Camilla George - 'The People Could Fly'

So much to love about the latest release from saxist Camilla George.
    Read my review here.

Taking responsibility is never easy

My beautiful dog - Looby Loo - was sadly taken ill at the end of October and we had to make the terrible decision to put her to sleep on 7 November. It was a very short illness and she was out walking in the fields for a few days in the middle. We still miss her every day.

Now, in a surprise turn of events, we have rehomed a puppy called Zach. He's a border collie/Labrador cross and is a delight. We love having him in our home and we also know that also brings the same responsibility of long-term care.

We Will Remember Them - A Nation's Thank You

On 11 November 1918, the guns of World War One fell silent and to commemorate the centenary on a sunny autumn morning, I was part of The People's Parade, from the Mall to the Cenotaph.

Along the way, I fell in with these lovely people. We all had a story to tell of relatives who had fallen in the Great War. We shared those stories while waiting for 11am to arrive.

The service itself was sombre and melancholy, and we all queued up to file in silence past the rows and rows of wreaths, remembering individuals and teams of people who had been lost to war. The sunshine was both warming and in stark contrast to some of the conditions that soldiers have fought and died in.

We will remember them.



Wilfred Owen - still being read after a century

4 November 2018 marked the centenary of the death of poet Wilfred Owen. A new film about his life and death - The Burying Party - was screened at Genesis in London's East End to mark the day.

    I was in illustrious company, including most of the cast and crew of this remarkable film, and Kenneth Branagh. Despite a technical hitch in the middle, this was a subdued audience for a stunning film that I certainly need to rewatch.

    The film traces the last months of Owen's life - his meeting with Siegfried Sassoon and others who ultimately helped make him the poet he became. Without Sassoon, it is unlikely that his poetry would have been collected, published and championed. The film shows their relationship - as much as can be assumed from the letters and poetry they both left behind. Sassoon was one of the first to recognise the genius behind Owen's work: the work that was just beginning to be read more widely when he was killed in combat just one week before the end of World War One.

    What the director of The Burying Party achieves effortlessly is blurring the lines between surmise and reality - many of the lines are taken directly from Owen and Sassoon's writings.

    All in all, this is a glowing tribute to both men.

The importance of sleeping - and dreaming

I was fortunate enough to spot online by chance - and then book - a retreat in the heart of London.

This was one of my mementoes from an extraordinary day.

The retreat took place in  a hotel just a few minutes' walk from London Bridge station. It was easy to get to and such a joy from start to finish.

Sessions on the day included discussions on sleep, diet and general wellbeing. The presenters were Wajeeha Amin and Dr Fairoz Miller. Between them, they explored the issues of health and wellbeing in a scientific, insightful way. The other participants on the day were equally positive and helpful - all in all, it was an intensely personal experience that I hope to repeat in the not-too-distant future.

Meanwhile, this test-tube sits in front of me on my desk. Its shape reflects the scientific knowledge of the day, while the label reminds me of the value of dreaming.

Paying respects to family and heroes

The grave of Wilfred Owen, Ors.

My ambition for October this year was to visit the battlefields of Belgium and northern France. I wanted to take my mother and father to visit the graves of my Great Uncle Tom Robinson, Great Great Uncle Fred Robinson and the poet Wilfred Owen.

In the end, it was a very moving experience, that included visits to cemeteries, the Menin Gate, Ypres' new In Flanders Fields museum and a set of trenches which are almost as if they were vacated yesterday.

The whole trip was eerie and rewarding and I was pleased to be able to help my parents pay their respects, too.

A wet and muddy visit to trenches just outside Ypres.

Mum and Dad at the graveside of my Great Uncle Tom.