1. The sound of Katie tapping on my door in the morning. I pull the covers around me, and as she comes in, she says: 'Ohh, a bed bug,' before handing me a cup of tea.
2. Beans on toast.
3. Recognising a word in a Japanese film -- 'Kaimun' -- which we used in China to ask the chamber maids to let us into our hotel rooms. In Akira Kurosawa's Ran it is used by an general invading a castle to mean 'Open the gate!'
Northernmost point, out of the rain and blue fire.
1. An alarm goes off in Nick's pocket to let us know that it's the moment of the winter solstice. 2. The rain is falling in steady c...
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1. An enormous fat bumble bee at work. She is so bulky that she can knock dead blossoms out of the way as she gets right in to the new jasmi...
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1. The shortest night and the longest day. I was up at Wellington Rocks with Anna, Paul and Jason. We couldn't see the sun through the m...
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1. I promised myself I wouldn't moan and grumble about it -- but I do. And as if by magic, a very kind friend produces the required blaz...