June 7, 2020
It’s time for dinner as my daughter arrives in the kitchen. “Can you empty the dishwasher while we’re plating up?” I ask, not sure what response I’ll get because she looks as if she’s just woken up. In case I was in any doubt she prefaces any further activity with, “I’m tired.” Despite her weariness […]
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May 31, 2020
On a balmy late spring evening we’re eating outside huddled next to the wafts of jasmine bloom providing a flourish to the end of the day. My daughter has spent all day indoors revising for exams. But instead of taking the nervous walk into cavernous halls on campus, she’ll be sitting in her room in […]
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May 24, 2020
I was on a workshop once in the beautiful highlands of Scotland when Boo Hewerdine said that the best piece of songwriting advice he was ever given was by a guy in Nashville who had told him, “The longer you hold a chord, the bigger it sounds”. I’ve told numerous people since the beginning of […]
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May 17, 2020
I’ve been watching all the episodes of “Detectorists” again, a comedy series ostensibly about nothing more than two friends with a passion for metal detecting but ultimately a lovely story about male relationships. This might be the third time I’ve watched it from start to finish and, nearing the very last episode, I start to […]
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May 10, 2020
I’ve slipped easily into a new routine over the past weeks. This is not a surprise because I live simply at the best of times so being able to hear the birds without interruption in the morning and having my children around a lot more is hardly a burden. I feel extremely grateful that I […]
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