Thinking of visiting New Zealand for the first time? This book will give you some useful information and pointers.
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Soil type and landscaping are among the first things to consider in a new (to you) domestic garden.
A novel I’m reading had me thinking about my favourite children’s books. The first book that excited me, learning to read at infants school, had a story about a thunderstorm. I forget the rest, but it was an adventure. I devoured adventure stories after that. My list (alphabetical, by author) spans from 1865 to 1978 … Continue reading What are your favourite children’s books?
On first impression, it was more like a small airport than a hospital. You came round a corner to a busy, wide, open approach, with an endless procession of buses and cars looping in, dropping off, picking up, driving off. Large glass doors opened into an entrance hall that was vast, bright, and airy, with … Continue reading The Hospital Visit – an everyday story
I hope the songwriters concerned (or their estates) will take this collage poem as a compliment and tribute to their beautiful songs. You are my sunshine Bring me sunshine in your smile Sunshine through my window, that’s what you are, My shining star Making me feel I’m on top of the world You make me … Continue reading Borrowed Lines (for someone who’ll never hear them)
The pubs are long closed The coffee’s been drunk And our friends have all gone home. In the quiet of my room After an evening’s false jollity I take off the Brave Face with cleansing cream And am once again alone. Maybe if I ignore it Ostrich-fashion The future Will simply Go away. Written when … Continue reading A poem about the future, written in the past, and relevant again in the present
Rejection, whether it’s by someone in your personal life, or in your career, is always going to be painful. It combines so many horrible feelings, rolled up into one big, miserable one. Your hopes have been dashed, your future isn’t going to be the one you wanted. It’s a massive disappointment. And it’s also embarrassing, … Continue reading If you never get rejected, you’re not taking enough risks, just always playing it safe
Why do so many do it? TV dramas, films. Why do they film so much of it in a coal cellar at midnight, lit by a single match, to create a ‘moody and atmospheric’ air about it? What has actually kicked off this musing is watching the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes (the Robert Downey Jr … Continue reading Left in the dark – am I the the only one who finds ‘moody and atmospheric’ TV dramas and films just plain hard to watch?
A photo to commemorate Anzac Day (April 25).
Have to admit a sense of 'told you so' smugness at reading a news story that social networks are losing their shine. Pavel Durov, founder of the Russian version of Facebook is ditching all his ‘friends’, saying: "Everyone a person needs has long been on messengers. It's pointless and time-consuming to maintain increasingly obsolete friend … Continue reading Social networks losing their shine
