I'm sorting through a basket of old cables, guitar strings and microphones looking for a jack adaptor so that my daughter can play the piano through headphones. "You don't have to play quietly, you're not disturbing me," I tell her. She doesn't hear me because she is on her phone and has her … [Read more...] about How To Throw Things Out
Gratitude
Why We Need To Talk About Death
I remember once my daughter coming home from a day at school where they had been focusing on death. "That's an interesting and important subject to talk about. What did they get you to do?" I asked. "Nothing much. They didn't talk to us about it. We spent most of the day designing a poster … [Read more...] about Why We Need To Talk About Death
How To Manage Yourself
My daughter is in a good mood as she climbs into a bin bag and says, from within its dark recesses, "I have cripplingly low self-esteem" It makes me laugh, and her too when I show her the photo I take of her hunched on the kitchen floor. It's remarkable that she is in such high spirits … [Read more...] about How To Manage Yourself
How To Get Out Of Almost Anything
I love these slow days between Christmas and New Year mostly because there is an absence of expectation. On a recent episode of "Sideways" my friend Martin and I discussed how Christmas is an exciting time for alcoholics because everyone else is drinking Prosecco at breakfast time and thereby … [Read more...] about How To Get Out Of Almost Anything
How To Feel Christmassy
When I was a child I can remember that my mother had little ways of dulling excitement before it arrived. If I said I was looking forward to Christmas she'd say, "Don't expect too much" or sometimes, if she was having a particularly difficult time she might tell us that she "Didn't feel very … [Read more...] about How To Feel Christmassy