At the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon on Friday night ( 24th January 2014) we saw a reversal of roles for Peter Pan and Wendy. I always like to give myself time to read the programme notes before a performance (if at all possible!) And the most intriguing notes on this production of Wendy and Peter Pan were written by theContinue reading “Peter Pan, Lost Childhood and Role Reversals in Traditional Children’s Tales”
Category Archives: love
Totally Devoted to Jane Austen
One of my favourite Christmas gifts was one I bought for myself for 10p in the late stock-clearance at my son’s school Christmas Fair – an audio book of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I’ve been listening to it in the car over and over again. And despite Death Comes to Pemberley on TV afterContinue reading “Totally Devoted to Jane Austen”
Why I Believe Mankind Can Never ‘Own’ the Moon
Nobody Owns the Moon. On Friday morning January 10th 2014 I heard Mishal Husain interview Ian Crawford and Nicola Triscott on this topic on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. Nicola Triscott has mounted an exhibition on London’s South Bank called Republic of the Moon. She has transformed The Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf intoContinue reading “Why I Believe Mankind Can Never ‘Own’ the Moon”
Standing Ovations and Encores for Songlines Community Choir in Leamington Spa
On Saturday night 7 December 2013 our local community choir, Songlines, conducted by Bruce Knight, gave a concert at St Mary’s Church, in Leamington Spa, to raise money for Water Aid. It was a night where we saw and felt the power of music to bring joy and to uplift. A standing ovation and callsContinue reading “Standing Ovations and Encores for Songlines Community Choir in Leamington Spa”
Lovely Lake District in Autumn 2013
We spent a few days in England’s lovely Lake District during the recent autumn half term. The Lake District is special to me, not only because of its association with numerous famous writers, with Beatrix Potter, John Ruskin, William Wordsworth; but also because of memories from childhood holidays there, and the fact that I regularlyContinue reading “Lovely Lake District in Autumn 2013”
Why So Many of Us Love Doctor Who
So many children’s bedrooms up and down the UK and around the world must look similar to this one, in our home. In the recent celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the BBC drama series Doctor Who, the question has been posed: why do you think Doctor Who is so popular? Since everyone in ourContinue reading “Why So Many of Us Love Doctor Who”
Mother and Daughter Relationships – Poignant Family Drama in the Animal World
Mother and daughter relationships – a popular trope in TV sitcoms/family sagas/romantic fiction/women in jeopardy/social and romantic comedies and many other stories. And in the last few days my family have been immersed in a poignant drama in our home between a mother and a daughter. A mother who was separated from her little girlContinue reading “Mother and Daughter Relationships – Poignant Family Drama in the Animal World”
Challenging False Ideas of God: The Judge-Who-Could-Never-Be-Pleased, or Perfect Love and Limitless Goodness?
‘”These things are sent to try us.” This is just one among many cliches in the English language that we use without thinking. Yet how often do we stop to realise they are meaningless? Who sends these hard things to ‘try’ us? An almighty sadist in the sky? This stands as one of the most popularContinue reading “Challenging False Ideas of God: The Judge-Who-Could-Never-Be-Pleased, or Perfect Love and Limitless Goodness?”
The Dream of William Morris at Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds
My dream, wrote the designer William Morris, is a dream of what has never been… and therefore, since, the world is alive, and moving yet, my hope is the greater that it one day will be… dreams have before now come about of things so good… we scarcely think of them more than the daylight,Continue reading “The Dream of William Morris at Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds”
In Memory of Hattie, a Beloved Pet Cat – and the Gracefulness of Letting Go
This is Hattie, born 1996, who died on 21 September 2013, at home, in her basket, peacefully, in a deep sleep. When a much-loved family pet dies we need to decide what to do next. But we kept Hattie lying in her basket for a day and a night, nestled in her blanket, where sheContinue reading “In Memory of Hattie, a Beloved Pet Cat – and the Gracefulness of Letting Go”
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