… and the devil has hidden itself. In it’s darkly decorated home, with grey walls and grey carpets and a devotion to the goth look at just approaching 60. The black hair dye as beguiling as tattoos on old wrinkly skin. She hasn’t spoken to us for nearly two weeks…

VENOM
I need to express myself because I’m a little in shock. At what has been happening that I didn’t see. At people that you like and think are good but really are pretty monstrous! My neighbour that was here when I moved here studied Psychology at Uni, loves reading about…

The Gemini
I was gardening today with little Noah recuperating with me in the sunshine and my neighbour appeared to see how he was. We sat for a little and then she said she hadn’t been round to our other neighbour because she felt bullied and upset. I explained that the last…

Long Live The King
I loved watching the King’s coronation. it gave me tingles and on and off I cried a little. It’s the history. That’s what gets me. A throne from the 1400. Some words first uttered in 940AD. The emblem on top of the golden carriage made of timber from Nelson’s ship….

Menopause and the chill of gardening
I’ve been reading a book about middle age and this paragraph struck me: ‘Menopause, at its best, can be a sacred pause in the hurtling trajectory of life. It is a time when all the “dross” can be shed, all those years of compromising, adapting, pretending to be something we’re…

That dream again
That dream again. I’m always going ‘home’ or ‘back’ In any case I’m leaving where I am now. There is so much to pack To fit into a small case or supermarket bag Too heavy to carry. It’s taking too long whilst I go through wardrobes and drawers Making sure…

Dad on the answering machine
So I return to my home one day and see that my dad has called. He’s left a message on the answering machine. As always he sounds exasperated. As if I’m never in or I don’t call him straight back, which is not the case. Straight away I feel small…

Recurrent dreams
I have recurring dreams. One is being lost in Leeds. I ask people for directions to the station which depending where I am is so big you can see it on the skyline. Sometimes I’m very near and sometimes I’m in the depths of Leeds walking strange dark streets. Even…

Eggshells
I drove us home shakingIn need of a drink. Something to calm the nerves, like brandy or JD.All that walking on eggshells for the good part of a day. Watching the play of a relationship conducted on a tripwire.The slow and steady build up of ire, the furious stabbing of…
A Single Life
Single life No pit shaving and stinging deodorant No unwanted sex No fake tanning No cooking No make up No cleaning No fucking about with toenail polish No being told what to do No fanny ripping wax No being told when you’ve had too many No Saturday supermarket hell No…