The Old Dutchman

The Old Dutchman

Next to my dentist’s surgery, my favourite stopover is the Old Dutchman’s Dairy Farm (now renamed Dutchmen Dairy) in Sicamous, British Columbia, on the road from Calgary to Vancouver. Our first “family” trip was for Alex’s christening, when my whole English family and...
A Grain of Sand

A Grain of Sand

“To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.” William Blake Auguries of Innocence My favourite place to visit is… my dentist’s surgery. I’m lying prone on my back on a flat bed, the...
Bag in Hand

Bag in Hand

It was a sad day when Hamid returned from his holiday in Morocco. He brought me a present: a very expensive-looking, soft-leather mini satchel. “I’m so tired of seeing you use plastic bags to carry your diary. I brought you this.” “But Hamid, I’ve used plastic bags...
Ugh

Ugh

As a budding author, each week I have to withstand the ordeal of an interview. In over a hundred of them, the same question crops up time and time again. It may come at the beginning of an interview or insert itself at the end. It is as certain to come as death and...
Letting Go

Letting Go

Each summer, the first day of our family visit to London was always a stroll through Piccadilly with Alex. Laura and Chris, uneasy travellers by plane, were shaking off their jet lag in our hotel room. Across the broad boulevard, facing Green Park tube station, stood...