Editor's Blog
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Getting into the spirit of self-denial
25 February 2009
We mixed the eggs and flour and fried and flipped pancakes last night until we were groaning, as though we really were going to fast for the next 40 days and nights. So it seems a bit of a hollow ritual if we just continue to eat and drink as usual during Lent.
Well, I am not going to starve the boys – nor myself for that matter. But I think a bit of self-discipline would not go amiss so I’m making it tough on myself – by giving up alcohol. I do like my glass of wine or two in the evenings so I am going to notice six weeks without it. (Giving up chocolate would be easy!)
But we keep hearing uncomfortable news about the health risks of booze so, to start with, a rest from it will probably do me a whole lot of good. Plus, I owe it to my children to set a restrained example. Lastly, though, with half the world wondering where their next meal is coming from, not to be able to get through the day without a drink seems like feebleness.
Lost for words
6 February 2009
A good friend of ours has just died. Out of the blue. One day he was charming the world, as ever. The next, finito.
His wife and two teenage boys are reeling, numb, aching with pain. Reflecting on his great character and his enjoyment of life does nothing to remove the deep sense of injustice that he has been taken long before his time.
Words are inadequate. All we can do is be there.
Why do cats get cancer?
16 January 2009
We have two gorgeous tabby cats, brother and sister from the same litter. Caspian is a huge, laid-back softie who spends most of the day sleeping across my desk and the radiator beside it (leaving me little room for my stuff and covering my paperwork in hair and grit). Annie is by contrast a tiny little bird who has always been more prone to disappear on her own mysterious adventures. It was she, as a kitten, who used to drive me mad by walking across my keyboard and sending off unfinished emails, and jumped up and down at the computer screen trying to catch the mouse arrow.
In brief, she has always been the lean and active one and the very picture of health. Caspian is a bit of a slob, if I’m honest. But it’s Annie who has a massive, inoperable tumour inside her ribcage. The vet has been doing what he can but, although she still seems OK at the moment, it is only a matter of time before her heart and lungs are going to be contracted unbearably.
These two cats are very special to me and my boys. We got them as six-week-old kittens when we had just reluctantly returned from three years living in the States. My marriage had broken up and our visa had expired, though the boys’ father had chosen to renew his work contract and remain out there. So they have given us unconditional love through even the lowest of times for nearly nine years.
They are important members of the family. And it just doesn’t seem fair.
Hold back on the resolutions this new year
31 December 2008
Q. When is the worst possible time to set inflexible goals and restrictions for yourself?
A. During the month of the dreariest days, when the pleasure of Christmas is over and spring is light years away.
You are probably feeling broke, a little bloated, and there’s not much to look forward to. So be kind to yourself. Yes, there’s nothing wrong with making plans for the year but don’t set unrealistic targets. Know that you will work on them as the year develops and they will gradually become easier.
The danger of setting resolutions is that if you slip you will feel that you have failed. If you renounce chocolate, cigarettes or alcohol and then weaken, it can drive you to fling your hands up in the air and give up giving up.
Take it slowly, one step at a time, knowing that you are heading in the right general direction.
And best wishes for good health, happiness and success to you and your families in 2009.
Happy Christmas!
24 December 2008
It just remains to wish you a happy Christmas. I said this morning that there would be no fallings-out in our house ... Wrong. Martin and I have just have a row about something relatively trivial. So he’s licking his wounds listening to carols while I carry on running around knocking jobs off the list. With nine of us round the table tomorrow and three staying over I have plenty to do.
Hope you have a lovely day with your families. Relax and enjoy!
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