C is for Christmas
C is for Christmas. With our minds we make Christmas, and with previous Christmases we make our minds. Might be worth bearing in mind around 4.20 tomorrow afternoon.
How to beat loneliness without actually seeing people
This time last year I was bragging about how much lockdown suited me. I was writing my novel, learning the guitar, doing puzzles and accessing the Hay Festival by Zoom. I had the whole flat to myself, acres of time, a million things yet to watch, tons of books to catch up on, and all my clients via Zoom so I didn’t even have to keep the place all that tidy. Smug, is the only word to describe my state of mind last April. Now, though, it’s fair to say [...]
Why one bad thing leads to more bad things (and what you can do about it)
Something bad happens and before you’ve even thought of picking yourself up a ton of disasters tumble down on top of the first, as if they’ve been waiting round the corner for the go ahead. Recognise that? Shakespeare (of course) summed it up nicely: When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions. Indeed they jolly well do. It’s as if the Universe is … well … taking the piss. If you found yourself in the pub with the Universe, you’d give it a wide berth on the grounds that [...]