1. Finding three speakers I really admire at the London Book Fair: Xinran, Jane Nissen and Kate Mosse.
2. April showers because they make the world sparkle, and make everyone appreciate the sunny hours.
3. A couple of terms ago, my writing teacher recommended a series called The Smoking Room. The TV announces a two-episode run later in the evening. So I slip in another hour of writing and then settle down to watch. And I fall in love. It's like watching a tiny tobacco-stained stage play with characters so familiar that I feel as if I ought to be asking them how they're doing and if there's any gossip.
Fairly Christmassy, queue jumpers and advent calendar.
1. For the last few weeks, polling company YouGov has been wondering how Christmassy I feel. Today, I can answer honestly that I'm now f...
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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...