I don't go to gardens for chaos: there's enough of that already.
Category: Emotions
The end of the road
I've been thinking about writing this post for a while because, as someone who - as I said when I started this blog - only knows what she thinks when she starts writing, I need to process my mother's death. I could do that on my own and with friends but, as I have already… Continue reading The end of the road
Regaining the Trust
Today was very special. We returned to one of my special places: the National Trust's The Vyne. Back on 20 March, as lockdown descended, I blogged about my sadness at the closure of my very favourite National Trust site, Greys Court. Over the past few years it has been watching the seasons change, particularly in… Continue reading Regaining the Trust
Sanity in a time of coronavirus
It is an effort, a huge effort, to remain calm and act normally when the world seems to have gone mad, and for all of us there will be some tipping point at which we can't put on a brave face any longer
Happy World Menopause Day?
Not all women have the menopause
Caring: when it all gets worse
Back in 2016, I mused here on the difficulties of being a carer for an elderly relative, especially when something unusual happens. Then, it was a planned surgical procedure: last week, it was an entirely unplanned disaster scenario, when my mother somehow fell in her own flat on the day before her 90th birthday party… Continue reading Caring: when it all gets worse
Growing old
Last weekend my cousin, who's the same age as me but not yet retired, came to stay and - inevitably - at one point we started talking about being 61. We agreed that it really is very odd being 'elderly'. We're old enough to be lumped in with those in their seventies but we still… Continue reading Growing old
Mental health for academics
It's a funny old job, being an academic. It's one of those jobs in which, if you are feeling bad, suffering from a heavy cold or lack of energy, there's usually something not too mentally demanding which you can do: checking whether the books for the new course are in the library yet, sorting through… Continue reading Mental health for academics
Harassment and sexual misconduct: discussing the unthinkable
Issues of power and consent in higher education: as harassment advisor and from the other side
Rites of passage (2): cake and flowers
On a beautiful spring day, what better way for a retired academic to spend an afternoon? Off to Milton Keynes, where the campus crocuses were looking particularly lovely, for the School Assembly to include my final official farewell. Today's School Assembly was a new experience for me, one of the features of the restructured Faculty of… Continue reading Rites of passage (2): cake and flowers
The retiring academic 