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”
Tag Archives: endometriosis
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”
D-Day
I don’t know what I was expecting from today, my D-Day, the day of my first Decapeptyl injection. I was just nervous. Not so much about the needle going in; more about how I would feel afterwards. At precisely 0857, I arrived at my local GP surgery, complete with loose clothing and an upbeat mannerContinue reading “D-Day”
Menopause is
Having to concentrate really hard in the mornings so that you don’t pour boiling water on your breakfast cereal. Stumbling around the house looking for a lost phone before realising that the cat is standing on your keyboard. Saying “What?” when there is a gap in the conversation that you forgot you were part of.Continue reading “Menopause is”
How do you know when you’ve married the right man?
Bear with me, dear reader, and I’ll explain. Alternatively: TLDR? – ok then, skip ahead to the last paragraph … I’ll just assume you’re not a Guinness drinker. Years ago, not long after I’d quit teaching full time, I bought a (humiliating admission time … deep breath …) fitness DVD. I just needed my mojoContinue reading “How do you know when you’ve married the right man?”
The Place
I’ve been in this Place before. It’s empty and vast. It’s not dark; just obscure. Or opaque. I’m not sure which. There’s no fear, no noise, nothing. There’s just. Absence. Of everything. In the emptiness, there is calm; but no peace. There’s no point to anything; but that’s alright. Thoughts drip sluggishly, springing out of,Continue reading “The Place”
Windows
Let me open a window for you. It is a window into Then. My mother’s hair is not yet grey; mine will not be grey, for decades to come. I am trying to understand something – so, I ask her: why would any woman actively want to put herself through the pain of childbirth? SheContinue reading “Windows”
Wine cricket
I went to the Co-Op for bread. I punched that damn bread so hard that my fist went through one side of the loaf and out of the other. A woman stared at me and I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I had a loaf of bread around my wrist, I didn’t care about herContinue reading “Wine cricket”
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