Gazing on Grasmere lake — Every few years we rent a house in the Lake District in the village of Grasmere, just behind Dove Cottage where William and Dorothy Wordsworth used to live. The house is set in a woodland garden and overlooks Grasmere lake. There’s a sweet familiarity on returning after a lapse of…

Wisdom, wit and the writer’s life — I’ve been reading A Writer’s diary every morning for several months. At first, I wasn’t overly drawn to its jottings, its stray thoughts and sentiments, but now that I’ve finished, I miss the daily companionship of Woolf’s voice. It’s been heartening to discover that such a titan of literature harboured…

Seeks Lady with a Fan — Have come to the café, Lord Roberts on the Green. It is Tuesday afternoon, a cloudy, cool day, rain imminent, and the café is almost empty save for two mothers, each with a small boy. I wonder if my eyesight is waning. Their mouths are not clear. This is not…

Grab your thermals — It’s freezing here in England. Brass monkeys. And not your American freezing either. Not minus ten, or negative ten, as the Yanks say. It’s colder than that. …

Word association, again — I had a hankering for a slice of cake. Near the end of a paragraph in my book, came the word café. It reminded me of what Virginia Woolf said about words and their power of suggestion. I caught the effect of the word café on my unconscious, and I…

Brotherhood beneath hate? — For the first time in its hundred year history, a Republican party has won the biggest share of votes in Northern Ireland. As well as serving its constituents’ day-to-day needs, Sein Fein’s aim is to unite Ireland. It’s a significant but not surprising win because it’s always been a case…

A writerly pursuit — Café Chai recently opened in a nearby town and is worth the short drive. Much has gone into its décor. The walls are concrete and distressed, as if someone has just scrapped off the wallpaper. Teardrop chandeliers shed soft light. The tables are wooden planks with church pews on one…

In another league — Recently a good friend of mine on Medium, a voice I admire and follow and generally concur with, made a statement that was shocking and profoundly untrue. This person, this writer, claimed he (it’s always a he) was ‘The world’s greatest hypochondriac.’ Knowing this to be an out-and-out lie, I…

…When you’ve got friends — There’s only one couple we meet up with regularly, by which I mean once or twice a year. We go to their house or they come to ours. I like best having them come to us; they’re stingy on the heat and their house can be as cold as Canada…