Category Archives: Life Stories

The Trouble with Boys

Posted on January 22, 2023 by 14thcenturypoet

One fine, cold, dry January afternoon, back in about 1950, three boys, two brothers and their neighbour were walking home from school, boots echoing on the hard ground. They were talking about this and that. Not much. The air misted … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year

Posted on December 31, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

Wherever your path will take you in 2023, may you walk in peace in the sunshine with all the people you love the best xxx Happy New Year! Bonne Année!

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Family Trees

Posted on September 23, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

I was ten years old when I made it to the topmost branches of the horse chestnut in our family’s acre. The tree had been planted by great uncle Jack, just after World War Two and before he left England … Continue reading →

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Back to work!

Posted on September 6, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

I was on a ferry last week, traveling from France to the UK, and it was packed. It took hours to load all the sunburned Brits heading home, the queue for the port stretched right through the town, past the … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Push The River

Posted on July 18, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

This is one of my favourite sayings. I have used it many times to counsel patience in others, but rarely have I used it to counsel patience in myself. The river goes at its own pace. My recovery from major … Continue reading →

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Sunny Sussex by the Sea!

Posted on July 12, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

What an incredible weekend to arrive in this exotic gilded location, the grass was parched, and the air was dry, and the tourists were out in force. Under the trees a student was sitting cross-legged, carefully committing the Brighton Pavilion … Continue reading →

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First Family Cats

Posted on June 13, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

From the Cancer Memory Diary. I called Uncle Alan and Auntie Eila Nunc-nunc and Nauntie, and the names stuck their entire lives long, signing their pet names in my birthday cards for decades. My parents and Grandma Bing were close … Continue reading →

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The Cancer Memory Diary

Posted on June 8, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

Shortly after my diagnosis last summer I picked up a notebook I had been given for a birthday and began to fill it with memories. I felt I needed to download in case the worst happened, but instead of fear … Continue reading →

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The Red Chateau

Posted on May 22, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

Carrouges vies with many to be our most local chateau, our home town makes do with a scattering of Manoirs. It is an odd castle for this region in that it is built almost entirely of brick. Only the oldest … Continue reading →

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What does a writer do all day?

Posted on May 18, 2022 by 14thcenturypoet

What does a writer do all day? Well, for a start, there are fish to feed and then there are phone calls to make, castles to explore, and mysteries to solve before tea-time… Continue reading →

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