Dreaming about drinking: some thoughts

January 10, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

This morning I woke up after dreaming about drinking alcohol. In my dream, I am with people and we are happy – euphoric, almost – and I have a glass of wine in my hand. I am drinking from it and laughing. All of a sudden, I realise I’m making a horrible mistake: I don’t […]

quitting social media: six months on

December 14, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

Little more than six months ago, I wrote about taking a break from social media. I did it for lots of reasons. The first thing I’d do in the morning with my cup of coffee was check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. It became a circle of scrolling/updating that saw me lose half an hour and […]

Run: ashburton

December 12, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

If you like running and exploring new places then this 10k around Ashburton may just be what you need.

Do you need to listen to your inner child?

November 5, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

It is hard to put into words how I have felt over the last week. Anxious? Yes. Tired? That too. But more than that. Fragmented. One minute I was alright, the next minute I’d burst into tears. As quickly as they came, they would go. Usually I would tell myself it’s ‘OK not to be […]

Explore: a sunny stroll in teignmouth

October 30, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

When poet John Keats visited Teignmouth in 1818, he arrived at a time when the weather was typically British: it had a bit of everything. And so it is the case again in 2020. Squally rain gives way to white-hot sunshine. Puffy clouds swell and the wind huffs around like a stroppy teenager. In the […]

Things I do now, that my younger self would laugh at

October 26, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Dress practically. Layers. Well-fitting bras. Neutral colour and covered up as opposed to shouty slogans and cut-outs. Shoes that are comfortable rather than crucifying. Buying vests to wear underneath jumpers and not as outerwear a la 2003. Get excited about household appliances. Most recently this was triggered by a cordless handheld vacuum cleaner. A seminal […]

EXPLORE: HAYTOR GRANITE TRAMWAY

October 17, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Let’s travel back in time – 200 years to be precise. We’ve decided we want to take a stroll on Dartmoor National Park; enjoy the autumn air and escape the technology of today. We step outside our time machine expecting to hear little but – gosh! What’s that noise? And that smell? It’s gunpowder and […]

six important life lessons

October 5, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

Your mental wellbeing is everything Hands down it whips the ass of everything else. Money, career, relationships; it won’t mean a thing unless we take the time each day to look after ourselves. If this means saying no more, letting go of something or walking away from someone then so be it. Never forget the […]

Go sober in october

October 1, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

I feel the need to write a blog post today, to remind myself why being a non-drinker is so cool. It’s nearly 850 days since I last had an alcoholic drink or, as I like to put it, the day I decided to lead a better life. Wow, don’t I sound sanctimonious? I don’t mean […]

say hello to hope

September 23, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

I am experiencing emotional turbulence right now. Are you, like me, looking around and wondering what is going on? The other day I went into a restaurant and a masked-up waiter aimed what looked like a gun at my head. It turns out he needed to take my temperature before I was allowed in for […]