I'm on a diet! Botheration - there I've said it - it's out there publicly. Grrr! I love food and hate diets. So why? Well, the obvious reason is there is more of me than there used to be hence I can't fit most of my wardrobe plusI know there are health issues in the... Continue Reading →
Dang! It got me on the last page
I have just finished reading this book. It's a Lent book so I am a bit ahead of myself but having recently re read all the Gospels I have realised afresh the centrality of the cross in the Christian faith. That sounds a bit ridiculous, you'd think it would be obvious that the cross is... Continue Reading →
A Manual for Heartache – Book Review
This is an extraordinarily good book. Practical and direct but overflowing with compassion Cathy Rentzebrink will gently talk you through how you can be kind to yourself when overwhelmed by grief. And she should know. Her 'back story' is of surviving a devastating and protracted loss which began in her teens when her brother, to... Continue Reading →
“Be Happy” – yes, but how?
Is it me or has anyone else noticed that we are being bombarded by lists of instructions to 'Be happy/Be creative/Be patient' at every turn. Here is one such list I saw for sale in shop whilst on holiday These lists pop up all over the place. Twice I've seen them on shopping bags (but... Continue Reading →
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes – A Book Review
This is one of the most thought provoking novels I've read in a long time. It was published in 1966, won awards and has been a film, a stage play and even a ballet since then. It tells the story of Charlie, a young man in his twenties who is 'retarded' (the author's word for... Continue Reading →
The Hand that First Held Mine
This is the title of a novel by Maggie O'Farrell. We read it for our book group and discussed it a couple of weeks ago. I highly recommend it for any one out there running book groups. (Or anyone just looking for a good book). The story centres around two couples, Lexie and Innes in the... Continue Reading →
Finding the Still Point
The title above is the title of one of the most useful books on my bookshelf. I have given away about dozen copies of this book over the years. It is by Gerald O'Mahony, and although it is published under a series title called Exploring Prayer, it is actually about understanding your moods. It is... Continue Reading →
Just Keep Swimming
Dory, the little blue fish in Finding Nemo has to be one of my favourite children's film characters. She suffers from amnesia and confusion but somehow manages to hold on to her friends, her sanity and her sense of purpose, summed up by her catch phrase 'Just Keep Swimming'. In other words when you're not... Continue Reading →