyard Garden
It is that time of year, in my garden at least, when Spring is waving goodbye and Summer is still unpacking its luggage. In their terracotta pots, the tomatoes are shooting up, my strawberries are in bloom and my raspberries…