With 

“Why do you think you need to go?” my counsellor challenged me. Grenfell was still burning and I was heading straight there after my appointment with him. Perhaps a bit too much of me wanted to be useful and to try to fix it, a notion of which I was soon disabused by the significant…

Advent

I wasn’t expecting Rico’s sermon in December to start with a story about clearing out his parents’ house after they’d died. At best, I was expecting a rugby-themed anecdote with which I’d have no emotional connection whatsoever; at worst, I anticipated some kind of Christmas story with which I’d cope by distancing myself emotionally and…

The last of the firsts?

“How’s your mum?” Caught somewhat off guard, I realised it was the first time I’d been asked that question since. A whole year had passed yet it was the first conversation I’d had with someone who had known, but didn’t know. Someone who had last seen Mum the best part of twenty years ago but…

Sprout time: when I miss Mum the most

“I thought that sprout time and choirs would be the hardest”, said John, my brother. Yes, he’s right. This is the time I miss Mum the most. Christmas Eve, 3pm. The time I always made every effort to be with Mum. Dad would’ve dutifully found Radio 4 and we’d have checked and double-checked that the…

Matt

It reminded me of the time that I got knocked over by a wave. With rising panic, I found the surface and came up gasping for air, only to breathe in nothingness. My wet hair, plastered across my face, stopped the air from filling my lungs and the next wave forced me back under water…

Hope

The perfect reflection of sky in still water. The sudden illumination of a snow-capped mountain as the shadows shift. The soft clouds which hang wistfully in the valley or gather round the highest peaks. Georgia was definitely a good choice of holiday destination, I think to myself with deep satisfaction.  It’s beautiful here. I want…