Sometimes I have trouble letting go. Whether it's a fixed idea, an obsession, or my feelings about a particular person or thing. Without the ability to let go, however, there can be little peace of mind or spiritual progress in life. So I'm actively (or should that be 'passively'?) learning to let go when I... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries #43: Third time’s the charm
April, and the good people of Slovenia are placed in lockdown for the third time since the pandemic started. It is also the third lockdown for us as a family, though the first one we experienced was in Spain. Feeling the strain This is supposed to be an eleven day 'short, sharp shock' lockdown to... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries #42: One Year On
It's exactly a year since I started this 'Quarantine Diaries' series. I consider this a kind of 'blogiversary,' as prior to this, I had only posted the odd short story and a few excerpts from my work-in-progress novel. How the world in general, and my life in particular, has changed over this time! The first... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries #34: Chronicles of Lockdownia
Winter has come to the mythical kingdom of Lockdownia, coating the shadow side of the valley in glittering fairy dust. Surely some subtle magic is afoot. As crimson light gilds the high peaks to the North and the moon rises, the Queen grows weary. It has been a week of ups and downs in the... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries #33: The brighter side of lockdown
I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better than I did when I sat down to write the previous diary entry. PMDD has left the building, and so has my mother-in-law, though I must say that the symptoms of the former eased considerably the moment that the latter left. I still struggled with the... Continue Reading →
Going Viral: A Diary
I went viral this weekend. Not in the oft-sought-after Twitter sense, but in the not-feeling-very-well sense. Given the current climate, I thought I might be coming down with Covid-19. Thankfully, I'm feeling better now. But the diarist in me had to record the experience, despite how bad I felt. Here's the result: 19/06/20 Woke up... Continue Reading →
Postcards from Slovenia #2: A Circuit of Lake Bled
Situated at the foot of the Julian Alps in the North of Slovenia, Lake Bled is one of the country's best-loved natural attractions. An opalescent turquoise on a clear day; dark and brooding when a storm is brewing; it is definitely worth a closer look. The 6km circumference is a delight to walk around, and... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries Part 3: Nice-Slovenia
This was definitely the hardest part of the journey for me; we set off from Nice at 4am so the kids would be able to sleep for the first few hours. Exhaustion was already beginning to set in for me by then and I didn't do much driving because I just didn't feel safe. Although... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries Road Trip Part 2: Tortosa-Nice
So much has changed since I wrote the last entry, I'm feeling a bit numb as I write this one. If I think back to this time last week, and the distance travelled both physically and emotionally since then, it's mind-blowing. It puts me in mind of the Ancient Mariner's homecoming journey when the spirit... Continue Reading →
The Quarantine Diaries Road Trip Day 1: Malaga-Tortosa
3 days. 4 countries. 2,500km. Of all the road trips I have taken with my family, this was the craziest yet. It was also the most unusual, given that we were crossing a Europe emerging from an unprecedented lockdown brought about by the Covid-19 crisis. It was by turns exhilarating, exhausting and fascinating. Today I... Continue Reading →