Author Archives: judithlouise

A Community of Listeners

Posted on March 30, 2018

I came across something startling today. I was so surprised I did a double take.  A father didn’t have a phone in his hand as he took his two children  to school.  Had to check again: no, he really really didn’t. I … Continue reading →

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Pantomime Time — oh yes it is!

Posted on February 9, 2018

When husband John first mentioned the word “pantomime” to me his American bride, I was quite sure that I knew what he was talking about: actors in make-up who could silently and dramatically describe a wall, running, going upstairs, and … Continue reading →

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January 24th is Peanut Butter Day

Posted on January 24, 2018

Living in a cramped maroon room with an exquisite view of the brickwork on the neighbouring building outside my window taught me much about life during my graduate days in Ithaca, New York. My octogenarian landlady downstairs, gave  the same piano piece … Continue reading →

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Twelfth Night Party

Posted on January 7, 2018

  I am delighted to live in a country where it’s possible to celebrate twelve days of Christmas. Thank you, Great Britain, for inventing it!  No need to get cards and letters to people by the 25th of December.  Let … Continue reading →

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The Launderette (Laundromat) Community.

Posted on November 18, 2017

Something was definitely wrong.   Okay I know that my American accent causes English people to be on their guard, and why not?  Here comes a mouth wider and louder than theirs, regaling them with boring stories of their town “back … Continue reading →

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The Steinbeck House

Posted on October 14, 2017

How many of you retired folk wake up one morning  and say, “I think I’ll buy me an old house, turn it into a restaurant, and get it registered as literary landmark”? Not your ordinary retirement activity, is it? Not quite … Continue reading →

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A Make-Do Community

Posted on August 19, 2017

“And to top it all”, she wailed, “when I emptied the last tin of fruit cocktail into the bowl, it wasn’t fruit cocktail. It was cooked carrots.” Tehran, Iran, early 1970s. I was pretty sure I knew how that could … Continue reading →

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