I am annoyed. We could change the name of the blog to I AM ANNOYED, as I’m pretty much always annoyed, but that would be really annoying, as ANNOYED is one of the words I struggle to spell. Mind, so is the word RESISTANCE, and I put that in my book title. So, I’m annoyed.…
Phone on loudspeaker, in the olden days it was tucked under my chin, now with more chins, it’s more likely to be a video call, I call the kids in turn. ‘Make a wish,’ I sing down the line, sometimes waking them, sometimes catching them at work. ‘Make a wish,’ I shout at voicemail as I stir the cake mix for each in turn. They thought me magical as kids, mad as teens, making them wish on cake mix. ‘But it can’t be Christmas without wishes,’ I’d whisper, hugging them in reply.
30 Days of Giving begins today! If you remember, I give a gift a day to make the run up to the Solstice. You can read more about it here https://borderinggrey.com/2023/11/21/30-days-of-giving/ Despite my love of giving, I am not good at receiving gifts. When faced with gifts (and that language says it all), when faced…
Despite what others might say, I am not a collector. I mean, you casually say that you like teapots and suddenly, every birthday and Christmas, it’s a teapot! Pink tea pots, red tea pots, vintage 70s matching tea and coffee pots. There was even an exquisite early 20th-century suffragette teapot, which, by the way, I…
Greetings, gorgeous ones. How has your week been? I’ve been visited by the Lady Covidia; throat scarred with razor blades, mind numbing fatigue and muscle aches that have left me winded. After a long weekend in bed, I was feeling if not better then less ill, but then my sense of taste disappeared, I felt…
Bore da Chickens, I know you weren’t expecting to hear from me today after all the drama about my flaps (really, that joke never gets old). I could get badges made, ‘Ask me about my Flaps!’ You know how I might have mentioned I’d written a book? You know the one with the fabulous…
I have flaps! (Oi! You in the back, get your mind out of the gutter! ) Have I mentioned that I’ve written a book? No? I’m sure I have. Is there something wrong with your memory? Do you need to see someone? What is the name of the current Queen? What year is it? For…
The world feels scary right now, the threat of social division simmering, barely contained on our streets. With everything going on, I retreat to the calm of the garden to take stock. The early sweetcorn, tidied away now, was lush. The courgettes and beans were plentiful, the raspberries and tomatoes have been endless. With all…
The far right marched through my small market town this weekend. Like many places, flags have appeared on lamp posts. Sat at the traffic lights, men, and I only saw men, beeped their horns - at each other? Or at the flags? They gathered, wrapped in their England flags, their Draig Goch, their Union Jacks…
This month, we're talking to Rebecca Beattie about her writing practice. I have loved reading The Way Through The Woods: A green witch’s guide to navigating life’s ups and downs. Immersed in nature, this is a deeply nourishing read, full of compassion, wisdom, and rituals for meeting life's challenges. I know a few of you…
Do you ever feel like you are doing life wrong? Like you should be doing loads of stuff, but instead you are quietly just doing you? July started with a much-anticipated trip to Barry in South Wales. There to perform an extract of my work for Folding Rock magazine, I took the chance to catch…
Another brilliant working-class writer, I could not put this book down. Rich in landscape and emotion I felt as if I were there with Wendy, searching the ancient landscape of her home as she excavates her ties to this ancient land through class, grief, and neurodiversity. This is my book of the year so far.…
Bore da, my lovelies. Did I mention I was writing a book? Funny, it must have slipped my mind... Well, the day is finally here, and I can reveal the cover and title of my new book. I am so excited to share it with you guys first. I can’t tell you how much I…
Pic by: RICHARD STANTON.www.stantonphotographic.comImage is copyrighted - © 2019. Eloise Williams is an award-winning author from Wales and the inaugural Children’s Laureate Wales 2019-2021. She was chosen for the prestigious Hay Festival Writers at Work Scheme and has an MA in Creative Writing with Distinction from Swansea University. She failed her Art GCSE but likes…
