It's time to take down the Christmas decorations, a job which always seems to take no time at all, shuffling the festivities out of the door as quickly as possible, their obsolescence unquestioned and fitting. My phone constantly has a notification popping up which tells me I have "insufficient … [Read more...] about How To Deal With Obsolescence
Relationships
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
How To Know When To Stop Talking
We're going to London and I'm asking my daughter what we should do while the others are hanging around in the viewing gallery at the top of the The Shard. "We can go to Borough Market and buy chocolate brownies," she says. "For ninety minutes?" I ask. She shrugs. "We could go to the Tate … [Read more...] about How To Know When To Stop Talking
How To Do Recovery
I’m driving to Battle with my friend Martin. He’s a recovering alcoholic and we’re laughing about how, at the height of his drinking, he could steam up the windows of cars because his sweat glands were working so hard to try and break down the alcohol. He noticed obsessive tendencies early. The … [Read more...] about How To Do Recovery