Angel Jem's City Cottage

Whatever else you do today (hello! I'm writing this a day late on Thursday: better late than never) go and vote. I don't care who you vote for, just vote. And if there's nobody you want to vote for, go and spoil your ballot. Spoilt ballots get counted as well, and can be a form of protest. On to Wednesday Wind Up. I've had a bit of a slow wake up this week, I think I either have a water infection or a cold, I find it so hard to get out of bed and into work. Or perhaps the sunny mornings just make me wish occasionally I was still a SAHM. Oh, the things I could do with a few days at home now! Never mind, that's not my season. I work 9 to 4 most days, so that's what I do. What am I reading this week? I finished reading Gone Viking by Helen Russell. It was funny, and touching, and all the things I wanted it to be. A good happy read, so that was fun. I also finished Happy by Fearne Cotton. It was interesting: while I was reading it, I could hear Fearne

Wednesday is usually a good day in the office. I get in early, after dropping David off at the station at 8 for University at 9.30. I can clean, run backup, get the first cup of tea in and be writing at my desk, all before 9am. I leave by 4, to tutor a child, so the day is even a shorter day than usual. I think my early morning quiet session will be a good time to do my weekly round up. So here I am, only a week later than I thought! What am I reading this week? I had to mostly read Reservoir 13 for bookclub on Monday. It did not go well. I know it's won all sorts of awards and been raved about by people,had prequels on Radio 4 and all the things that meant I should have liked it.... but I just didn't. I don't know whether part of that was I was reading in very short bursts and often late at night in an incredibly busy few weeks, or because the style is deliberately disjointed, with no identifiable main character. I didn'y have sympathy for any of teh character

Wednesday Wind Up :  How glad am I that I started these posts, a couple of years ago? I have been rereading some old ones and it's such an easy way to keep tabs on life. I'd forgotten buying a watch for playground duty (that watch, like the rest, didn't last). Or how many books I used to read. Any how, I'm back, and this time it's personal. As in, this is my personal blog, my online diary. I'm still hyggering away with How To Hygge The British Way, but that's not a family blog. I can't share things at a whim, I find it more of a thinking space than a chatting place. I need both. I have missed you all, and after I posted on Monday I had two beautiful replies saying welcome back. Thank you. I have been to the Emerald City, and it was all very well, but there's no place like Home. So my plan is, even if only on a Wednesday or Thursday for the Wind Up, to post regularly over here. Just for me. I don't expect people to follow or comment, a

I've been busy the past few months again, writing a book on happiness. And when I've not been writing, I've been crocheting, decorating, cooking, cleaning (a lot of cleaning) and all the other detritus of a woman's life that takes up the time and makes one tired. I'm fully expecting nobody to be reading this blog by now. Taking almost 6 months off does rather lose one readers, doesn't it? I can understand. I find I rarely read blogs now, being seduced by the quick posts on Twitter, the picture heavy Instagram or the cosy companionship of Facebook groups full of hygge-loving people, or readers, crafters, makers. I think I have ignored myself in the form of Angel Jem. This was never about relating to people, but a diary for me. A diary of my life, and the issues in it. So, here's an update: 1. Christmas came and went. It was lovely, and we had a quiet family Christmas before leaving the day after Boxing Day to visit Salisbury. I will never go away over Ch

There are 74 days left until Christmas!! This came as a bit of a surprise to me when I looked it up today, as I don't feel anywhere near ready for Christmas. Also, is it my imagination, or have shops not got Christmas in as early as last year? I went looking for wrapping paper last week and couldn't see the sort I was after in Tesco, W H Smiths or Asda. In fact, Asda had no Christmas paper and shelves still full of Hallowe'en! That struck me as rather odd, because when it comes to Back To School the shelves are cleared and replaced by Halloween before school even starts. I think I was hoping for something similar with Christmas. So, in an effort to get Christmas juices flowing, I thought I'd share a few things I'm looking to do or get for Christmas. 1. Visit Salisbury Museum. They have the Terry Pratchett exhibition on, until January 13th and my two sons are keen to go. We live in Liverpool, and there's a long distance between the two places, so we'

I had a wild time. No. Well, I had a time. Time is my most precious resource. I say it again and again, but it's what I'd like most for Christmas, Birthday or any time when someone offers me a gift. I'd like time. I want a day that has at least 2 extra hours in it. An eight day week, and a year with two Decembers. I want a time-turner that works for revisiting moments I've loved, and a pause button for times I'm enjoying so much and don't want to end. I want a way to stop ageing so that everybody I love can stay at their favourite age for a long time. I want to be able to turn around and see the generations before, and talk to them so that they can tell me that time is irresistible, and the only thing to do it go with it. Time is a flood, time is a great tidal surge that is washing me away. Time is the great leveller, the great destroyer, the ultimate barrier to immortality. What I really need is to grasp hold of my time and to use it well. What I