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 home”. But I was already on my best subdued behaviour when the launderette manager, (whose… Continue reading The Launderette (Laundromat) Community.
The Steinbeck House
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 sitting and staring at the middle distance waiting for a daughter to ring, or wandering… Continue reading The Steinbeck House
A Make-Do Community
“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 have happened. I’d been in a favourite shop that week, and saw proprietor and minion… Continue reading A Make-Do Community
A Remembering Community
In Memory of Jo Cox It’s a pity that the nation’s politicians don’t live in the trees lining our street. If so they could have received absolutely stellar advice that would have sent them scurrying back to their manifestos to make such changes that would set the nation on fire. Or maybe not. We were… Continue reading A Remembering Community
The Airport Community
Going everywhere except here. Detroit Airport, Michigan USA, May, 2017. A chance to be 10 hours in the airport on my way home to England. I spend it walking, reading, walking, singing, walking, sleeping, walking, and people-watching. So many bodies are here with me, milling around, but their thoughts, hearts, and souls are somewhere else… Continue reading The Airport Community
Apples — Part One
With many thanks to Helmut and Christel for sharing this information. What’s the connection between apples and your local Council? Plenty, if you happen to live in Rheinstetten, Germany. Our friend Helmut has a buddy-buddy relationship with his town council – a very forward thinking lot, those people. Their public land is dotted with apple… Continue reading Apples — Part One
Don’t start your diet yet
Most of us have had cook books given to us, and one I love was presented to me back when I was a penniless and new to England, trying to grasp the fact that I would never understand English English, and coping with its wonderfully weird horizon-opening customs. At this time a friend we’d met in… Continue reading Don’t start your diet yet
Christmas Eve…..
….is a very lonely time for some people. I had to have this explained to me because Christmas Eve to me is the longest, busiest day in the calendar year. But, I was told, in the world there are those who are so organised that they have nothing left to do, and those who have… Continue reading Christmas Eve…..
Cookies for Hallowe’en
There are occasions when I want to go back to the age of innocence. Hallowe’en is one of them. When I was growing up, Hallowe’en was a beautiful time to be someone different – to dress up in any costume I felt like, to be anyone I wanted to be. Goblin or princess or cowgirl,… Continue reading Cookies for Hallowe’en
Yorkshire Pudding — Celebrating British Food Fortnight
check out my blog on lovebritishfood.co.uk. It’s called: Brussels Sprout Tops, the Buried Treasure. “Now I will teach you how to make Yorkshire Pudding,” said Dora Robinson, my soon-to-be mother-in-law. “And you can be sure it’s right, because you have been taught by a real Yorkshire lass.” My American heart sank. “This will be a… Continue reading Yorkshire Pudding — Celebrating British Food Fortnight
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