Can you guess what I'm saying? Ooh, I have news! Top secret news! I’m not allowed to share it with anyone, but you, dear reader, are not just anyone, so I will tell you anyway. But first, in other news, I was temporarily banned from Facebook. Do you want the long or the short version?…
The great declutter has taken on Olympian proportions as the son is down from Glasgow to empty the attic. Long-time readers will be aware of the oppression of the attic. It's not so much what's up there, though there's a lot of shite that isn’t mine, but not being able to get up there and…
This is the book that I wish I'd found when I first got sick, nearly twenty years ago. Getting sick and not getting better was such a shameful and isolating experience for me ( as well as being extremely ill). This book would have banished the shame and made the isolation a little less lonely.…
Today is M.E Awareness Day I’ve forgotten that I am sick. Well, I say I’ve forgotten, but that’s not entirely true. I know it’s there. I can feel it in the shaking of my limbs, in the burning of my bones, the stumbling on the stairs. So no, it’s not that I’ve forgotten. It’s more…
I’ve fallen down another hole on Instagram. I’ve been learning how to get dressed. I’m aware some of you have seen me wearing clothes before. I do know how to get dressed, though, to be fair, it was fairly recent that I learned the label in your knickers goes on the left, meaning you never…
What are you reading my lovelies? Continuing to share books and writers I love, let me introduce the wonderful Vik Bennett and her memoir. I loved this book so much, an exploration of grief and motherhood and the making of something wild and magical to heal and grow. More than a book about gardening, this…
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex. This means that the term ‘woman’ as used in the Equality Act means biological woman and the term ‘sex’ means biological sex. It also means that those born male, but who identify as a woman, do…
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex. This means that the term ‘woman’ as used in the Equality Act means biological woman and the term ‘sex’ means biological sex. It also means that those born male, but who identify as a woman, do…
I’ve lost my reading classes, so if this post has more than the usual number of spilling mistakes you’ll know why. The last time I remember having them, I was squinting through one lens attempting to dye my eyebrows, the other half of the glasses balanced on my head, all skew-whiff. I’d look where I’d…
I am a sick and disabled woman and I am dependent on disability benefits. I will not justify why I receive PIP. I will not explain to you the expenditure that I incur as a direct result of my chronic ill health. I will not list the things I have to spend more money on…
Well, Hello there my lovelies, How are you doing, and most importantly what are you reading? I've been reading this gem of a book, and excitingly the writer, fellow A Writing Chance Award winner, Tom Newlands is here to tell us all about it. TOM NEWLANDS is a multiply neurodivergent Scottish author. He is the…
I’ve been thinking about words. I write, so words literally fill my world. In English, we have an average vocabulary of between 20,000 and 40,000 words. (You know I am competitive so you can absolutely bet that I went online and did a test to measure my vocabulary.) The measure of our vocabulary is…
How was your January, my lovely? How are your resolutions holding up? Did you go dry or become vegan? Did you make it to the gym? Have you started a diet? I’ve done none of these. I’m not a fan of New Year's resolutions. With an absolutist mindset, in the past, I’d make bold, sweeping…
The dog and I are wintering. Well, I am, the dog is being a dick but more on that another day. I am embracing the season and have slipped from the winter festivities into the warming embrace of hibernation. My health, always declining in the darker days like some Victorian invalid, requires this time of…
leedspostcards.co.uk Warning* This post refers to male violence against women. As a young woman, I had a poster of this postcard on my wall. I have embroidered it onto linen in green and purple threads, stitching words still depressingly relevant nearly 30 years later. How can that be? When so much has changed in the…
Brightest blessings for the season. Mid-winter is, for me, the perfect pause, a chance to rest and recharge. This year, struggling with my health, I’ve rested for the whole of December, getting writing work squared away so I can make time for nourishment, - a little yoga, a little knitting, - readying myself for…
