Tag Archives: life
Luna
(Part One) Let me make one thing clear: I am not her “Mum”, “Mummy” or “Mother” and she is not my “baby”. She is a person in her own right. One could even say that she is my equal, only … Continue reading
In the Bleakness, a Bright Green Shoot
Seedless oranges, seedless clementines, seedless grapes. The words are displayed in large letters on the glossy supermarket shelf labels, or squares of brown cardboard on the stalls of street vendors. Seedless. As an incentive for buying. I shrink in horror … Continue reading
Odds & Ends: London – Can’t live in it, can’t live out of it.
Ask me if I like London. No, I don’t, would be a frequent answer. Architecturally, I don’t think it’s beautiful. Not as ugly as some other places (no names mentioned) but not a city where you can walk down the … Continue reading
Odds & Ends: A Mother-in-Law to Smash all Stereotypes
When I was getting a divorce, twelve years ago, my mother-in-law said, “I want you and I to remain friends.” I muttered some polite platitude in return. Friends with the mother of the man with whom I was engaged in … Continue reading
Odds & Ends: Showbiz Party*
The Scene: a bar Props: nibbles and alcoholic drinks (white wine with a soupçon of ammonia, red wine with a bouquet of vinaigre, or champagne à la bicarbonate) . Sound Effects: Near hysterical laughter and raised, sometimes high-pitched voices with … Continue reading
Words and Civilisation: “I don’t want to get involved”
A friend and I were walking down the street and saw a woman sitting on a doorstep, crying her eyes out. “Don’t get involved,” said my friend, picking up the pace. A few steps further, I let my friend go … Continue reading
Yekaterina Gregoryán – My Grandmother
My grandmother had nerves of steel. My mother and I used to joke that if anyone were ever to tell her there was an imminent nuclear attack, she would purse her lips in that way she did when considering various … Continue reading
Odds & Ends: ‘Hushabye Mountain’
As many of you will have heard, Robert B. Sherman passed away, last week, aged 86. With his brother Richard M. Sherman, he wrote songs for films many of us will remember from their childhood, such as – among others – … Continue reading
Words and Civilisation: Coffee Language (Part 2)
For Part 1, please click here. It had been a long day and a late night awaited so, at about five, I ventured into a Central London Starbucks. “Tall, half-shot, wet latte,” I ordered, using the company’s recognised terminology with … Continue reading
Words and Civilisation: “Laid-Back”
“Oh, don’t worry,” my friends say about someone I have yet to meet, “he’s very laid-back.” Little do they know that that is when I start worrying. Describe somebody as “laid-back” and I have an inner reaction of tension, irritability … Continue reading