“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears” – Nelson Mandela
A week has gone by since the referendum that shook the United Kingdom. I’ve got to say, I’m still reeling.
The initial surprise has given way to pure disbelief and countless questions.
I have been told not to “panic”. I have been told “we were fine before we joined the EU”. I have been told not to “overreact”. Continue reading
Atle – Siberian husky, curling up for a well-earned snooze after a hard day’s work
Never having owned a dog, I’m not particularly au fait with the ins and outs of our obsession with “man’s best friend”. Continue reading
“Still round the corner there may wait a new road, or a secret gate” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Medieval street, Eze, France
I realise I haven’t wished you a happy new year. Although it’s still January (just) so maybe I haven’t quite missed the boat. When exactly does the new year stop being “new” anyway? Continue reading
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Peace is always beautiful” – Walt Whitman
The past few weeks have been crazy. It’s the time of year when I’m rushed off my feet with work and so is everyone else around me. It’s stress central. Continue reading
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies” – Mother Teresa
As I slide down the slippery slope towards the latter half of my 30s I often find myself contemplating the possibility of self-improvement, wondering whether I’m really making the most of the opportunities that come my way and how I could do better. I’ve said this before, I know. It led to my list of 50 things to do in life, which I’m quietly working through. But most of the things on the list are pretty big and can’t be achieved quickly or easily. That was, after all, the whole point.
But what about every day improvements? Continue reading
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.” T.S. Eliot
Where I come from we don’t call 31 December “New Year’s Eve”. We call it “Old Year’s Night”, which I actually prefer. It encourages you to look back and reflect, just for one last moment, before leaping headlong into the new year. Continue reading
Writing is an exploration – you start from nothing and explore as you go” – E.L. Doctorow
I write this on a chilly Helsinki winter evening (I’m on some work-related travel). Despite the almost constant darkness and the fact that it has been blowing a hooley and lashing horizontal, ice-cold sleet all day, the city has somehow managed to welcome me with twinkling Christmas lights and little wooden market huts selling all sorts of Nordic goodies from hot, spiced wine to crispy chocolate-coated fresh cranberries that burst and fizz with sweet juice when you pop them into your mouth. I have even seen Father Christmas – or should I say Joulupukki – wandering about the market square in front of the cathedral. It was definitely him. He must be making last minute preparations. Continue reading
It is widely accepted that the best way to ensure that you actually do the things that you might not otherwise find the courage to do is to tell people that you intend to do them. Announce it to the world. Shout it from the rooftops! Continue reading
I have to admit that I was quite distressed by the idea of turning 30. I hadn’t “achieved” any of the things a lady of the ripe old age of 30 was “supposed” to have achieved. Not married. No children. Not bought a house. In a slightly precarious job. Oh dear… Continue reading
Balticbliss 