Sunday Blog 186 – 25 May 2025 I plucked this quotation from the poem Ten Thousand Flowers in Spring from the podosphere this week. I was listening to something designed to settle me down for the night. But instead, I sat bolt upright and scribbled it down. The quotation landed, whole and perfect like an …
Author Archives: pipbrennan
Journalling, and what it reveals…
Sunday Blog 185 – 18 May 2025 This week I tuned into a podcast all about memoir and journalling, just after returning from my recent Bali writing retreat. While there, I finished transcribing my 2006-2010 journal. (Procrastination about editing the memoir? How very dare you!) Among other things, the podcast episode highlighted that journalling can …
Long, bright shadow
Sunday Blog 184 – 11th May 2025 Sunday Blog 184 – 11th May 2025 Can a long, bright shadow be a thing? If so, that’s what my Mum cast over my life, leaving a trail of constructive kindness and unconditional acceptance. Not to mention whimsical remnants of 1940s teen slang such as “I’m all gog-wozzled” …
Be here while you’re here
Sunday Blog 183 – 4th May 2025 Why does travel cast such a spell over me? Each time I travel, I imagine that this time, I’ll understand the mystery at last. Is the answer held in my body? The night before I travel I always remind myself that “it’s my last night in my own …
Journals vs memoir
Sunday Blog 182 – 27th April 2025 In the interests of getting ready for my next writing retreat and editing sprint in Bali next week, I’ve been dipping back into relevant journals. Much like the girl in the image, I’ve noticed my instinct as a writer is to water ski over the top of emotions, …
Mini-graduation
Sunday Blog 181 – 20th April 2025 As a life-long learner I’m always signed up to some course or other, and last week I formally graduated from a pilot one-year course for people like me who’ve been a consumer representative for some time. Called CREST – Consumer Representative Education Support and Training, it was designed …
Betty the e-bike
Sunday Blog 180 – 13th April 2025 My new red collapsible e-bike is a beast, even on level 1. Zooms forward with a spurt as I scrabble for the pedals, jam on the brakes, turn it back to zero to co-ordinate my errant feet. Endless opportunities to look foolish at fifty-nine on this machine, but …
Communication is truth
Sunday Blog 179 – 6th April 2025 It would seem that there are consequences to removing my head from the sand of world politics. Much greater effort is required to ensure that my spirits remain buoyant in these interesting, interesting times. So today I returned to the scene of my undergraduate degree. I left this …
No makes Way for Yes Part Two
Sunday Blog 178 – 30th March 2025 I have a card with the saying No Makes Way for Yes on my noticeboard in the hope it will enchant me to say no more often. It’s been there so long it’s yellowing around the edges. In 2019 I wrote a blog with the same title – …
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast
Sunday Blog 177 – 23rd March 2025 I recently realised that I haven’t ever really blogged about the volunteer work I do in my neighbourhood. I’ve been living here for twenty-three years, and for at least fifteen off those years, I’ve moved in and out of the dance of volunteering. There’s something vulnerable about giving …