Recently I was talking to a primary school teacher about the New Year’s resolutions their pupils were making. Along with the more predictable ones about being more helpful at home and keeping their bedroom tidy, one of them said ‘My resolution for 2016 is to ride my...
In the London Borough of Hackney where I live, the twinkling fairy lights decorating the trees and street lamps are switched on at the end of October, just as the evenings get darker and winter sets in. They mark the start of the winter festivals of light that are...
Once again the John Lewis Christmas Advert is drawing a lot of publicity – to say nothing of a whole string of parodies. ‘You’re half the world away’ focuses quite rightly on the million older people who will go for a month without speaking to anyone. But that...
So it’s official, British summertime ends this weekend. This fact elicits an almost 100% groan rating, so as a devotee of winter, I am putting a case for the defence of this most misunderstood and underrated of seasons. My first witness is Edith Sitwell, who...
For many years I have been struck by the similarities between technical frustrations and difficulties which can arise in a couple. If we look at the comparison of a computer’s hard drive and a human’s unconscious, we can see an example: If you put the wrong software...
I came back from a five-day silent retreat in Cornwall this past week and it gave me the time to reflect and sit with myself. The silence wasn’t difficult; in fact, it was a relief not talking. This got me thinking about how couples talk to one another and how...
