The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.                                ...

When you have peace in yourself and accept, then you are calm enough to do something, but if you are carried by despair, there is no hope...

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.  Loren Eiseley   I do love the water. Have done since learning to swim at...

Home :  home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants But surely it is so...

Apologies to Shakespeare I have never been a craft enthusiast and not because I don’t see the value and beauty in creative pursuits but...

Anatomy: the internal structure or internal workings of something Friendship:  a state in which a person has a bond of mutual affection A...

My introduction to Sharon Halliday was through her writing. Two of her short stories shone a light on her childhood growing up in Young,...

It took me a long time to work out why the life of the party Sal was known as Killer! As a crime writer I thought I had a story straight...

I have a profound respect for anyone who can get up on a stage, inhabit a character and entertain an audience. Or perhaps I just envy...

I have a friend, who I shall call Freddy. He is a wonderful human who does incredibly good work, loves his family and is generous to his...

Back in 2014 I asked my dear friend, Michael Flynn, if I could use his name for a character in this novel I was writing. The character...

This isn’t an existential question nor a biological one. Nor a practical one about why everyone goes to the supermarket at the same time....

Yearning and Zeal Yearning is a feeling of intense longing or wishing for something that you may not be able to have or may have...

Wonder and Xenodochy I wonder why we wonder so little anymore. Perhaps it’s because we have seen all that there is that we might...

Uneasiness and vulnerability In a complex world uneasiness is almost unavoidable. That feeling that isn’t panic, anxiety or stress but...

Sorrow and Tenderness I think the first is one we try to avoid and the second we fail to practise enough. What is sorrow? Is it embodied...

Quixotism and Regret Q was rather hard to find in the emotional register. Qualmish and quizzical? But the wonders of quixotism was the...

Optimism and Patience Sounds easy? But both have some challenges. Some people are genuinely mistrustful of optimists. They seem to think...

Two similar emotions with overtones of sadness, wistfulness, and reflection. Melancholia is almost a ubiquitous trait in powerfully...

What would be the most logical of emotions in the K and L lists? Kindness or keenness? L might obviously look at love or loyalty or even...