Alone together on a Friday night, I wonder what I can put on the TV that will keep my daughter engaged with me and away from her phone. In a stroke of genius, I go for “Friends: The Reunion” combining my past with her present. We used to watch Friends before we had children, before […]
Read MoreI am making my way around the makeshift quiz they’ve erected on medical screens at the GP surgery. Prevented from leaving for fifteen minutes after the vaccine, in case of an allergic reaction, someone decided it would be a good idea to ask a bunch of questions about the Romans and neolithic fossils. Waiting to […]
Read MoreA couple of years ago I was telling my son about an idea I’d had. “I think I’m going to start an Airbnb for gardens.” “What do you mean?”, he said. “People who don’t have gardens could rent space from people who do but can’t be bothered to garden them.” He pushes out his bottom […]
Read MoreIt’s mental health awareness week and another opportunity for me to grumble to anyone who will listen about why on earth we think there is still a problem with “awareness” and why we can’t just do something about it instead. Anyway, the theme this year is nature which is precipitating a deluge of articles about […]
Read MoreStaring at the stud wall I’m trying to conceal my anxiety. My daughter asked me to put up a shelf for her some weeks ago but I’m nervous about using the right fixings and making sure it doesn’t fall off again. “I just need to charge the drill,” I say, playing for time and cursing […]
Read MoreMy son went back into his office this week for the first time in many months. “Have you got everything?” Peering into his bag, “Rail pass, laptop charger, wallet, I think so.” “Passport?” He seemed genuinely excited like he was going on holiday. The children have been sanguine about time out from the lives they […]
Read MoreI think I always knew that I don’t like goat’s cheese but it’s only relatively recently that I came to realise I don’t need to. Some years ago, before that epiphany, I was on holiday and a persuasive man in a French market told me that he had a hard goat’s cheese which would convert […]
Read MoreSitting in the waiting room at the hospital I am thinking about a question I was sent by a young man who has moved cities to start a new job and feels that none of his co-workers like him. He writes that however cheery and pleasant he is he remains an outsider and convinced that […]
Read MoreI’ve realised this week that I have become a weekday vegetarian. I only know this because on Wednesday nobody felt like cooking and the children decided to get take-out from Nando’s. “What do you want?” my son asks me as I’m flicking through the menu on my phone. “Umm, I’ll have the Beanie Burger” My […]
Read MoreI’ve been researching and writing a piece on “Hustle Culture” this week which has taken a lot more time than I’d anticipated. As a consequence, I have got behind with my other work. One evening, after we’ve cleared the dinner plates I say, “I’ve got to finish an “Ask A Therapist” question that was due […]
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