We've all got to go...
Wheels within wheels
What I wasn't expecting were the visions. Hildegard and I would have so much more to talk about now.
Intimations of mortality
This 'retiring academic' identity is all very well, and most of the time it feels right. In a year which saw the publication of my first 'trade book', Immaculate Forms, and some really enjoyable opportunities to promote it by podcasts and radio programmes, I was starting to forget about the less pleasant aspects of ageing.… Continue reading Intimations of mortality
Writing rather than retiring: Immaculate Forms
(revised 25 September) This is more of a series of links than a separate story, but I'm putting it up to explain why I haven't been on this blog much recently. It's partly because I've been on other platforms but mainly because I've been very busy with the publication of my first 'trade book': Immaculate… Continue reading Writing rather than retiring: Immaculate Forms
Bluebell season
I like spring. Well, I like autumn too, but spring has the flowers! First the white ones - snowdrops. Than the yellow ones - daffodils and primroses. Than the blue ones. As a child, I remember ‘going bluebelling’. We did it every year, with my Gran. This was before the Wildlife and Countryside Act of… Continue reading Bluebell season
Signs that you are getting old
Life as a retiring academic continues much as it has been. The book I have been writing since shortly after I retired is due to be published in September, but now the US/Canada rights have been sold (hooray) there's more work needed on what we had assumed was the completed manuscript (not so hooray, but… Continue reading Signs that you are getting old
Macbeth at the RSC: the Red Finger Club?
One of my A levels was English Lit. I was encouraged to apply to do the subject at university but I felt I’d had enough – if I studied it any more, I’d cease to enjoy it. So this is never going to be a theatre review blog, although I see a lot of theatre,… Continue reading Macbeth at the RSC: the Red Finger Club?
The joy of bookmarks
When I was a Saturday girl at the local library, I found some pretty bizarre bookmarks, most notably a rasher of (raw) bacon. I never need to get to this level, as I have literally dozens of bookmarks to use. I buy many of my books second-hand, and from time to time select some to… Continue reading The joy of bookmarks
Church and the new normal
What does church look like here, now, two years into the pandemic?
How to reverse pre-diabetes
As the title suggests, this is going to read like a smug post. In fact, I feel more relieved than smug, and I offer it here in case it encourages others. As regular readers know, back in the summer I had blood tests which by chance revealed that I was pre-diabetic. My GP advised me… Continue reading How to reverse pre-diabetes
The retiring academic 