How I (at last!) got the spark to write again. The spark came on a train… … though, this was no electrical fault. Nor was it a bolt of romantic frisson from a handsome fellow passenger (sadly). But a spark of motivation and impetus to put pen to paper and write again. Carriage 4; the coach of choice in my London commuting days and so often…

… for everything. But, like the rest of the world I may just be trotting my way back along the comeback trail… With so much on seemingly indefinite hold for the last fifteen months, it was with a warm heart (if a little chilly cockles), that I resumed my place…

… this week’s account of a passion being lived vicariously. — The latest instalment chronicling my vicarious indulgence of a passion for running — and my Pops feeding his weekly ParkRun ‘fix’ — sent us tagging along with clubmate Mick in a quest for yet another new course. …

It’s been a while since I wrote… so what better way to return than with a celebration… — It’s a while since I’ve been able to run, so these days I choose to indulge my running passion vicariously by means of tagging along to heckle my Dad — aka Pops — as he feeds his weekly ParkRun ‘fix’, often also indulging another passion of mine by scribing my…

Just the right thing at just the right time… how a random act of kindness can change the course of ‘just one of those days’… — I had ‘one of those days’ this week. I woke at a ridiculously early hour — my ever-busy mind already spinning in to complete overdrive. …

A tale of how some of my most embarrassing memories provided a much-needed dose of laughter-therapy this week. — ‘Think positive thoughts!’ One of the ‘simple’ techniques we’re sometimes reminded of when we’re having a bad day. Ah, stupid me, how could I be so foolish? Here was me thinking that ruminating over how bad I feel was going to help! If only I’d known the remedy was so…

If you could buy a dream — any kind of dream — how would you spend your hard-earned? — I sat, transfixed, in the vast, echoey gallery. Perched on a plastic chair and sporting a huge pair of headphones, I soaked up the scenes that unfolded on the film before me. I’m by no means an art aficionado, but I’ve found myself inspired by many cultural experiences of late…

… no diva-like demands on my ‘rider’. Call me easily pleased… Tea and hugs. Easily in the top ten of my favourite things in the world. Two things I write and think about often. Tea: I easily manage this one on a daily basis. Indian-style chai, green tea, rooibos, ginger…

… and it really was so simple! — ‘Sawasdee khaa’ from Chiang Mai, Thailand! Wow, when it rains here, it really rains! Dramatic forks of lightning light in the skies like a dodgy early-90s nightclub strobe, baritone rumbles of thunder reverberate in my tummy. Simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Last night it absolutely lashed down all night and has…