The start of Advent is a good time to check in with God. He seems to have been away for much of 2016, but dropped in this morning, summoned by this plaintive tweet. He clapped his hand to his forehead (that’s why it’s so cold, and why my boiler was
I sing in this chorus (that’s me, at the end of the third riser). It’s the reason I enjoy whatever level of sanity I manage to cling to. We’re called Amersham A Cappella, and we have just won the Gold Medal at the annual convention of the Ladies’ Association of
Nothing seems to wind people up as much as other people uniting the parts of their anatomy they generally keep covered with the corresponding parts of others. Or, if the universe is feeling really generous, unsubstantiated claims that parts attached to the privileged and influential are on occasion united
Having been very reluctant to join Twitter, I’m a convert. I’ve got to know some interesting people; I’d go so far as to say I’ve made friends. A life that principally revolves around writing, which is a solitary activity, and children, who are of necessity selfish creatures, can be very
So. Stuart Kerner, a 44 year old teacher, had sex with a 16 year old pupil. He had sex with her at the school and at her home over an 18 month period. This happened in Britain, a civilized, democratic society in which children have rights and are valued. Stuart
A huge welcome, please, for Kerry Hudson, whose second novel, Thirst, is published on Thursday. Tony Hogan Bought me an Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma was a great debut – funny, foul-mouthed and emotional – and I’m honoured to be the starting point for Thirst’s blog tour. Kerry’s vibrancy,
The first thing I remember reading about Doris Lessing was that she had been sadder about the death of her cats than at the death of some people. I suppose I should have been shocked, but I was a teenager at the time, suffering the fallout of an unpleasant divorce
‘Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.’ Thanks for that, Gore Vidal. He died last year – whether due to the success of his friends, I don’t know – so it’s probably safe to say that his pithy observation is simply not true. I’ve got a book deal.
She has an OBE for Services to Literature, and is the first female chair of the Royal Society of Literature. She has worked and worked and worked and worked to get to where she is today. And the story is interesting, and she tells it well. She wrote The White
Yesterday was an extremely busy day for me. In the morning, I limped the Royal Parks Half Marathon. In the afternoon, I sang Handel in the beautiful parish church of Great Missenden. And in the evening, I went to Taekwondo with my two eldest (8 and 6). I didn’t get