The Bookless Club

If you like words, you like to have a big collection of them. You need that big collection because a lot of words – most of ‘em – have a very specific purpose. Some words… Read More »POST PANDEMIC VOCABULARY

Gary Reitmayer is a good guy. People tell him that all the time. And when they do, he gives them what he calls his “spiel”, telling them it’s easy; they, too,   could be a good… Read More »LITTER, THE UNFORTUNATE RENEWABLE

FLINGINGMINGOES! Every family has a secret language, most of it devised by the little lexicographers known as toddlers. In my house, the tall pink bird that stands on one foot was called a flingingmingo. The… Read More »CHILDHOOD WORDS

This revelation came to me in a blinding flash one day when I was desperately turning coat pockets inside out, upending handbags onto countertops, and pointing accusatory fingers at anyone within earshot. You know what… Read More »KEYLESS ENTRY

The neighbours called to say there was something odd going on. The old house, a dilapidated bungalow, was slated for demolition. Hoardings were up and there was no question that the place was unoccupied. Nevertheless… Read More »NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

When was the last time you saw a snake? When I was a kid there were two types of wildlife. The type you hoped for on a Saturday night, and the type you routinely encountered… Read More »WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE … AND AREN’T

It would appear that we’re heading back to the office. It won’t happen all at once, but slowly, very slowly, our office wardrobes are going to switch over from Crocs and sweatpants to heels and… Read More »OFFICE ROMANCES

We never had this conversation. Ask me about this in the years to come, I’ll deny it. I’ll squinch up my nose, cock my head and say, “Wherever did you get that idea?!” “That oh-so… Read More »CRINGE-WORTHY

We are always looking for reinvention. To march off the edge of our own maps; to ascend summits of our own imaginings.  There comes a moment in most lives, when we seek a different expression… Read More »UP AND AT ‘EM?

I didn’t get the name I wanted. I wanted to be Annette. Or Tuesday. Or Dixie. Instead I got Jane. It’s a porridge name. It wasn’t sibilant – meaning sizzling and sexy. It wasn’t mellifluous… Read More »NAMING RIGHTS … AND WRONGS