GAGging the voice of overwhelm

I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth. Well, not quite; I’m certainly nowhere near Hamlet’s level of sadness and introspection, but I have found myself somewhat on the grumpy side recently. You know, that state where everything seems like a big deal, nothing strikes you as terribly funny, and life just […]

Appreciating all the saints

It’s 31st October, Halloween; and pitch black outside. As I type, a single candle glows on the coffee table and the street lamps are starting to flicker to life. All spooky stuff, of course, if you’re in the mood to get into it, which sadly we in Europe don’t tend to do that much. I […]

Dear diary

How keeping a one-line diary has changed the way I look at, describe and recall my day… and my life. On this day in 2013, I was having my first wedding dress fitting. And it’ll be a year ago this weekend that I saw a fantastic production of Sunday in the Park with George, with […]

Breaking the mould

Whether you conform to society’s current physical ideal or not, you can only gain from opting out of the rush to look like the latest image of perfection and taking the time to find your own beauty – whatever it looks like. Hungry but chic. What does that mean to you? Think about it for […]

Seeking inner strengths

We may not always see the qualities other people value in us, but our strengths are there – we just need to see ourselves from the right angle. If you had asked me what a manga was nine years ago, before I had lived in France, I probably would have guessed it was some inedible […]

Reasons to be cheerful, 1, 2, 3…

Get happy: give thanks now to shore up your soul for days when reasons to be cheerful seem few and far between. My beloved, who’s a lofty and well-built 6ft1, often ribs me about my somewhat more dinky stature – I’m a whole foot shorter than him (if you’re reading this on the continent, 1m84 […]