It was at 5.55pm on Friday, 26th November that the lights went out. The lamps had been flickering for a while before that. Stanley the Manly, my rescue lurcher, had been restless, as if he could feel the crackle in the air. I was oddly sanguine. I thought perhaps a few branches were flying throughContinue reading “When the Lights Went Out.”
Author Archives: Tania Kindersley
The Last Goodbye
Usually, when I sit down to write, the words come flying out. They are busy, and jostling, impatient to get to their destination. It’s rare that I am lost for words. Now, I am a little lost. But I have to write this down because it needs words. I want the words to remember it,Continue reading “The Last Goodbye”
18th September, 2021. Aubergines and Insults and the Mysteries of Social Media
I wake up to find Scotland basking in the most ravishing autumn sunshine. At this time of year, the light changes and takes on a thick, amber aspect. It always makes me think of the light of old Italy; something in my imagination insists that this is the light that Horace and Pliny knew. IContinue reading “18th September, 2021. Aubergines and Insults and the Mysteries of Social Media”
20th August, 2021. For the Hell of It.
When I work with writers, I always tell them to cut loose. Open the gate, I say, and let yourself gallop out onto the wide green prairie. I sit on the Zoom, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles away from them and I throw my arms wide. ‘The only limitation,’ I say, grinning all over myContinue reading “20th August, 2021. For the Hell of It.”
Josef Kwiecinski
12th August, 2021. On Twitter, a person writes: Lost his life today, 12th August, 1940. Sgt Josef Kwiecinski. Polish. One of The Few. He failed to return from a combat south of the Isle of Wight in his Hurricane and was reported ‘Missing’. He was never found. Age 23. No photo. No grave. I stop.Continue reading “Josef Kwiecinski”
29th July, 2021. Thoughts on Inspirational Words, and Marcus Aurelius, and the Olympics, and Eric Liddell, and Dancing Horses, and Where the Power Comes From.
I wake up thinking about inspiration and positivity. (Perhaps this is because I have been watching the Olympics.) I look at myself sternly in the glass, ready to tell myself galvanising things. I think, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ Then I think that’s not quite right. Maybe I should beContinue reading “29th July, 2021. Thoughts on Inspirational Words, and Marcus Aurelius, and the Olympics, and Eric Liddell, and Dancing Horses, and Where the Power Comes From.”
The Other Loves
I read something about love. (There is a book out, apparently.) I feel the familiar stir of rage. It’s not because of love; I love love. It’s because the old, old assumptions are there, lurking beneath the lines, between the lines, sometimes right in the lines. The assumption that makes me crossest is that somehowContinue reading “The Other Loves”
10th July, 2021. Some Thoughts on Cows, Paperbacks, and How Things Work.
I see a wonderful newspaper cutting about a farmer and the weather and marrowfat peas, and this leads to a conversation with a stranger about the seriousness of food production and how tough farming is. (I think the farmers never get enough credit. They are too often caricatured as big, bloated agribosses, tearing out theContinue reading “10th July, 2021. Some Thoughts on Cows, Paperbacks, and How Things Work.”
15th June, 2021. Love and Beauty.
15th June. It’s the first day of the Royal Meeting at Ascot and I am as excited as a child at Christmas. I’ve crammed an entire week of work into three days and I’m taking every afternoon until Saturday off so that I can watch the horses. I’ll be tweeting like a maniac with myContinue reading “15th June, 2021. Love and Beauty.”
5th June, 2021. Derby Stories.
A friend who knows little about racing rings up and says, ‘Tell me about the Derby. Tell me the stories.’ ‘Oh,’ I say without hesitation, the words tumbling out in a rush. ‘Well, the simplest story is the favourite, who is Bolshoi Ballet, and who is ravishingly beautiful, and who is bred for it andContinue reading “5th June, 2021. Derby Stories.”