This year darkness seems to be the keyword for some of our best drama offerings on TV: from Agatha Christie: The Witness for the Prosecution: through Jonathan Creek: Daemons’ Roost; Sherlock in The Six Thatchers. and the Bronte Family in To Walk Invisible. In Sherlock we discovered that Death had an appointment – with Mary WatsonContinue reading “Dark TV Drama for Christmas 2016 and New Year 2017”
Category Archives: love
Boxing Day Entertainment by the Kenilworth Lions at Kenilworth Castle and Abbey Fields
The English love to do fun – and some might even think silly – things on Boxing Day. Perhaps this is a relief from all the stress of preparing for Christmas. It’s also the opportunity for people to gather together in the fresh air and enjoy themselves with traditional English entertainments. Here are a fewContinue reading “Boxing Day Entertainment by the Kenilworth Lions at Kenilworth Castle and Abbey Fields”
A Passionate Spirit and The Cult That Stole Children
A couple of years after I left university, whilst on a spiritual search, I went to a lecture at the Royal Overseas League in London, met, chatted to and became captivated by an inspirational speaker: a Physics professor who wrote spiritual books. His name was Dr Raynor Johnson. Subsequently I read and loved all his books,Continue reading “A Passionate Spirit and The Cult That Stole Children”
Book Review: The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait
The story of Alice Liddell and the real Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) is one that has inspired so much speculation and analysis since the creation of Alice in Wonderland in 1862; and here is another book on the subject, The Looking Glass House, this time a novel told by Alice’s great granddaughter Vanessa, which draws onContinue reading “Book Review: The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait”
Fun, Tranquility and Happiness on My Third Visit to Highgrove Garden
Last week I visited HRH the Prince of Wales’ garden at Highgrove for the third time. Each time I’ve visited – the first time in pouring rain in August 2015, the second time near the end of the wildflower season in June 2016, and now in October 2016, we’ve been led by a different guide and each hasContinue reading “Fun, Tranquility and Happiness on My Third Visit to Highgrove Garden”
Beatles Shine with Passion and Energy in New Documentary “8 Days a Week: the Touring Years”
How young, innocent, and naive they were, aged in their early twenties: cheeky and endearing. As Paul McCartney puts it, “At the beginning it was all very simple. By the end it had become very complicated.” And in the Beatles new documentary “8 Days a Week: The Touring Years” we saw a transformation rather similarContinue reading “Beatles Shine with Passion and Energy in New Documentary “8 Days a Week: the Touring Years””
What does Eadfrith, artist-scribe of the Lindisfarne Gospels, have to teach creative writers and artists today?
Nothing much, you may think – because Eadfrith was a seventh century monk in a monastery on an island, and we live in the fast, materialistic, time-pressured world of 2016. I’ve just spent three days on Lindisfarne (otherwise known as Holy Island), just off the Northumberland coast, where Eadfrith sat in the monastery scriptorium and scribedContinue reading “What does Eadfrith, artist-scribe of the Lindisfarne Gospels, have to teach creative writers and artists today?”
Heatwave Inspiration – The View From Broadway Tower in Bright Sunshine
What do you do in a heatwave? We headed for the Cotwolds and one of our favourite places, Broadway Tower. The last time I was there a cold gusty wind and a heavy damp mist greeted us. But on this visit, the sun blazed out of an azure sky, and it was an idealContinue reading “Heatwave Inspiration – The View From Broadway Tower in Bright Sunshine”
New Book About Writing, For Aspiring Writers
I’m currently working on a new book about writing, which has the working title of Perilous Path: a Writer’s Journey. The book contains 30 short pieces I’ve published online over the past 6 years, both on ezine articles and on this blog, all on the subject of writing a novel. Here’s a taster from theContinue reading “New Book About Writing, For Aspiring Writers”
Reflections on Australia: Binna Burra, Rainforest Resort in the Gold Coast Hinterland
As my daughter Abigail and her friend Gaby have just flown out to Australia to stay with my sister in Brisbane for the next few weeks, I’m thinking of Australia – and of the times I’ve visited that continent, and of the four and a half years I spent living and working there. I’veContinue reading “Reflections on Australia: Binna Burra, Rainforest Resort in the Gold Coast Hinterland”
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