Stories, poems and images that try to capture and make sense of some of life’s transitional moments.
Written for a friends' retirement: "When a flock of starlings swarm, there is nothing perceptively guiding their flight. Mesmerising patterns are made by each bird keeping the same distance from the seven closest to them. Some scientists wonder if the patterns are made by each bird seeking the safest place in the centre of the … Continue reading Constancy
Bought in Kiev, 2003. Photo from my kitchen, March 2022, How on earth do you hold world-shaking events in your mind, as you continue daily life and deal with tiny domestic preoccupations? Do we shut out the world and focus on the immediate? Rendered powerless by the sheer scale of the crisis, do we seek … Continue reading A Crisis of Insight
Taken on a market stall in Spetses, July 2017 The message of joy and peace in the nativity story can ring hollow for many given the state of the world. A couple of years ago I wrote a poem addressing this. Here is a revised version: "Joy to the world!", sang the angels that night;"Peace … Continue reading What happened to the promise of the Angels? (revised)
When something important ends - a friendship withering through distance, a career abruptly terminated, or even a bereavement that tragically ends a relationship, it is hard to put words around their enduring value when they cease to be a daily reality. My daughter once described colouring a picture as 'bringing it to life' and that … Continue reading Etched in Eternity
I have spent so much time in the past year in the same four walls; working, eating, family life, any precious few minutes for leisure. Its plenty of time to notice all the parts that need work, the niggles I can't seem to get fixed. Plenty of time to take comfort in all the material … Continue reading Living within these four walls…..
This reflection is available to buy as a postcard. Please order by email at grainofsandblog@gmail.com Friendship matters immensely. It comes in many forms and circumstances create all sorts. At its most fleeting it might be a momentary connection - such as a friendly opinion given by a stranger in a changing room that helps you … Continue reading Anchor Friendships
There is a saying that Christmas comes but once a year. But it doesn't. On the 21st October I walked past a busker playing Christmas carols, and saw shelves starting to fill with yuletide fare. If we all lived by that reckoning, Christmas and its associated paraphernalia would occupy one sixth of the whole year. … Continue reading The richness in the rhythm of the year…
Recently, I have felt like a beanbag for my children. The shape I am in doesn't matter; what matters is that I can make them comfortable and provide support, regardless of how angular their elbows or how heavily they are feeling the weight of the world. You don't think about beanbags. You just need them … Continue reading Beanbag Parenting
As any selection of toddler stories will reveal, there is a fine line between a simple rendition of a profound truth, and sentimental twaddle. This is the story I gave Sophie on her birthday. You can be the judge of which side of the line it falls for you. When you were a star in … Continue reading When you were a star in the sky….
This is for anyone who feels that old age or illness have robbed them of their loved ones. I dont think anything can take away that spark of uniqueness that makes a person who they are, but it can be very hard to keep hold of when faced by someone so different. Although its written … Continue reading Still…I am
Grain of Sand 