ownendo

Scraps

There was something uniquely depressing about that moment in May, when I pulled the little pile of paper scraps out of the mail bag. It was Mum’s 70th birthday. For about a year now, her resolutely advancing Parkinson’s has grown grimly evident, in every aspect of her physical and mental existence. Simple movements, eating, drinking, evenContinue reading “Scraps”

Beatling along the road to recovery

Recovery from an operation is about as linear as a cat’s favourite ball of yarn. After a few weeks of disproportionate ups and downs, tangled up with some minor but disruptive post-op symptoms, I’ve had to force myself into a ‘slow and steady’ mindset; not an easy task for me. I’ve returned to daily walksContinue reading “Beatling along the road to recovery”

Agency and inevitability

Let me get this straight: I am not one of those ‘filial duty’ types. I do believe that every human being should live with respect, kindness and dignity. I do believe in being an agent and a catalyst for these; but not for the sake of guilt, conscience, pride, reputation or reward. I don’t believeContinue reading “Agency and inevitability”

An apology to my husband

Thank goodness for synthetics. I am of course a big fan of the natural world, but some man-made things deserve a special mention nonetheless; such as chocolate, chewing gum, dentistry (probably in that order), fleecy blankets and flip flops (again in that order), synthetic hormones, digital technology, and PU leather. I have synthetic hormones toContinue reading “An apology to my husband”

Adumbrations

I’ve said this before: memes are great. They help you make sense of the world. Or make fun of it – an arguably more helpful exercise in these polarised, unpredictable times. A meme I’ve seen recently features a naked baby sitting on a waterlogged seashore, a puzzled expression on his chubby face. He looks likeContinue reading “Adumbrations”

Bees

There is a beehive in my lower left jaw. That’s what it feels like. It’s obscenely swollen. It’s buzzy, itchy, painful and hot. The bees are stinging as they work, creating new and impossible shapes in the jawbone, heating and hardening the bruised flesh. Yesterday morning, my beloved dentist, the only dentist I trust andContinue reading “Bees”

Duck’s Beak

Memes are great. In the thorny present of polarising politics, socially destructive Facebook* algorithms, and rampant inequality, plus large and unhealthy doses of pestilence, death, war and famine, they are a handy, concise way to express and share a whole host of human emotions and experiences. It seems Orwell’s Newspeak wasn’t far off the mark.Continue reading “Duck’s Beak”

Number 23

If blog posts were paintings, then this would be more of a Pollock than a Pasternak. [Stands back and examines first sentence. Finds it poncy and presumptuous. Decides to make another attempt.] If blog posts were pizzas, then this would be more pavement pizza than prosciutto di Parma. [Stands back again. Realises she has unwittinglyContinue reading “Number 23”

Billy

Billy Joel was 43 when he graduated from his high school, having submitted the requisite essays to the school’s examinations board, in lieu of an English exam he missed as a teenager. I wonder why he wrote those essays? He was by then, and still is, one of the best-selling singer-songwriters of all time. HeContinue reading “Billy”

The Division Bell

A division bell, helpfully defined by Collins English Dictionary, is “a bell rung in a parliament to signal a division.” Hmmm. Nope, that still doesn’t help me understand the reason for the Pink Floyd album title. Thank goodness for the band’s David Gilmour who, in a 1994 radio interview*, explained, “… it is a bell thatContinue reading “The Division Bell”