“There’s so much junk,” moans a dear friend, packing up her home. “Why do people keep all this rubbish?” I’m helping her do a clutter bust. I’m the worst clutter-buster on the planet given that: (a) I’m a hoarder who can’t see why anyone would want to throw out their 35-year-old teddy bear and (b) I am allergic to dust. Continue Reading →
Drowning in a sea of plastic
I NEEDED a few plastic knives and forks. As an eco-conscious woman, I would never buy plastic cutlery but I had to offer five sets for dinner out of respect for a family’s religion; too hard to explain.
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I remember what’shername
I WAS at a social function recently and saw a face in the crowd that was not only familiar, but also filled me with warmth. She saw me, too. We nodded affectionately across the room, hinting that as soon as we had finished our conversations we’d embrace. Continue Reading →
Love not skin deep
I’m still reeling from a brutally honest confessional by a woman called Robin Korth in the Huffington Post. At 59 years of age, she began dating again. She fell for a man who loved being with her, and they went away for the weekend. Continue Reading →
Parenting via social media
As a mother I’m very blessed. I have a daughter who shares with me all her most intimate secrets: from where she goes at night; what she wears; her taste in music and favourite pubs; and what she really feels. It’s a profound relationship. Except that it happens on Facebook. The blessing is that I’ve been “friended” and, along with thousands other people, can get to know and understand my daughter’s life. Continue Reading →
Simplicity is the secret
Recently, while surfing online, I came across a story that really inspired me. It was about a concept called Voluntary Simplicity, where middle-class people decide to downsize and get off the treadmill, which we all know keeps turning until someone dies or decides to jump off. Continue Reading →
Different shades of darkness
IN the wake of the death of Robin Williams, I want to go back and revisit depression and the mythology around a condition which will be the second most disabling illness in the world by 2020 behind heart disease. Continue Reading →
Putting adventure on the map
My partner and I have just come back from driving again — across Italy. For the past five years we’ve been finding our way around exciting countries such as Cuba and Mozambique. Continue Reading →
Mobiles rule over mother nature
Driving around southern Italy and Sicily, my partner and I decided to make a sacred pilgrimage to volcanic sites such as Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. We drove to the top of smouldering Mount Etna, to see the steam coming out of the ground and look into the volcano’s famed Calderas. Continue Reading →
Swerve to avoid nanny state
One of the most frightening experiences of my life was in Delhi during a trip to India when our taxi driver began driving on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic, which not only included fast cars and trucks but also, unbelievably, a herd of buffalo walking along the curb towards us. Continue Reading →