On Being Chipper

There were just a few of us in the room, gathered round a table. I had been invited to … More

The year of not blogging

There’s a problem with that title, isn’t there? While I have not been completely silent (fifteen blog posts at most? … More

There I was, minding my own business, trying to sort something out via email when it would have been easier … More

A Tuesday, appropriately. (Tuesday being the day I was formally diagnosed.) Poetic, it strikes me now. But at the time, … More

On Not Being Anthony Wilson I haven’t always been Anthony Wilson. For a long time I wasn’t even Anthony. … More

Smith Objectionable, mercurial, fierce, wise, bandaged, solitary and irresistible, Phil Smith and I were not close. Only in our … More

For a number of reasons –too much grief in my life, too sedentary, too much television, too out … More

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo, that month in the year when someone decides it is a nice idea … More

Dear God Do you think you could fix it so that I might have some of Martin’s playfulness, his … More

As we draw to the end of NaBloPoMo, I have invited Josephine Corcoran to collaborate with me on a joint-interview. … More

Come to me as a heap on his bed, the Jurassic layers of his early adulthood here in Exeter abandoned … More

What I love about autumn is the night arriving early. What I hate about autumn is the day leaving even … More

One of the signs of my anxiety is when I start to look obsessively at stationery blogs. I adore NCIS. … More

Dean Paul Granny § ‘What students in classrooms say is an exceptionally precious learning resource. Every time a teacher receives … More

Try to Praise the Mutilated World Try to praise the mutilated world. Remember June’s long days, and wild strawberries, … More

I have to be honest and say that, in the light of yesterday’s US Election result, I am tempted to … More

My friend and I were almost at the end of our hour together. Banana cake (me), almond croissant (him). China … More

You write a blog post every day since the middle of July. It goes fine. But just as you begin … More