Comfit Comforts – The sweetness of a black tongue

1963 and five-year-old me. The Beatles had released their first 2 albums, and their first 2 singles had reached first place in the UK music charts. Doctor Who and The Daleks made their first appearance on TV screens. These things penetrated into my little brain, but the John F Kennedy assassination, Harold Wilson becoming leader […]

Coming Up For Breath – Fresh perspectives are a bonus

Having spent my first 3 weeks on my university course, and working with new people, re-establishing a regular writing practice (albeit for university purposes), I am already beginning to make decisions, at least in my head, about where I want to take my writing, both within the course, and after (hopefully) completing the course in […]

Notes From Dispatches – ‘Welcome Week’

From tomorrow, I disappear down that rabbit hole known as university (again, as I join an MA programme in Creative Writing and Wellbeing), this time at the age of 65 years old). I have been wading through some of the bureaucracy in the last few weeks, signing my life away for the next 2 years, […]

Choices – Driven by experience or expediency

“Only the madman is absolutely sure.” — Robert Anton Wilson Many things fail to launch in our lives. As we grow older, we realise just how long that list is. Even the things we think we know quite well, might just be a small subset of all there is to know on the subject. I […]

The Cold and Dark – I see the snow that isn’t there

I see the snow that isn’t thereit brings back thoughts so dark and meanthe ice persists in soul laid bare But I have often taken careto polish memories and make them cleanI see the snow that isn’t there On seeing snow, I have to stareat all the things that I have seenthe ice persists in […]