My fear of horses first kicked in (pardon the pun) when I was 13, after a girl in my class was killed in a terrible riding accident. She had been galloping across Hayes Common in Bromley, Kent, when her horse bolted into the road and they were both hit by a lorry. When our form teacher announced the news, a strange kind of hysteria set in. It doesn't take much to send teenage brains into … [Read more...] about From fear to love: an equine epiphany
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Moments from a life less ordinary
It's a simple question: what have you done that few other people have? That was the first sentence in a blog I read last week by one of my favourite American bloggers, an original thinker and non-conformist called Chris Guillebeau. It’s a great hook, so I read on. He noted that, in answer to the question, you might start to list your accomplishments or achievements – but they belong on a … [Read more...] about Moments from a life less ordinary
Dear Alan, you changed my life. I hope I can be the Alan in someone else’s life
I left school at 18 with one A-level, good typing and shorthand speeds, and few ambitions beyond earning a decent salary. Two years earlier, my dad had suffered a stroke that left him partly paralysed and unable to return to his managerial job. All I could think about was financial independence. I knew I couldn’t rely on my parents to support me in that way. I’d worked hard for my … [Read more...] about Dear Alan, you changed my life. I hope I can be the Alan in someone else’s life
Why the Olympics symbolise my own triumph over adversity
One of the benefits of writing regular blogs – which I have been doing on and off since December 2011 – is that you can scroll through your archive and get a glimpse into your mindset at particular points in your story. This is what I wrote in June 2012, in the run-up to the London Olympics: “I sense that I’m not alone in feeling that 2012 is a momentous year, one in which people are starting … [Read more...] about Why the Olympics symbolise my own triumph over adversity
Why 1981 was my Year for the Ages
We’ve all lived through those years in our lives – those golden, razzle-dazzle years when everything seems to come at us in an exhilarating, heady rush. I had one of those years 40 years ago: 1981. To understand why, let me take you back to 1980 and my appointment as a staff writer (under the pen name Betty Page) for Sounds in June of that year. Following that momentous event, I’d quickly … [Read more...] about Why 1981 was my Year for the Ages
Dispatches from my ancestral home
I’m sitting on a rough wooden bench looking out at the Worm’s Head, one of the most famous landmarks on the Gower Peninsula. It is looking particularly stunning today, resting underneath a blue sky striped with faint clouds and aircraft trails. It is a distinctive promontory that Queen of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen might have used to demonstrate her power. (I later discovered that the name is … [Read more...] about Dispatches from my ancestral home