#NaBloPoMo 20 – On ambition

It wasn’t much of a day. I was in noodle-mode, sticking things into my day book, quotes and articles and … More

#NaBloPoMo 19 – My son’s coats

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

After they left, the house went very quiet. No one really knew about the quietness but me. I played a … 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

There is still no sign of the book. I go for a walk; it is not there. I visit our … More

True to its word, the book has disappeared. There isn’t a trace of it in the house, not even a … More

The Half-Finished Heaven Despondency breaks off its course.Anguish breaks off its course.The vulture breaks off its flight. The eager light … More

Tracks 2 am: moonlight. The train has stopped out in the middle of the plain. Far away, points of … More

The way I found out, just as with my diagnosis, was via a segment of a conversation about other things. … More

‘Are you lonely?’ says the book. ‘Why are you asking?’ ‘Are you?’ ‘Do I look lonely?’ ‘Does it come on … More

and James, it’s taken me a few days to read A Few Days, but I have loved every line, especially … More

and (Dear James) it occurs to me now, just thinking out loud, that in a way Kenneth and Frank actually were … More

Dear James (may I call you James?) Though it’s been a while (at least ten years, maybe more) it feels as … More

I have started the poem but the poem does not know it yet. I am more than flirting with it, … More

Alone I One evening in February I came near to dying here.The car skidded sideways on the ice, outon the … More

‘I’ve stopped listening to the radio!’ ‘What, completely?’ the book says. ‘Not completely, I’m not an idiot,’ I say. … More