Take 5

One of the most daunting things for a writer, or an artist is the blank piece of paper.   Its very blankness intimidates you and your mind goes into a swirling mass of “nothingness”.   I was working with a group of children recently, sharing with them about being an author and illustrator.   The children were then given a piece of paper, pencils and crayons to write or draw their own story.   For many children the blank piece of paper paralysed them and sent them into a panic.   They didn’t know where to begin. Others started and then stopped, asking me for a rubber to correct and tidy up their work. It wasn’t right, it was wrong, they needed lines to guide them – their perfectionism and angst preventing their work.   Their responses intrigued me, reminding me of my own “terror” of the blank piece of paper. Nothingness, chaos, confusion, or darkness do not intimidate God, however. In fact, God does his best work when faced with messy, chaos, empty and d...

Golden queen peaches in the fruit bowl caught my attention – the richness of their colour, their “furry” skins and oh, the taste!   Memories of bottling peaches, plums, apples, pears with my mother filled my mind – it was a late summer ritual in our house, involving visits to the orchards to purchase or pick the fruit, hours of peeling and slicing, and boiling to produce shelves full of colour, sunshine and deliciousness that would be devoured with pleasure in winter. Should you think it was just sweet summer fruit that was involved, no, it was also pickles, chutneys, relish, tomato sauce and spaghetti too.   My aunt went so far as as to preserve beans.   My mother drew a line at that one!   I could complain about child labour, but the family memories, the laughter, the fails, and the results meant that when I went flatting and discovered the rental had fruit trees, I too, as an adult, peeled, sliced, boiled and bottled to produce the same satisfying rows of fruit. A...