A better Valentine – She Loves Well

Valentine’s Day has never been a holiday that was important to me. Sure, as a teenager, I hoped upon hope that the boy I fancied would suddenly this year realise that I was the girl of his dreams and shower me with roses, chocolates and hand-made cards – preferably in front of the rest of…

on manicures and refugees

This room was very familiar to me. It’s round tables, the laminate floor, the residual smells of mass-cooked dinner remaining from last night. Here I would come weekly, gather a small group of people around a table – from Tibet, Afghanistan, Somalia, Chechnya – a few women bouncing babies on their laps, and we’d sound…

on owning my gifts

Saturday evening found me standing in my study, going through my sermon one last time for the next morning. I’d put a big pile of food and interior design magazines on top of my desk, hoisted my cookbook stand from the kitchen on top of them to create a makeshift lectern to practise with. It…

right now

This was the month I went skiing for a week in the French Alps for the first time and only hated it for two days (a great achievement and to the endless relief of my ski-loving husband). This was the month I chose a new word for the year. This was the month we would…

Thankful Tuesday

(I typed this up yesterday afternoon and then didn’t have a chance to finish it before bed. But it’s never too late to be thankful, so here it is…) I am thankful. For a long lunch with a woman who encourages me and understands me and helps me understand myself. For the chore of going…

Letter to the young girl at the gym

Dear young girl at the gym last week, It’s been a month since I joined our gym, after my doctor had looked at me sternly when I’d confessed to not getting much more exercise than the twenty minute walk into town (sometimes, when it’s not raining or snowing or far too cold – so rarely…