The Japanese believe that when something has suffered damage or has a history it is more beautiful; broken objects are often repaired with gold to make a feature of the flaw.  I love this idea. It’s called kintsugi. This could be my 50+ alternative to getting a tattoo.  I could embroider my appendix scar, laughter…

Two months on from my last Italian jaunt, I find myself there again, this time with my sister and her husband – it’s only fair, they own the lakeside apartment after all and it would seem churlish to travel alone. Sometimes it’s good to go back somewhere you’ve been before because it throws down a marker…

I’ve jumped off term end straight into the long holiday with nowhere to hide from myself.  No deadlines, no students, no lessons to teach; the sun is out and yet I’m being a total fester face.  I like to have people to do things with and all the lovely people in my life, quite rightly…

I was reminded of an old joke this week and certainly needed the laugh.  A piece of string walks into a bar and is refused a pint.  ‘I’ve told you before we don’t serve pieces of string, and you are a piece of string, aren’t you? ‘ says the barman.  ‘No, I’m a frayed knot,’…

Weird being a teacher because when staff leave a school, instead of leaving at various pinch points throughout the year – as they do in the real world – they mostly all leave at the same time, at the end of the long Summer Term .  At this point everyone is wilting, emotional and distracted…

Last week I had a glimpse of the future when invited to a book launch at a local retirement home.  It was yet another blisteringly hot day and I melted into the residents’ lounge ready for a press junket and book signing. In reality I was invited to support my students as the local press…

Blessed with some suspiciously  balmy Mediterranean weather, I end the week walking along ‘my’ seaside prom with some female friends – the type that go back years and pick up mates’ short hand mid-sentence though we haven’t got together since the snow.  From my kitchen window we toast down the sunset with glasses of Prosecco…

Thanks to another really  effective lesson plan from my yoga coach this month,  I now have another new achievement to boast of; I can stand on my head.  This is indeed a very, very good thing because I was feeling fraudulent inviting my own yoga regulars to attempt a headstand without being able to demonstrate…

I finish this week jostling for position at Heathrow amidst some high octane teensters who seem very animated about the imminent arrival of a Korean boyband. Every time the automatic doors of Arrivals slide open, a wave of selfie sticks levitate above an impatient female throng.  Knowing no Korean boy bands, I am there to…

Time has dominated this week, contorting the days as I try pathetically to wrestle a mass of conflicting responsibilities into the only time frame I can think of.  Hating to let people down and unable to move the non-negotiables like exams and deadlines,  I have let plates drop unintentionally in the day time and at…