It may be almost forty years since my mother died but I can still hear her ranting on about the iniquities of frozen vegetables. If frozen was suspicious, canned was sinister and dried bordering on the demonic. She was wrong of course, but against the background of growing up with some appalling apologies for fruit…

I was born with spina bifida which resulted in me having one leg shorter and smaller than the other and I spent most of my first two years away from home in Great Ormond Street London. I was not expected to live and I am told I had the last rites read over me. But Father…

A few weeks ago, I was walking with some friends and their dogs and we happened to look in the windows of a charity shop. I came across a beautiful walnut bookcase with glass doors which stopped me in my tracks. I went inside and ten minutes later was the proud owner of the case.…

I have recently been revisiting early mornings. Since retiring 3 years ago, one of my favourite times of day is that time after you first wake up. There is no sense of urgency and I indulge myself in having a cup of tea and a good book – perhaps even THAT Good book! It’s an…