Tag Archives: writing

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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Odds & Ends: Art or a Naked Emperor?

A ten year-old Italian boy called Federico went to the Tate Modern with his mother.  When he saw Damian Hirst’s formaldehyde-pickled cows, he said, “That’s cruel.  Why didn’t they allow this calf to grow up and have calves of its … Continue reading

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Odds & Ends: A Nomad to Guard Someone’s Land

My Armenian grandmother, Yekaterina Gregorian, passed away last March, at the age of one hundred.  Several years ago, when, blind and almost deaf (but her mind as sharp as a needle), she was moved from my mother’s to a nursing … Continue reading

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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

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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

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Odds & Ends: My Adventures in Twitter

Beginnings: I signed up to Twitter a few days before Christmas.  It seemed like a low-maintenance way of promoting my writing electronically. As usual, I needed someone to show me.  Not that the instructions were complicated – on the contrary.  I … Continue reading

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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

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What Made Me Start Writing

“I think you’ll be a writer and a teacher, when you grow up,” said my grandmother, when I was about eleven.  To this day, I do not know what made her see that in me.  Still, when I got divorced, … Continue reading

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Pet Hates: By E-Mail

Number One:  The CC option.   At the risk of upsetting many of my friends and acquaintances, I simply have to voice this.  Why do so many people find it so difficult to grasp the concept of the BCC option?  … Continue reading

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