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
Self Acceptance
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 Get Somebody Wrong
Walking to work down Union Street a man strides out from the hairdresser and, as he passes the hi-fi store, immediately turns and looks at his own reflection. Apparently dissatisfied, he rounds the corner and crosses the road where he can try another window, the one in the cafe behind which two … [Read more...] about How To Get Somebody Wrong
Why Making A Mess Of Things Is A Sign Of Progress
My daughter has been having relationship problems recently culminating in a painful breakup which isn’t quite a breakup. “I think he’s afraid of getting hurt somewhere down the line, so he’s trying to minimise it by breaking up now” she says. I’ve heard many similar excuses for bewildering … [Read more...] about Why Making A Mess Of Things Is A Sign Of Progress
How To Take Up Space
I’m in London to have my eye checked and early for my appointment deliberately so that I have time to take the walk along the Thames between Embankment and Borough Market, buy coffee and cheese, then walk back along the river to Westminster. It’s half term and there are countless parents pointing … [Read more...] about How To Take Up Space