Category Archives: Odds & Ends
Through a Zoom Lens*
My favourite thing after I wake up in the morning is to step out on the balcony outside my study and stand beneath the vast expanse of the East Anglian skies. The pigeons are generally sitting on the railings or … Continue reading
Translation as a Dance
A little something I wrote for the Italian Institute of Culture in London website, kindly republished by the Los Angeles Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/short-takes/translation-as-a-dance
A Story My Grandfather Used To Tell My Mother…
My mother used to tell me a story which her father would tell her. My grandfather was Iranian (half Azerbaidjani, haf Turkmenistani), and this may be a Sufi tale… When Noah was gathering all the animals onto his Ark, and … Continue reading
New Moon, New Month
The crescent of a new moon is slowly emerging through the darkening sky. A pale silver at first, now with a bright, almost golden glow. A waxing new moon. A middle-aged lady in the flat down the corridor, when I … Continue reading
Paris, 14 Juillet
We were in Paris this time last year. I was enjoying the buzz and feeling shortchanged: we don’t have national holidays in England, at least none that carry any kind of historical significance. No religious holidays except Christmas and Easter, … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged Bastille Day, katherine gregor, Notre-Dame, Paris, scribe doll, writing
8 Comments
Reconnecting
The fountain pen feels heavy in my hand. I haven’t written for a long time. I mean written – not typed. That I do every day, all day. Click, click. Irregular, hollow. I tap the plastic keys, one letter at a … Continue reading
A Few Thoughts About Lent
As the Dean traced the ash cross on my forehead and said, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ” and the Cathedral choir sang Allegri’s Miserere, what … Continue reading
The Hour of the Book
The day is drawing in and I’m rushing to finish translating a page. I need to look up a word and that slows me down. I don’t like to stop mid-page but if I don’t leave now I’ll be late. Do … Continue reading
Tea Ceremony
A gentle hum that grows louder, then turns into a hiss that becomes a gurgle The water is boiling, bubbling, impatient. The teacher removes the electric kettle from its base, and pours its contents into a clear glass pitcher. This … Continue reading
Posted in Odds & Ends
Tagged Chinese New Year, Chinese Tea Ceremony, katherine gregor, Oolong, qi gong, scribe doll
10 Comments
A Shapeshifter at Play
All the windows are locked. Curtains closed. Blinds pulled down all the way to the sills. Even so, its chilly breath hisses through the tiny gaps and reaches my knees. There is an occasional tremor in the candle flames on … Continue reading
Scribe Doll 