Flowers that find their way through stone or rock (or any apparently impenetrable surface) always touch my heart. They manage to flourish in the most (apparently) inhospitable places. I’ve been rewriting a novel I thought I’d finished last autumn. But when I couldn’t sell it I did what I should’ve done before I tried to … Read More
Gardening
A Vote for the Planet; a Christmas rose; and plant a tree for Christmas
By the time you read this we’ll know the result of the UK General Election and I hope with all my heart we’ll have voted for the planet above our membership (or not) of the EU, and everything else that matters so much. Because if we haven’t, where and how will our grandchildren live, no … Read More
John Clare, gardener and writer; and Bloom & Wild
In this strange spring and early summer of ours, where March’s snow, frost and ice stopped all plant growth and May’s hot days and tropical rainstorms encouraged it wildly, I’ve been wondering how many writers worked as gardeners. I only found one: John Clare. John Clare, 13 July 1793-20 May 1864 (aged 70) by William Hilton, oil on canvas, 1820 … Read More
Dare Always Dare, and Guerilla Grafters
A friend pointed out to me a week or so ago that this: DARE ALWAYS DARE is written in neon above the foyer entrance to the Old Vic Theatre (no idea why I’d never noticed it before): And so we should, if only we could, all the time. But I think it’s good enough to DARE SOMETIMES … Read More
DO YOU WANT ESCAPE or EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU READ FICTION? And: from food desert to food forest
I found this definition of the distinction between genre and literary fiction here: The main reason for a person to read Genre Fiction is for entertainment, for a riveting story, an escape from reality. Literary Fiction separates itself from Genre because it is not about escaping from reality, instead, it provides a means to better understand the … Read More
Mindfulness, Fitzroy Square and Subversive (Guerilla) Gardening
A few weeks ago I did an Introduction to Mindfulness day at the London Mindfulness Project (whose rooms are in the astonishingly beautiful, Georgian Fitzroy Square, at No 6): No 6, according to the Georgian Society, has: Over the years … become associated with high-end Bohemian residents many of whom had and have prominent careers in … Read More