I’m struggling to read. I don’t know if it’s all the writing wearing out my eyes, or my brain sinking into a stupor, but after a morning writing in bed, all I want is some Disney + and my knitting. I’m missing books. The house is filled with them so it's not a lack of…
Hello! How are you? I hate that we don’t chat as much. I miss you. And I can never remember if I've written to you or not - so here goes. It’s that time of year again. It is the time of coat roulette. The summer has long gone, pumpkins and fireworks are mere wisps…
The end of summer came down with the heavens, washing out the beaten path across the fields, sliding me and my wheelchair out of the mud and onto the tarmac. Normally, with a few good frosts, I can eek out the last few weeks of freedom until mid-October, but this year the kids had barely…
I have been undertaking serious research. Ok, I asked a few of my friends on Facebook. And I know, according to some, that counts as ‘research’ but let’s not get carried away. Let me ask you, how often do you speak to your kids? Obviously, if you still live with them, then it’s a constant…
This week I have been mostly on the Tik-Agram. Or is it Insta-Tok? Whatever, I’ve been pebbling (check me out, all down with the kids) pebbling my daughter and daughter-in-law with reels and funny memes and that bloke that goes on about the posh ice. My daughter did suggest I limit the number of pebbles…
The grandson came for the summer. Three weeks with an eight-year-old. I’m still bloody exhausted, but we squeezed every bit of joy from it. We are all geeks here. It’s wall-to-wall Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, (before she-who-must-not-be-named went off the deep end). We’ve had Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, Disney, Witchy,…
I’m full of rage. It’s not my husband this time – though he is still a dick, just in case he does/has done something annoying in the past, or the future. It's not even the dog. What, you ask is the problem, then? (or at least you’d better ask, or this is going to…
I am an economic migrant. I came to this country 26 years ago. Not fleeing persecution from wars, or death threats for my religion, my sexuality, or my political views, I came here simply for a better life. Because I wanted to. Leaving the poverty and greyness of my country of origin, I rushed across…
I was busy on the frontline of parenting back in 1997 when Labour last got in after nearly two decades under the Tories. It is no exaggeration to say that life under the Tories back then was brutal. It has been brutal under this last lot, but back then the demonisation of single parents was…
I’m late, I’m late, I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about you. About this post. I miss chatting. Who knew writing a memoir would take up so much head space? Oh, and then there’s the bloody Mister demanding to know which cloth he’s meant to use to clean the windows, while my head is…
‘Shall we go away for Christmas?’ the mister asks as we are sat in bed, psyching each other out over whose turn it is to get up and make more tea. For a moment I think he might have had a stroke. Does he think it is Christmas now? Dear god, is he actually planning…
My daughter says she wants me to stop writing about her. This is going to be a short-lived blog. I didn't set out to write about my kids, or my dog, or my annoying husband but, write what you know and all that, and anyway, I can’t think of anything else. The great Sue Townsend,…
So, Rishi Sunak wants sick and disabled people back to work with the age-old diatribe of how benefits have become a ‘lifestyle choice’ for some people. If the Conservatives win the next election they plan to strip benefits from some sick and disabled people if they have failed to get work after a year. I’ll…
Like many writers, I have a passion for words. I love the mouthfeel of certain words. The way the word settles on the lips and tongue. Hippopotamus are my favourite creatures because I love the way the word feels in my mouth, - all lip tingling and mouth round, ending with a sibilant hiss. I’ve…
This week I have been mostly scrolling Instagram. I could be writing, or cleaning my house, or talking to my husband... This is what I have learned. Do not let crazy hairdressers wax your head. I’d have thought this was a given, but it seems there is a newfangled trend for waxing lollipop sticks into…
So, I’ve written a book. Well, to be fair it's nearly two-thirds done. It's a bit like this blog, only bigger and more personal, though I’m not sure how much more personal you can get than discussing your boobs on the internet. It’s a bit weird, writing about yourself. Even though I do it every…
