During these hard pandemic times, everyone has run out of steam.

As it was during the first lockdown, something has been brought back now:

‘have a childhood of the mind no less than a childhood of the body’.* Over these past months of homeschooling, missed exams, changing criteria and restricting lockdowns my thoughts have gone back to a book by Dickens that I studied at university called Hard Times.

I finished The Pilgrim’s Progress last night. While it was tough going, I met a few characters that I admire, and wanted to tell you a little bit about one of them today.

Just receive. My dog Hazel taught me another lesson today. She rolled onto her back and presented her tummy to me. At the start she tried to lick me to say thank-you but after a few minutes she gave up, lay back and just let herself enjoy it.

Two sides. Most days I have to remind myself that everyone has at least two versions to their life- the one that they show and the one they hide.

Nobody is special.’ Or so says Jon Beckett.

Remember the book I released via monthly subscription earlier this year? It will be flying into Amazon in January next year for you to purchase and read in its entirety. Keep your eyes peeled. Not long now! What is it about? The Lost Things tells the stories of people who are either lost themselves or…

Do you remember doing Christmas crafts at school? My favourite was drawing a shape with glue then pouring glitter over and shaking the surplus off to reveal a perfect Christmas shape. All at once, mistakes and mess fell away and the best stuck.

Or a warrior? Last night I was trying to encourage my daughter as she faces yet another week of AQE tests in school. Any other year she would be finished, but because of lockdown they have been postponed until after Christmas. It’s horrible. She’s exhausted and more stressed than an eleven year old should ever…