Captain’s log; Startled date 02/04/2020 Death toll: 2921 Issues: ineffective testing, PPI and anxiety of the rise eugenic speak in the media and beyond. Upside: clapping for key workers. Downside; memories of Tory government cheering the blocking of nurses and fire-fighters 1% wage increase in 2017 Today we entered the second stage of the new normal where the adrenaline drops and the realisation that we cannot return home creeps into our consciousness, creating a gravity echo that leads to a […]
Bat-sick Crazy March 23rd 2020
Last Monday I was on the bus trying not to touch anything with my hands- -which is tricky if you are visually impaired, bus lurching, Mitzie sliding helplessly into the aisle. Back then, hundreds of long hours ago, when we were still living in that other England, a gaggle of pensioners were braving it out in the backseats, muttering, squeaking and giggling like teenagers bunking off school. Across from Mitzie and I, a baby in a pram coughed snottily and […]
Oh, What A Night!
My Mum was over from France which was lucky. ‘How does this look?’ I asked, feeling 15 years old. My eyes are still bit blurry but I also have NO fashion sense! ‘Emmm… it’s ‘nice”, said Mum with a worried expression. My heart plummeted. You see my Mum can’t lie about things like this. Her using the word ‘nice’ is like a surgeon using the word, ‘hopeful’. Not something you want to hear a few minutes before the op. I […]
Countdown to Launch!
Okay, I reckon there is still time. It is Tuesday night and the launch is on Friday. If I don’t eat, do fifty lunges, 100 press-ups and a thousand stretches each hour, I can probably lose the weight and gain the two inches that I feel I need to face the public. I don’t see any real problem with this…apart from the eye thing. Ah… You see I had cataract surgery two weeks ago and am not supposed to do […]
Grace, CULL and the End (of 2017, that is)!
I have been out-calendared. Seriously. Here is me handing over a pretty (perchance a little dull) South West Guide Dog Association calendar to Grace’s new family for Christmas. ‘Grace is Ms December!’ I twinkle smugly. ‘Ahh, that’s lovely!’, they reply, handing me a calendar they have made themselves. On their shiny calendar, EVERY month is Grace month!!! Grace, and Max her new buddy, Grace with all the balls, Grace camping, Grace eating Grace, Grace…! ‘Holy Bonio, Grace,’ I hiss. ‘How […]
And still we rise…! 84%!
CULL has hit 84% of total and is on a roll! For those of you unsure about what this is all about, what the hell kind of novel it is and why on earth you should pledge and become part of this wonderful project, please allow me to shed some light! CULL is my second novel, a literary fiction set in ‘another England’ where austerity has set the country’s teeth on edge. Hate crime is on the rise and the […]
(Guide) Dog Lovers Should Not Vote Tory
Are you a dog lover? Do you support Guide Dogs and other assistance dogs? Then this is why you should NOT vote Tory. The snap election is nearly upon us. Some of you may even have your postal vote ready but if you are thinking about voting for the Conservative Party and call yourself a dog lover, I suggest you read this and reconsider your vote. It is VERY simple. Guide Dogs and other assistance dogs are trained to work […]
A Weekend of Dance with Touchdown Company.
Into the dance studio we go! My eyes are finding it hard to adjust to the dark shadows of the wide dance studio space interspersed with occasional dazzling pools of sunlight. I am, however, prepped and perky and I am wearing ‘gear’ for the unknown, i.e. doubled sports bra/ tank top combo (experience has shown it to be almost as effective and certainly less painful to remove than duct-tape), track suit bottoms and huge cotton knickers. (All ladeez understand why […]
Amazing Grace and the End of an Era
Grace Hangs up Her Harness Grace has retired. Yes. It is officially the end of an era. As of last Thursday my wonderful buddy and fellow academic, my guide in the dark, my morning singing, fox poo rolling, clever, funny, huge hearted, rambunctious, co-traveller in this bonkers journey, has been retired. She has been at my side for seven and a half years, guiding me past the death of my Dad, across the county and through my MA and PhD. […]
Holey Vision!
We are back! Hellooooo! Goodness, I have missed you and can only apologise for the wee gap …okay, the three-year wee gap… in my Holey Vision posts! I got sucked deep down into my PhD but am now safely out the other side. And, da da DAAA…! I am a Doctor Bush of Bath Spa University! I kid you not. Grace too has weathered the storm and, now 9 years old and a little greyer, is also the proud wearer […]