I share a birthday with Sean Connery, probably the best ever Bond and one of Scotland’s few global icons; Jim Wallace, one of the UK’s nicest politicians and Elvis Costello, the best singer British songwriter alive today. So, what have I achieved in my first 57 years… Well I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Probably […]

I have been a worrier all my life. One of my first memories is of being anxious. I have no idea what was the source of the anxiety that frightened me as a wee girl, but the stomach churning, self-doubting fear has plagued me since. But perhaps I am finding a way to stop worrying […]

642 Things to write about #6 I am not looking forward to 2013. Let me qualify that. I am looking forward to lots of things in 2013. Spending time with my grandchildren. Working in Malawi. Hopefully enjoying the Greek sunshine with my husband. Planting more lavender bushes. The occasional rummage round TK Maxx. Suppers with […]

642 Things to write about #5 Goodness me, the poorest I’ve ever been… I grew up in poverty. My father worked on farms. Ploughman was his job title, but he did far more. Animal husbandry. Crops. Managed staff. He was paid a pittance, his poverty wages supplemented by bags of potatoes and coal and the […]

642 Things to write about #4 Write a song…no chance. I can’t sing, so writing a song is a mysterious process that I have never attempted. And never will. I have never been tempted, not even when I was in the depths of despair over some failed romance (many, many years ago) and would relentlessly […]

Writing prompt #3 I don’t have a favourite recipe. I have favourite cook books. And my new favourite is Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. I always turn to Ottolenghi’s weekly recipe in the Guardian’s Saturday magazine, but had never really understood his magic until buying this book. He and his partner Tamimi put […]