Intelligence, until the advent of artificial intelligence, has always been an attribute describing a human being, or a living creature. In recent years I have observed that adjective ‘intelligent’ has been applied to a number of inanimate objects. For example, [...]
A few days ago, I retired from work - my final occupation, my last job. I had orchestrated my exit, set everything in order and handed responsibility over - it all felt quite satisfying. I received a few cards and [...]
I wonder who is responsible for putting together online all the quotations on hundreds of different words and topics, and how accurate the attributions are. Recently I came across a whole slew of them on the subject of Change. Some [...]
Spring is here and we are all wishing that the pandemic would just go away. We keep being told that it will, but somehow it still goes on and people are still suffering and dying. So sad. Sometimes we just [...]
I must have been feeling hungry the other morning while I was lying half asleep in bed, as I was dreaming about my home-made bread and eating a slice of toast with honey or butter (but not both – one [...]
In many cultures rainbows are a symbol of hope. They appear sometimes as perfect arcs, often during a rainstorm, when the sun shines onto water droplets, shattering its white light into an array of brilliant colours. Everyone loves a rainbow. It produces that frisson of [...]
I am full of admiration for the fortitude of individuals who have been on their own this summer, confined to their homes and gardens. Solitude can be a blessing if it is a choice, but enforced isolation is not congenial [...]
Spring 2020. We are living in strange times. Coronavirus, more deadly than any terrorist, has attacked our world and is undermining hope. People feel threatened, frightened, challenged. Our physical horizons are dwindling but our mental horizons are expanding - people are more aware [...]
In five weeks time, I’m going to be a grandmother for the third time. Its a role I love – and I’ve managed to get in plenty of training and practice with grandchildren numbers 1 and 2. It’s grand to [...]
May has been glorious. I love my garden at this time of the year - it's so green, so overgrown, so soothing. I am reminded of Andrew Marvell's wonderful poem: 'The Garden'. Here is my favourite stanza which echos my [...]