My Alarm goes off at 6 am... it starts with the calm mellow tones of Enya, then Adiemus and progresses through to the likes of Pink Martini and Fever Ray. I really do not like waking up, my finger is well trained at locating the snooze button, so off I go again, back to the land of nod, subconsciously aware of the gentle sounds until I’m very rudely brought back to reality by ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” blaring out. It’s alrea...

She knew it made no sense, but it felt so right, He told her not to question it, just to hold him tight. The feelings came fast, too fast some would say, To meet and start falling for, all on the same day. They met and they talked, neither wanted to leave, She always knew she wore her heart on her sleeve. He made her smile; he made her heart sing, She lowered her defenses, she welcomed him in, Her face all aglow, her eyes...

Do you like being damp for several hours, people touching your butt and grabbing you, until you find yourself eye to eye with a most magnificently handsome male?  “Fancy a dirty weekend in the Congo?” he asked. “I have an extra space if you want to join me. I know you’ll be in Bwindi next week so you can pop across the border with me as there is space on the charter”. I couldn’t believe what I was being offered. “Errr… Ye...

She sat back, headphones on, pressed play and closed her eyes. As she listened to the music she heard the distant rumbling of thunder, it was getting louder, closer. She smiled. Soon the rains would be here. Looking around, taking in the dry harsh plains, the cracked white earth pierced by the odd clump of long crisp parched grass, she breathed in, filling her lungs with the hot air. A few kilometers away thick billowing...

What if you hadn’t been there, if we hadn’t met that day, what if when I’d looked at you, you’d looked the other way? What if I had been older, would you have found a way to stay, what if we hadn’t parted, each going our separate way? Would our lives have been different, would we have made it last? Would we have stayed together or remained in each other’s past? What if we hadn’t met again, years later, quite by chance? Wh...

He leaves her crying, alone, insides dead He makes her believe it’s all in her head. She wants to scream She wants to yell The anger consumes her Her life feels like hell. She is tired of being strong Of pretending she’s okay Of hiding the hurt In the light of the day.   His words cut right through her, they’ve torn her apart There is only cold stone where there once was a heart. Her temper flares Her insides churn She bi...

What is love? Howard Jones and later, Haddaway asked the same question. I’m not sure if either got any answers but I seem to be asking myself that more and more at the moment. I’m not talking of the love for your parents or children or siblings. I’m referring to the kind of love that makes your heart leap and your fingers tingle, which squeezes you right to the core of your being. That giddiness, those butterflies in your...

A massive old Acacia abyssinica tree grew to one side of the house on the edge of a seasonal pond overlooking the valley and fields below. So much life happened in and around this beautiful tree and through the decades many milestones had been commemorated in the shade of its branches; weddings, christenings, memorial services and countless lunch parties. Children who had grown up climbing in it now watched their grandchi...

The day I found out about you was one full of mixed emotions. You were unexpected, unplanned but never unwanted yet I couldn’t shift the feelings of foreboding that I had. Uncertainty, fear, dread even, and the feeling that things were no longer within my control.I barely spoke of you since that day I said goodbye, I set your spirit free. You had been with me and a part of me for 28 weeks, but now it was time to let you f...

Where can my heart go to break? To lose this pain that I cannot shake, You ran right through it with a stake And left me with this numbing ache.Where can my heart go to bleed? To rid myself of this addictive need The love and hope that your words would feed And to kill the dreams you had guaranteed.Where shall my soul go to die? Is there somewhere above the sky? I hope it is warm and soft and dry And that it will comfort...

My Mother once told me, a long time ago, that if I ate all my broccoli my hair would grow. I was not convinced; I knew it wasn't true, as I never ate my broccoli but my hair still grew. She assured me that spinach would make me grow strong. I still didn't eat it, just to prove her wrong. She said carrots would help me to see in the dark "but with a torch, I'll see better" I would remark. She'd try bribery, she'd cajole, t...