According to a recent Ipsos study in conjunction with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at Kings College London, 47% of Britons think things have gone far enough in giving women equal rights with men. They go further, saying that men are now being discriminated against. Pause while I adjust my what-the-fuck-face, as the…
No go I wanted to travel to London. I live in Mid-Wales, not the most connected of places but this is the 21st Century so how hard could it be? The Welsh National Legend, Micheal Sheen was giving a talk about underrepresented writers at the London Book Fair and he was going to mention my…
Forgive me for interupting your inbox at the weekend. Just a quick note to say hello and something magical has happened. I'm super excited to tell you that I've signed with September Publishing to publish my memoir, The Emergency Chicken & Other Stories. I'll have loads to share with you over the coming months, including…
‘I’m off to Morrisons to collect my meds, do we need anything,’ the Mister asks? There was a time when a trip to Morrisons was all about a bottle of wine and a pizza, now it’s more likely to be a search for HRT and blood pressure pills. ‘Will you bring me something nice?’ I…
Next-door’s back fence has blown down and because the house is empty the council haven't been around to fix it, despite me telling them. With the fence down I can see more of the path that runs through the estate and more of the people on it. Dog walkers throwing sticks, some failing to pick…
My husband and I fall back onto the bed hot and panting, sweat glistening our skin. Oi! Eyes up top. Get your mind out of the gutter, it was nothing like that. We’d just finished putting the duvet cover on. This is what counts for excitement in middle aged life. I feel I should point…
In a recent magazine article a woman was explaining that she'd been struggling with life. A difficult pregnancy while already having a toddler, she'd been working freelance from home, when the little one slept. Then new baby came along and feeding was hard and she had to go back to work early because they were…
Love is in the air and with this in mind I thought it time to return to the Housewife’s Handy Book and explore all things love and marriage in the letters section. Romance is blooming, or not, as the case may be, for our two young lovers Harry and Agnes. Let me remind you that…
This week I discovered my new passion. My world has changed. With full on Neuro-spicy hyperfocus I'm hooked. Researching, planning, hunting down all the new kit. (Ok, I had most of it already, but a new outfit wouldnt hurt, you've got to look the part.) What is this new obsession, I hear you ask? Well,…
Oh my friggin’ God, it's still January! How the fuck can it still be January? Despite still having cupboards full of Christmas biscuits, panettone and chocolate, Christmas feels like a hundred years ago. (I feel I should apologise for still having Christmas chocolate in the house, I know I've let you all down. I’ve let…
I love a list. Without a list the things I think I have to do – more on that in a bit – drift out of my head, like balloons making a bid for freedom into a bright summer sky. Without a list I feel untethered, sure I should be doing something but not quite…
Happy New Year. I hope you enjoyed the festivities and have not landed back into dreary January with too much of a bump. Have you got any New Year Resolutions? As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one for resolutions. I joke now that I can’t be arsed, and that’s true, but as a younger woman,…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XxARMi9ep8 At the time of writing this I have not watched the Disney re-boot of The Santa Clause. There is something a little scary about messing with a classic and I would say that all three The Santa Clause movies are up there as classics, even with all the weird 90s messaging about absent dads.…
In another part of my life I hold Women's Meditation Circle's. Meeting on the New and Full Moon we gather for an evening of meditation, guided visualisation and journelling. For the New Moon we meet outside, even in the winter, in a beautiful communal space, all of us bundled up with covers and cushions and…
Just wanted to say… ❤️❤️❤️
Thinking of going away over Christmas? Do make sure to contact your local bobby to let them know. More helpful advice from the Handy Companion
Please feel free to keep this image and use when needed to remind yourself.
