The Handmaid’s Tale was first published in 1985 and I first read it around 1990. I was living in Cyprus with a whole lot of problems that now, with a little perspective, make me wonder how I managed to get half way across the world and back again with three small children. When I turned […]
Yesterday I visited the National Air Traffic Control Centre and stood in the viewing gallery marvelling at how the people controlling the flights looked so calm and relaxed. I found out something I never realised before, despite being a regular flyer: how the airspace is split both horizontally and vertically. This made me suddenly very […]
After finishing a major project on Friday, I felt a sense of loss and a huge hole in my life. Ten-plus years in the making, I had always found a way to extend the identity project in some way, always found another idea to expand. Enough is enough, and any more would be a descent […]
I was talking to my friend and work colleague the other day about the clocks going forward last week and how long it takes to affect me. My colleague said it takes her about a week. For me, it’s about two weeks. The interesting point in this conversation was them not knowing about circadian rhythms […]
I just deleted 53826 spam emails. 53826. I have an old Freeserve account which transferred to Orange and somehow I forgot to check it for just over two weeks. That’s how so many stupid messages offering me penis enhancements, online degrees, millions of pounds to be transferred to my bank account due to lottery wins/someone […]
It’s my birthday this week. It crept up on me like a cold and here I am the day before, wondering where all those years have gone! It got me thinking about birthday presents and what would be my ideal prezzie this year. I’ve got a fiction full MS Out There with an agent right […]
One of the most wonderful things about Manchester is that it is a major venue for all the big names in music. Aside from producing lots of the greats who return regularly, it attracts most artists on a worldwide tour. In recent years I have seen more bands and artists than I can remember, most […]
The one question that stumps me is ‘What do you do?’ At parties or networking events or seminars or just down the pub, it’s one of the first questions people who don’t know me ask. I won’t bore you with a list of all the things I do, that’s reserved for those who proclaimed that […]
When I heard that Michael Jackson had died I was on Facebook. I immediately called my daughter and we voyeuristically discussed whether it was true or not. Like many people, I found Jackson a tragic figure in later life, particularly at his press conference for the launch of his London Tour. His music, however, is […]
One subject I keep coming back to in my reading is quantum physics. I have a perpetual interest in what is ‘real’ and what is not, again linked to meditation and Buddhism. Also being a big fan of postmodernism and critical realism, I have been interested in the concept of all meaning created by language, […]