Santa Claus is coming to town.

by | Nov 10, 2012 | 4 comments

This morning, in my town, Santa is riding into town. It’s the day of the Christmas Pageant. It’s billed as the largest street parade of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s only rival in the rest of the world is Macey’s Parade in New York....

Why read fiction?

by | Nov 3, 2012 | 8 comments

Someone asked me, ‘What’s the point of reading fiction?’ Slightly gob-smacked that this would come from someone I know, I blurted the first thing that popped into my head: It teaches us things about the world. (Lame, I know, but remember I was in...

Grow your own…

by | Oct 27, 2012 | 4 comments

The other day I was doing a little channel surfing. For those of you who immediately think, Why not read a book instead?, I’ll just say one word: research. (I challenge you to prove otherwise.) I drifted into a science show by mistake and saw something quite...

A funny old week…

by | Oct 20, 2012 | 10 comments

It’s been a funny old week. I went to do a little early (or late, if you’re my sister) Christmas shopping. The machine refused my credit card. We tried three times but…na da. I couldn’t understand it. Just two nights previous The Old Boy handed...

The mighty pen.

by | Oct 13, 2012 | 0 comments

Right now a 14 year old girl is fighting for her life in a hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She was shot in the head and neck by members of the Taliban, for daring to encourage other young girls to get an education. They ambushed her as she walked home from school....