The history of blind eyes.

In July 1938, the representatives of thirty-two countries – including the United Kingdom – met at Evian in France. They were posed with a problem: Germany, now five years into living under Nazi rule, wanted to complete their policy of judenrein (the idea that Germany and its ever expanding list of territories be cleansed entirely […]

The Trouble with Memory

Last night, my Granny fell and hit her head against a chair. She, I am assured, is OK. It’s just a cut and she’s not shown any symptoms of anything more serious since then. Recently, my Granny moved into a care home. She has dementia. Growing up, I saw her twice a week, every week. […]

Mousling (ie doesn’t fit on this blog but I did something so…)

Mousling, mousling oh so smallYou are barely there at allYet when you squeak you must be heardWho made this contrast, so absurd? Was it in the black of nightWhere eyes were formed, so button bright?Who rolled your tail thin and long,Curved and fluid like a song? And what tender hand and giftCould make your movements […]

The thing about wildflowers

I have always been somewhat fascinated by wildflowers. I am never sure whether I prefer their names or the dusty pastels of their appearance. Once upon a time, long ago, a princess of the fields and of the trees and of the sky lay in a sterile bower. I am the keeper of thoughts that belong […]

I Haven’t Done This for a Long Time (excuse me if it’s rusty)

Everything is dark. The sort of dark that is like a traveller’s cloak: your cloak. I imagine it over you, keeping you warm, its thick cloth wrapped around you against the cold of the night. The moors below might be the sea, so remote is the horizon, and this might be a ship, tossed about […]

Courage Part Two

The problem with courage is that you can’t see it. It doesn’t make itself obvious, apart from when it involves saving lives or jumping out of aeroplanes. Courage, however, is a quiet quality. Strength in the face of adversity cannot be measured, and it is not often presented in a way which is easily visible […]

A Letter to Anna Upon Graduation

Dear Anna, I wanted to say well done for graduating. You probably don’t know how proud I am because I don’t often show it on the outside, but inside I am – to use a well-worn cliché – bursting. You are an incredibly brave person. I know, first hand, how difficult it was to leave […]

For the love of Thiamine

16th October, 2015 Dear Producers of Tyvera Thiamine, I am writing to say thankyou for making Thiamine such a wonderful tasting experience. I have been an inpatient on an Eating Disorders Unit for nineteen weeks, and have found that sucking Thiamine tablets is the highlight of my day. Luckily, I am prescribed two doses […]