Category Archives: Uncategorized
A Little Black Number Called Genie
I’d grieved over the meaninglessness of my first cat, Pyewacket, going missing and now felt I was ready for a new feline room mate. Kittens in London are like gold dust, since most people have their cats neutered and spayed, … Continue reading
Do people change, or is blood really thicker than water?
It’s a grey, chilly afternoon and I’m listening to Jordi Savall’s CD Orient-Occident. I love it. It makes me quiver all over, it makes me tingle. It makes my blood and every cell in my body want to dance. “You … Continue reading
Château de Seneffe*
I’ve translated ten pages and that’s enough work for today. It’s raining heavily, so I can’t go out for a walk in the grounds this afternoon. Determined, steady rain that heralds the autumn. Hard rain that chills the air until … Continue reading
The Yellow Dress
Through a writer with whom we’ve recently formed a pleasant acquaintance, we were invited to a small dinner party given by a prince belonging to one of Italy’s oldest and most illustrious houses. The kind that owns a collection of … Continue reading
A Herb Garden on the Windowsill
I’d planned to work today. After all, for one reason or another – mainly to do with accumulated tiredness, I spent all last week doing dolce farniente. However, when I woke up this morning, after ten hours’ sleep, I remembered … Continue reading
Norwich Animals
Every morning, half a dozen or so large seagulls gather on the roof of the house opposite H’s study window. Well, perhaps “gather” isn’t the right word, since they’re never all there at the same time. They compete for the … Continue reading
A Soundtrack to Growing Up
Not long ago – I forget where – I read an article in which several writers listed the most influential books of their childhood; books that changed their lives and inspired them to become writers. Inevitably, I thought back to my own … Continue reading
How Much More Can You Bear?
H. stayed up all night, watching the election results on television. I’d had an exhausting day, so collapsed into bed at around 11 pm. At 5 a.m., I woke up and went to the living room. “David Cameron is staying,” … Continue reading
Crawling Slowly Out of the Dungeon
Work. Work. You’ve fallen behind with your work. So you work without stopping. Except for meals. You can’t taste the food, really, because you keep glancing at your watch. Time to get back to work. When you go to bed … Continue reading
The Busker
It was a voice carried by the wind through the semi-deserted streets of a Norwich Sunday afternoon. A voice that sang not into your ear but into your heart. I started walking towards it. He was standing outside NatWest Bank, … Continue reading