Singing as the Darkness Lifts

HYDRATION, CONVERSATION, AND GOOD COMPANY      Listening Link This morning the birds are singing in the day under a clouded sky. The air is fresh and gently perfumed. I breathe deeply to determine what might be coming from my soap and what is flora on the breeze.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a mug of hot chocolate and a photo of two men. I say it is a photo of a mug of hot chocolate next to a coaster, with a picture of me and Paddington Bear eating marmalade sandwiches on it, along with two carefully balanced biscuits. I also say it is a picture of the kind of comforting drink I have when I am sitting quietly on a cold day.   In the week that began with Brew Monday I found much joy in hydration, good company and conversation. From minty tea in a zoom room, to soup and fizzy orange in a pub, to tea and water in the company of a wonderful friend.   I have thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on where I have taken time for specific refre...

A NEW MOON BEFORE BREW MONDAY   Listening Link  This morning the birds are sending their calls into the cold air and for a moment I sense the scent of doughnuts before the air smells simply cold.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a group of mugs on a shelf. I say it is three cups representing the joy of choosing a cup that suits mood or drink.   The photo of three of my favourite cups came to mind because today can be thought of as Brew Monday . I first saw this particular name in a post from The Samaritans and I rather liked it. It can be considered a counter response to the term Blue Monday , a label once given to the third Monday in January in the Northern Hemisphere. I understand the blue label in relation to the weather being cold, spring seeming distant, new year’s resolutions perhaps being unrealistic and Christmas behind us, and I must say I like the reframing of this to Brew Monday . There’s joy to be had in taking time out for ...

THE MOON POEMS ARE WAXING LYRICAL     PodBean Listening Link This morning a light wind tickles the leaves and drops of rain, held there temporarily, fall. No bird song yet in the faintly herbed air.   Alt Text says this week’s photo is a moon in the sky, and this makes me chuckle because I wondered if this might be the suggestion. I say it is actually a photograph of a balloon flying freely in the sky back in 2014, and when I photographed it I was loving its flight and its brief moonlike quality.   I did a happy poet dance this week in celebration of the publication of My Sister Went to Live on the Moon . It was wonderful to see this poem on the Atrium site and to remember the joy of writing it. It was one of those intense writing experiences where the thoughts come tumbling out like a waterfall into a fast flowing river. The kind that has me eager to see what has been created when I can finally pause the writing. The kind that when that p...

WOLF MOONS Listening Link This morning the crunch-slip under foot of snow fallen on snow, and the intermittent sparkle of pretend stars on the ground. Oddly, the air carries the scent of bananas.   Alt text says this week’s photo is two women smiling for a picture. I say it is me and Kath wrapped up in knitted goods getting our steps in. And I have chosen to put it in black and white because in the colour photo our cheeks and noses are glowing rather red from the cold.   On the first of January this year I did something that was very rare for me in the whole of 2025... I read a book from my ‘to be read’ pile from beginning to end. It felt good to make the conscious decision to slow down and devote time to simply entering the world of a book, and it also felt fitting given that 2026 is The National Year of Reading. I had already decided that as a nod to this year’s celebration of reading I would re-embrace the joy of reading song lyrics whilst liste...

 MY YEAR IN REVIEW   Listening Link This morning it is raining and the almost unchilled air carries strong hints of green.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a collage of a group of people. It is indeed a collage and it is made from the photos that accompanied each blog post this year. I do like to take a look back before I look forward and I thought this would be one way of doing it for 2025.   When I was little I loved an annual. To me it was a book of delightful snippets collected together to be enjoyed in a period of time that involved a break from routine. I can picture myself reading in my pyjamas, the seemingly bottomless sweet tin, and the advent calendar that left its glitter on our fingers with all its doors open telling me that it was indeed Christmas Day. This week’s photo is like the cover of my 2025 annual.   This blog has been my way of building a good relationship with Mondays, and the fact there have been 114 episodes since Sept...

A HEADSHOT IN A CHRISTMAS WREATH Listening Link This morning, under a waning moon and a bright planet, the swirling wind stirs up the scent of mud and brick dust.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a person smiling in a wreath. I say it is me twelve years ago taking my turn to have a photo taken. A group of us were finding much merriment in posing for our festive pictures and there was plenty of laughter. I picture this moment in my head each time the Christmas season comes around, and I hold it with a special kind of nostalgia because one of the lovely people who made the best photo that night is no longer with us.   This week I visited a DIY store to purchase a cardboard box (!) and the aisle it was in wasn’t easy to locate. Whilst leaning into the fact that I was probably getting some of my steps in on a rainy day I spotted a pink wreath. It was the perfect opportunity to create another wreath photo, and it brought me joy whilst wondering where aisle 61 was. ...