On being woken up by strangers

I fell asleep on the train, only to wake up when an unknown passenger walked past, saw me sleeping and knocked on the window to let me know that we’d arrived at the end of the line. Luckily that was the stop I’d been aiming for. Thank you, kind stranger, I would have hated waking […]

On [self-inflicted] frustration

(Another one from the drafts folder) “I hate satnags And traffic And running out of fuel And hotel receptionists who have to show you how the lights work in your room And not finding anywhere to park And people who don’t put signs up to let you know where you’re going And the lack of […]

On sleeping in my car

Okay, so it was nothing like a Roxette song, but it was an adventure. There’s not much more freeing than packing your stuff into the back of your own car and driving into the sunset. And there’s not much more grown up than realising when you are really really tired and should stop to sleep […]

On ice cream and no spoon

My younger self spent many (MANY) hours sitting on benches in various parks and town squares, eating icecream. Sometimes by myself, sometimes with friends, sometimes (and probably most often) with my siblings. This was such a common occurrence, that we each kept an emergency spoon in our bags or wallets. Yesterday I found myself alone […]

On hurting people without meaning to

I’ve just been jolted out of an uneasy sleep in an uncomfortable aircraft seat by a food trolley. The absent minded trolley pusher rammed the trolley into my knee. I can only imagine it wasn’t intentional, so I can’t really be cross, even if it a) hurt, and b) woke me up.  It seems like […]

On therapy

The first session starts in 14 minutes. I feel totally unprepared, but I hope it won’t matter. I am also quite sweaty, which is worse than unprepared. The 18 degrees they promised us this morning when I put jeans on, have turned into at least 25, probably closer to 28, and the leisurely walk  I […]

On the eve of a new year

Hello people 🙂 I hope all your Christmases were fantastic, and wish you a brilliant last night of 2016, whatever you choose to do with it. I’ve just got back to Berlin and am already at the second ‘party’ of the evening so I’m going to put my phone away and be marginally sociable… I’ll […]

On a platform strewn with confetti hearts

I missed what happened, I just saw the aftermath – a million (more or less) shiny red hearts. I don’t know why they were there, but it made an otherwise unmemorable platform a little bit more special. Do people get engaged on platforms of busy stations? Married? Set off on their honeymoon? Are some people […]