When I bought a kamado grill (a fancy BBQ), I joined a Facebook group to help me up the learning curve and set the tone when I posted my first question querying what looked like a crack in the fire bowl only to be ridiculed by a lot of men (only men) who told me it was supposed to be there to allow … [Read more...] about The Benefit Of Complication
Self Acceptance
Thinking Wistfully About Nostalgia
Some neighbours with too much time on their hands have organised a street party for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next weekend. There are requests to bake cakes and instructions to move cars after the council grants permission to close the road. It all feels like a lot of unnecessary faff for … [Read more...] about Thinking Wistfully About Nostalgia
How To Be Assertive
It's all very well having lots of strategies that other people can use to become more assertive but there are times when the phrase "physician, heal thyself" rings loudly in my ears. In the space of a few days at the beginning of the month, I was asked to take on several projects that require a … [Read more...] about How To Be Assertive
An Antidote to Loneliness
It's Mental Health Awareness week and this year the theme is "loneliness" Over dinner, my family is asking me if I am intending to write something on the subject this week. I tell them that I can never think of anything to write other than pointing out that developing a feeling of love for … [Read more...] about An Antidote to Loneliness
Money, Money, Money
I did an interview with the money management app company Cleo. They wanted to talk to me about how money impacts our mental health and what we can do about the ways in which it often seems to undermine us emotionally. The link to the interview comes through while I am looking at ceramic … [Read more...] about Money, Money, Money