Okay, I know today's movie is Love Actually, but I find that movie problematic in too many ways to go into today. I will conseed the scene when Emma Thompson realises the jewellery is not for her, breaks my cold heart a little, but the rest of the movie leaves me with a shudder, -…
I had a total crush on Danny Kaye when I was a kid,- another kind man. Combined with the perfect Christmas song, today's movie will warm even the most Bah Humbug! of souls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QW65Amj0vM
I know Wednesdays can be tough, espeically at this time of year with so much to juggle and balance but today I want to invite you take a moment to breathe. Stop what you are doing and close your eyes ( okay, read this first and then close your eyes) Close your eyes and take…
The dog is doing my head in. I should change the title of the whole blog to ‘The Dog is doing my head in,’ think of the precious seconds I could save typing it out each week. We’re at the thieving little shite stage, with an extra helping of, ‘Why yes I would love to…
Oh my heart, this movie! I was a weird kid. I found other kids impossible to understand and the constant threats from parents, who wanted me to 'go outside and play,' when I was perfectly happy reading or watching old movies, was unfathamable. Weekends were spent sneaking off to the Library, having lied that I…
in case you are just joining us, or the titel doesnt give it away, every year to mark the run up to Yule I give a gift every day for 30 days. this year I decided to spam, sorry gift, anyone reading this blog with a past a day - cool, right! With that in…
It can't be Christmas without the Doctor. Oh my heart, in no paticular order here are some of my favourites. (and I know some of them are not strictly speaking Christmas Specials) https://youtu.be/BgVJDd5vHfw?si=BVHI93bePV-7q0iF https://youtu.be/9pG3XcazIys?si=R6Z9ayBcdj2Cis-1 https://youtu.be/Op7isR-5x0Q?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYNpUEdEJkhRmUwhfKT6LWUB https://youtu.be/s1cun-FULdk?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYORxF77FmLwBVoi0RyLpKPE https://youtu.be/2-zzmtGYL-4?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYORxF77FmLwBVoi0RyLpKPE https://youtu.be/a1pmF1PCisU?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYORxF77FmLwBVoi0RyLpKPE https://youtu.be/WJqE2onQUSk?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYORxF77FmLwBVoi0RyLpKPE https://youtu.be/5eVj_wrq8Kc?list=PLKEzuOOEQvYORxF77FmLwBVoi0RyLpKPE https://youtu.be/TWwYLlcPekA Apologies I just couldn't stop - I'd have added more but the dog needing…
More beauty advice from the Handy Companion I for one, shall me spending my nights with lard in my hair. I'm not sure there is enough rose oil in the world to hide the smell.
Am I doing your head in? Has the whole 30 days of ‘gifts’ been too much? I know it’s a lot. I thought it was a good idea at the beginning, but I can see now that a message from me every day for a month might be a bit over the top. (just think…
So often we are told to be serious, to grow up, to let go of childish ideas and actions. Today I invite you to let go of all of that and just for today try to see the magic in the world. You are such a powerful, beautiful soul. Imagine what your world would be…
Late Christmas Eve, early 2010s. I'm sat in the car with my two youngest children, both under ten, waiting to pick up my middle son from his shift at the local CO-OP. Stars litter the sky with sharp, tight light, our breath sends dragon smoke clouds into the black frozen sky. The heater is dodgy…
Are you playing Whamageddon? do you want to play extreme Whamageddon? Whamageddon is where you have to go from the 1st Decemeber to the 24th December without hearing Last Christmas by Wham. Extreme Whamageddon is where you have to avoid thinking about Last Christmas by pop sensation Wham. I do miss George Michael. If you…
The first of our Christmas Movies. I hope this sticks with you all day! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9d_aeGyuMw&t=61s
Where to start? So many to choose from! Though I should say most of my choices are seriously old school, steeped in childhood memory or the memories of raising my kids. Are there any great 21st Century Christmas movies? Ok, I stand corrected.- Elf, Arthur Christmas, Polar Express. What is your Favourite Christmas movie.
Today beauty advice from the Handy Housewife I for one will look forward to forcing myslef to take stock of my imperfections. Have a lovely day!
