Milestone or millstone?

Milestone: a stone or post at the side of the road that shows the distance to various places, especially to the nearest large town; an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life Millstone: one of a pair of large, circular, flat stones used, especially in the past, to crush … More Milestone or millstone?

Anchored to Anticipation

When I feel particularly adrift, cast about on waves of uncertainty, ambiguity and loneliness, I take myself to a favourite park. It steadies me, the way a good anchor does. After a couple of hours of rambling in meadows and woods, walking the headland path along the lake, standing on the banks of the pond, … More Anchored to Anticipation

Puzzling and unpuzzling

It took me nine months to finish the puzzle. This seems about right as puzzling goes for me. I refuse to impose deadlines or quantitative expectations, content to set four or five pieces in place in one sitting. Sometimes even one piece provides peace of mind. When I started Van Gogh’s Starry Night, I quickly … More Puzzling and unpuzzling

In Excellent Company

I find it curious that the book I spent five years writing has become less mine in the year and a half since its publication. Before launching it out into the world, it was so much mine — my thoughts, woven through sentences written over and over again until they became story. After launching I … More In Excellent Company