Tag Archives: scribe doll

Languages: Turning Enemies into Allies

“S and I got engaged!” I announced to my family, just before my second year at university, showing off my emerald and diamond ring. My grandmother did not miss a bit.  “Congratulations, my sunbeam! Does he speak any languages?” “No.” … Continue reading

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U.S. Marine, Verona, Hoar Frost and Sixteen

A little something I remembered, the other day. My French school in Rome used to dedicate 10% of the academic year to guided extra-curricular activities.  That year – the year I was sixteen – among our options was a three-day trip … Continue reading

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Is a Friend in Need Still a Friend in Joy?

“A friend in need is a friend indeed.”  We all know that one.  That a true friend stands by you during adversity, is an accepted, unquestioned assumption in, I dare say, all cultures.  Does the same friendship remain unshaken during … Continue reading

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Odds& Ends: Alone, but not Lonely.

When I was at university, my best female friend said she preferred sharing a house with other friends.  I said I preferred living alone, if I could.  Then she said something that has always stayed with me, “I like to … Continue reading

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Words and Civilisation: “Freedom” and “Rights”

All the news headlines in the country, in the past few days, have mentioned what I understand to be the recent publication, by a French magazine – and now, apparently, also an Irish newspaper – of the Duchess of Cambridge … Continue reading

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A Poesy Ringful of Stories

I used to be a theatrical agent. A young actor from RADA, whilst deliberating whether or not to accept my offer of representation, asked, “What, would you say, sets you apart from other agents?” I struggled to come up with an … Continue reading

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Church Bells

Sometimes, the wind carries in through my windows the faint sound of bells from a Tudor church that stands right by the river.  On a Sunday morning, it is a joyous pealing.  In the evening, the sound is more measured, … Continue reading

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Female Solidarity?*

A couple of years ago, my colleagues and I were watching BBC News 24 during our lunch break.  There was a report about the Chilean miners trapped underground for several weeks.  Finally rescued, the men were telling the interviewer about … Continue reading

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Dress Circle: Another Pearl, Crushed.

It was Michael who first taught me the difference between soundtrack and cast recording.  “Soundtracks are from films, darling,” he said, pushing up his glasses, his mellow Irish accent softening a vague distaste for my ignorance, “and cast recordings are … Continue reading

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The Delight of Hand Writing

I am sitting on a wooden bench, by the red-brick wall of a small Elizabethan palace.  My back against the arm-rest,  my legs stretched out before me, bare toes  wriggling with the pleasure of sunshine.  Behind the bench, a few … Continue reading

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