Dead End

I’ve been trying to figure out why going to work, to be precise, going to novel-writing work, has become something I dread. If an editor gives me the green light on a piece of journalism, I go to it with relish. But Dr Dan 5? At 9am with the file open on my laptop, oh…

Read More

A Toe in the Door of Celebrity

Great excitement in the Graham household, quite apart from the imminent arrival of grandchild No. 8. First came a message from the Middle Daughter. ‘Mum,’ she said, ‘you’re the answer in a word puzzle!’ And there it was. Not in the same league as getting an airport named after you, but still. And little did…

Read More

Old Shoes

I’ve finally made a start on Dan 5 and a mixed experience it has turned out to be. On the wholly positive side, it’s like being back in the company of an old friend, or slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. ‘What kept you?’ I hear Trevor Buxton ask. On the other side of…

Read More

Nothing to See Here

I have nothing to tell you, except that Dr Dan 5 is still in blank page format. I did make some notes but then the sun came out and I found a million other ways to spend my days. I need to steel myself for one last marathon. Journalism is different. When the phone rings…

Read More

What I’m Not Giving Up for Lent

The older I get the list of things I’ve already given up grows longer. Liquorice Allsorts, Bourbon biscuits, Schubert Lieder, Cognac, Father Ted. Can’t stand any of them. When my Orthodox husband was alive we’d give up meat, but nowadays, contrary to medical fashion, my body tells me I need it. Not an enormous rib-eye that…

Read More

Killing People Isn’t Easy

Today, apart from changing the sheets and taking out the garbage, I have a job that gives me some satisfaction: playing God. Which, of Dr Dan’s previous cast of thousands, will survive to Book 5? Some people like designing gardens or rearranging furniture. My thing is playing the Grim Reaper, but with a red pen…

Read More

A Funny Thing Happened…

… on the way to the supermarket. I rediscovered my Get Up and Go. Or, more accurately, my Get Up and Write. Walking has often served me as a pipe-opener, literally and figuratively, and I go out for a walk most days, exploring my new neighbourhood, piecing together the jigsaw of London. But it was…

Read More

Notes From the Plague Couch

I always suspected it was a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’.  And yes, in spite of two armfuls of Pfizer plus a booster, it got me in the end. Here I lurk, in strict quarantine, but supported and serviced by fellow residents. They make sure I don’t starve, though they know as well as I…

Read More

Lady of Leisure

My new life is gradually taking shape, though so far without accommodating any gainful work. There have been some changes. Now, as soon as I set foot outside my apartment door, I’m in a community. If I wish to eat breakfast with my fellow Brothers (and generally I do), I need to be dressed and…

Read More

Gainfully Unemployed

I’m surfacing at last from the exhaustion of moving, not just house, but country too. I’m home, after a long absence and my children and grandchildren are relieved.  I haven’t done a lick of work in weeks, which got me thinking about some of the jobs I’ve had over the years. My first, at the…

Read More