Mike Gould

So, Jane Austen - how does it feel never to have found the right man? To be constantly alone? Oh, sorry - I meant a different JA of...

I have no idea if these dead trees just off the Great Ocean Road are a result of climate change or simply natural wastage, and to be...

It’s our last day in Sydney, and a sort of ‘see-the-sights’ fatigue has set in. It’s a bit like compassion fatigue but even more of a...

So on the other side of the world I’m lucky enough to be sitting in Wandiligong in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia staring back...

The sun is the only star in our solar system that shines. I learned that from Dava Sobel's utterly captivating podcast, 'The Sun, our...

These are the opening words to a poem written by a good friend of mine, John, which appears in a joint collection of our verse called...

Decluttering? Don't talk to me about decluttering. Even such simple things as sorting pencils into containers seems to lead nowadays to...

Happy New Year to anyone and everyone who drops in on the site and my blog. Happy? Hmm - let's reserve judgement on that. But 'new',...

The facade of our house, lit up by the necklace of lights which I risked life and limb to erect (ok - I got a rose thorn in the thumb),...

The Dickens Effect As we approach Christmas, it becomes an annual habit to think about loneliness and isolation - to look beyond the...

Last night I watched an age-old story unfold, a simple myth re-told for the fourth time (at least) and if you count the numerous similar...

I caught a quick glimpse of a Rembrandt self-portrait in Kenwood House on Saturday. The house was about to close at 4pm so it was a race...

On this weekend of reflection and memory for the fallen of all wars, it seems equally pertinent as a writer to call to mind not just...

First Man It's been difficult recently to avoid reading or hearing about the film of the moon landing, 'First Man'. So in a flagrant...

My mother is moving into a new care home today - the fourth home in just over a year, and I sincerely hope she'll be happier in the new...

My elder daughter and her boyfriend have been visiting this weekend, and have just jumped on the train back to London, to a different...

I'm not sure who said this - or if I'm even mis-remembering it - but it's a phrase that often comes to mind when I'm writing. You can...

It's funny when a number of aspects of life come together at the same point in time. It can have the benefit - and sometimes the...

This week's blog was going to be about how a simple encounter becomes a piece of writing. You may remember the hare I mentioned in my...

In these times of the fast and furious, of the instant gratification, and of the opening which plunges you in media res into a story, I...