Category Archives: Uncategorized
Another year over, another trip to the Mayfair*
*The Mayfair: a 50-room hotel in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, where I spent five weeks a year for the first 15 years of my life. Not the posh place in London. I’ve been overdoing it on the exercise lately and … Continue reading
What can I say about the sea?
Watch a video – What can I say about the sea? What can I say about the sea that hasn’t been said before? Countless people have been humbled by the flowing tides and the crashing waves and the uncertainty of … Continue reading
Contentment? What’s wrong with that?
Lately I’ve been chopping apples for chutney, squeezing lemons for limoncello and cutting out circles of gingham fabric like a right proper homemaker. If you knew me last year you might laugh at this. Back then I shunned domesticity in … Continue reading
Life begins
You know that thing they say: life begins at 30 – or 40, or 50, or whatever age it is that you happen to be approaching? I used to think that was rubbish made up to make people feel better … Continue reading
Notes from a new life
It’s a weird feeling, being uprooted. I’m 31 and this is only the third time I’ve lived away from my hometown; although the other two times – a three month trip around Australia when I was 20 and one semester at … Continue reading
The truth about my grandad
On Good Friday in 1965, my grandad died. It feels weird calling him grandad because I never met him. Arthur Reynolds. He was out driving a truck when he died. It was early in the morning, about 3am, when … Continue reading
Nana’s mind map
Saturday February 25 Yesterday I tried to drive out to Freshwater to watch the sunset. Freshwater is a beautiful little town on the coast. A rugged road takes you there – to the place where Tennyson used to live. It’s … Continue reading
Finding that feeling
The other night I went for a moonlight walk along the promenade. It is a hilly path, high up on the clifftop, that stretches from Shanklin Old Village to Hope Road. You can see the sea at all times. Less … Continue reading
Tour of the town
Wednesday February 22 Before I left Shanklin today, I took a little tour of the town. To see what had changed. Some evenings in the summer, me and my family would walk into the Old Village together and have a … Continue reading
Leaving The Mayfair
Wednesday February 22 Today I leave The Mayfair. I remember exactly how this felt 20 years ago. The last night was always heartbreaking. Saying goodbye to everyone, hugging, promising to write. Usually, Dad and Grandad would request an early breakfast … Continue reading