July 18, 2017 I have a scar on my left eyebrow, a vertical dent that bisects the eyebrow fur near the arch. The scar has revealed itself...

July 6, 2017 I write best in the quiet of the morning. When I sit down to my computer soon after waking my brain is not cluttered by the...

June 27, 2017 I’ve just spoken to my mother. She’s in a fabulous mood. Very happy. She laughed sweetly. It was a tinkle. What’s up, I...

June 6, 2017 Oxford Circus has new posters: ‘London. Everyone Welcome.’

June 2, 2017 This is Martin, dressed up as an elf and soon to be married. He got off the train in Newcastle with a large group of friends...

I went out early this morning to get newspapers for my 87-year-old aunt and her neighbour. It took only 10 minutes to purchase and...

May 30, 2017 I’m on a train bound for Scotland where I will stay with my elderly aunt. When the train stopped at Edinburgh, I happened to...

May 19, 2017 The Japanese love insects. Children collect them and even raise them from eggs and grubs. I bought a stag beetle grub when I...

May 9, 2017 A friend was giving me advice yesterday. When I say she was giving me advice, I mean she interrupted what I was saying to...

April 23, 2017 Falling asleep is like body surfing. You feel the pull of the wave and let go at a crucial moment to drift on the watery...

April 18, 2017 My 84-year-old mother is an early bird. It’s the Connell way. You get up early and you get ahead in life. My brother was...

April 13, 2017 According to my mother, there are good birds and bad birds. Quails are gents. Thrushes are beautiful. Blackbirds have a...

April 6, 2017 My niece was discussing the gym with my 84-year-old mother. The topic was legwork, how it’s better to avoid squats with...

April 3, 2017 My 84-year-old mother wanted to make chow-chow pickle. It’s a delicious turmeric yellow relish made from green tomatoes,...

March 29, 2017 The night before last, we broke our journey south to stay in a motel. When my sister turned on the television, the...

March 28, 2017 My mother, sister and I are heading south on a road trip. We are taking the west coast road. My sister and I were...

March 27, 2017 My 84-year-old mother has been telling us stories as we drive south to visit her sister. Not long after my parents built...

March 26, 2017 My grandmother was a god-fearing woman. She came from strict Presbyterian farming folk, the kind of people who believed...

March 25, 2017 We visited the local supermarket today to stock up on wine for my mother’s 85-year-old sister Joy. Joy likes a sauvignon...

March 13, 2017 My mother’s beloved chickens escaped from their enclosure today. Mum had to lure them back inside with sweet talk: ‘If you...