OK, I know I did a post about Christmas movies last year, but bear with. Christmas is all about traditions. Christmas is all about those little family rituals that make the holidays special. There’s the advent calendars, and the cakes and the mince pies and Christmas is absolutely about movies. If you missed my post…
I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of the first A Writing Chance Award and it changed how I felt about being a working class writer. It made me feel like a proper writer. Aplications are now open for A Writing Chance 2024/25. If you are from a working class or low…
I always struggle with this question as the answer changes from day to day. Often it's the last book I read. Sat looking at my book shelf I can see Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, which I adore, so today I shall say that's my favourite. Though that said I am listening to Agatha Christie’s The Adventure…
Just in case you were wondering?
Each day as part of 30 Days of Giving I'll share a picture or a thought so you know I'm thinking of you. Drop a word in the comments if you are inspired to join me in giving gifts and sharing the joy. xxx
It's that time of year again. I can barely contain my excitement. My mind working overtime to come up with this years plan. I wrote to you last year about 30 days of giving. Don’t tell me you don’t remember! ‘The idea is to give a gift to someone every day for 30 days. It…
Have you ever wanted to know how to address the Eldest son of an Earl? Or how to whitewash your ceiling? Or mend a wicker chair? Then I have the book for you. I am currently obsessed with News Chronicles Housewife’s Handy Book. Printed in 1930 it declares itself a ‘firm, reliable friend in every…
I love stories. I love to read and watch and hear all kinds of tales. I love the sway and swoosh of words, the almost-not-there creak of the turn of the page. I love the sing and dance of stories in my ear, suspended in a world that, for a moment, only I can feel.…
The dog is doing my head in. No longer happy with being a dick he is now aiming for full-on twat! At nine months he is now full of teenage angst. Having gone through the biting stage, briefly pausing for the humping stage, we are now in the ‘your-not-the-boss-of-me-stage. This mostly involves forgetting every bit…
I would like a round of applause. No really, I mean it. Stop sitting there drinking your coffee and give me a clap. A standing ovation would be nice, but I recognise we’re all busy people so, you know, a hearty congratulations will be just fine. Have you done it? I’ll be able to tell…
It is that time of year again. Not the time of year when the grass is too soggy to hold my wheelchair and I am relegated to the confines of the path, - that came a few weeks ago. (Still it helps me avoid the dog-walking mafia.) No, I am talking about apple season. This…
It's my blog-aversary and coincidentally this is my 100th post. Two whole years writing to you, and I don’t even get a card! I told a friend that it was my blog-aversary and she looked at me sideways, ‘God, do you still have anything left to say?’ It sounds worse than how she meant it.…
*This is a work of fiction- any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental! The puppy has grown. No longer a puppy, he is a hulking teenager, trying to throw his weight around and then when tired wanting to curl up on my lap for a nap. He is now way too…
What a real writers room looks like. Hey! How are you doing? Did you have a good holidays? The summer is over and the Autumn, after that weird little heatwave, is finally here. And with that, I am back to writing – so hello and thank you for coming back to read. I am writing…
This is my last blog post for a while. I’m taking the summer off. The grandson is coming for a few weeks, and I’ve other writing I need to focus on, and books I need to read, and while I love hanging out with you on a Tuesday morning over a quickly grabbed coffee, we…
I am not very good at not being good at a thing. Do you know what I mean? Like, I know we all have to start somewhere, learning something new. But I would rather learn and be rubbish in the privacy of my own home, only sharing learning with others when I am good at…
Can I just say before I get started that I adore dogs. I like dogs more than I like most people. Dogs are reliable. Dogs are loyal. Dogs are beautiful. But, it has to be said, dogs are dicks. Now before you start getting all judgemental hear me out. I am a woman who cannot live…
I am sitting writing this in the garden. Later in the evening, in the winter I’d be thinking of bed, but as we stroll towards midsummer the air is still and bright. The sky, fading to the palest blue at the very edges, is still swimming-pool-blue above me. I curse not grabbing my cardi though,…
I am sorting through the kitchen drawer, you know the one where you shove all the bits and pieces, - the takeaway menus and the washing machine manual, lolly-sticks from that time you were gonna make your own, broken bamboo skewers that you are saving in case there is a bamboo shortage. So, I was…
Bordering Grey 