It’s tough not drinking in a society where alcohol rules. Especially during lockdown. Every Friday Zoom meeting ends with someone saying how much they can’t wait to pour a gin and switch off.
Alcohol and me: An uneasy mix Read More »
Time heals, and just recently, I felt able to return to Amsterdam for my 50th birthday. Three years, they say, is how long you should always leave between visits to places that mean so much.
Back in the old town Read More »
I’ve hit a strange crossroads. Part of me wants to write something new, but the stuff I’m churning out feels like a series of detached scenes. The narrative drive isn’t there. I have a notion where I want to take it, but I’m still getting to know the characters.
The snow in Amsterdam Read More »
What a close-to-perfect week the Fanning clan had in a remote French farmhouse, miles from the nearest shops with no Internet, no phones and no English language TV – we watched the French version of Wheel of Fortune twice and didn’t quite get why a small white dog was part of the proceedings.
A short break in France Read More »
This month, Manchester fails to charm, silly season gets too silly, I have an old fart moan about students and the book comes slowly together.
It’s grim up north Read More »
Sorry for the dreadfully irregular updates, but it’s been a dark and miserable time, which I hope I’m coming out of.
My world is full of dead birds Read More »
June is the month to prepare for family visits – Mr. Fanning’s sister and my own mother are book-ending the summer months.
It finally happened to me this month. The moment I’d been dreading – and I should be honest and say I didn’t deal with it particularly well.
Take a seat Mo Fanning Read More »
January is always the month to sit back and look shocked as your waistline joins forces with your wallet to reap revenge for the indignities you’ve made both suffer in the name of ‘having a good time’. Despite all my very good intentions and to the best of my knowledge, having had a pretty lousy Christmas, my bank balance is indeed shrinking in direct proportion to my increasing girth.
January is a month for loss Read More »
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