I was sitting on a deck chair while the rest of the family headed on to explore the beach when my daughter ran back to give me what you see in the picture above.

Come to you. I’ve been sitting looking out at this tempting pool on the beach in Donegal the last three times I’ve been here. Watching other people swimming in it. Hearing how blue it looks and how warm it feels. But my legs have decided it is far from my reach. As I watched the…

My son is learning that Elton John song on the piano at the moment and with it pounding behind me every day, I couldn’t not write a blog post about it!

Actually? According to whom? Or to what set of criteria?

It is not a new feeling. When I was small I didn’t like going too high, too fast or too deep. I always erred on the safe side. I remember when I was waiting nervously on the edge of an ice rink, my German exchange partner grabbed my hand and tore round the ice with…

There’s better ahead. Over a month ago I drove up to the house we lived in before. I had one motivation: how big was the birch tree now? But it wasn’t there. The new owners had cut it down. I remembered the joy I had felt when it was first planted, the anticipation of it…

What do you think about when you’re feeling a little beaten?

That good things will happen.

Last week I met a man who had difficulties with his hearing and his vision. I sat opposite him for two hours and then, all of a sudden, he turned his face to me and said ‘hello!’ as if he’d only just realised I was there. Since then I’ve been thinking about the gift we…

Something more. So fill up your bird feeders, put plans in your diary and get ready to really live.