On beach parties

Originally, we wanted to spend the day on the beach. We packed a picnic and a bottle of water, swimwear and a couple of towels, and off we went. We got there just after high tide, and the dryest sand was damp. Damp sand never stopped us before so we sat down and ‘set up […]

On royal knackeredness

Happy Three Kings day! 🙂 It doesn’t say where they came from, but it was probably a long way, and I bet they were knackered when they finally reached Bethlehem. Unlike me, who is knackered without excuse. DB and I spent the day driving round the island, stopping whenever it looked interesting. Hardly physically strenuous. […]

On searching for sunglasses

I bought two pairs of sunglasses in England last time I was there. For Autumn in Germany they were fine. However. They’re no match for the Spanish/Canaries sun. Especially when my pupil right is artificially kept wide open (far wider than if I’m trying to see something in the dark) by the eye drops. The […]

On flying [semi-]blind

The roads were as good as empty, which can’t be said of the airport. ‘Bustling’ doesn’t cut it, neither does ‘popular’ or ‘thriving’. Jam-packed is closer to the truth, but doesn’t imply the 30+ minute queues, just to get into the queue to check hold luggage in.

On bright lights (and hospital beds)

Sometimes, I think I should just stop making plans. I mean, I know they never work out the way I intended them to, so I could save myself the bother of making them in the first place. Also, maybe God would stop laughing at them/me. *** This year, the company I work for closes between […]

On making mincemeat of it – part 1

Every year, I make a load of mincemeat, for myself, my family, and anyone else who wants some. Every year, I make it up as I go along, and no one’s complained yet. This is part 1 of the recipe – insofar as it can be called a recipe – for 2015. *** A word […]

On not being rockstar material

Argh. Written but somehow not sent last night… *** It’s Sunday. I have been ‘on the road’ since Thursday. That’s 4 days. 4 days isn’t exactly a long time. Not really, in the big scheme of things. But. Thursday certainly seems like a long time ago. I am knackered. I even fell asleep on the […]

On SatNags and Maps

I wrote this ages ago, but somehow never got round to posting it… *** Last summer, DB and I went on a road trip along the south coast of England in a weird and wonderful VW van. The van is truly wonderful in all sorts of ways, but its weirder habits are a little bit […]

On potential existence

I am on my way to the embassy. My boyfriend booked – and his mum paid for – a weeks holiday in Lanzarote. It’s something like an Easter present, and something like a ‘You-must-have-a-break-before-you-have-a-breakdown’ mission. Having spent the last year in an unending battle with exams, quitting work, moving house, renovating, decorating, unpacking and furniture […]