
Bees Foraging Flowers

Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Wonder is not only a thing of childhood, although that’s when everyday things seem most miraculous. The child has been waterproofed by adults, but it is the hand with the missing glove he attends to.
We sense the mystery as a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, but there’s a magic in the way some writers use language that we rarely attend to. Continue reading “Magic And Water”
It’s ironic that Charlotte Brontë – who fruitlessly campaigned for her work to be judged on the same terms as men – is now about as close to the ranks of DWEM (dead, white, European, male writers) as a woman can be.
Her views – like herself – are from the 19th century. So perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised to see bloggers struggling with the idea of whether it’s OK for today’s women to read the pioneering books written by this Victorian writer. Continue reading “Is it OK to read Charlotte Brontë’s books?”
I’m starting this occasional series on writers and writing by sharing some photos that help place the most romantic literary siblings England has ever produced, Emily, Anne and Charlotte Brontë, in their Yorkshire town, Haworth. Continue reading “Haworth: home of the Brontës”
The best tip on reading poetry I picked up when studying English at Liverpool University was from a lovely, quirky, thoughtful tutor, then Doctor, now Professor, Philip Davis. Continue reading “A thought for poetry lovers”