Catherine

As we have moved around the world, we have always managed to create a community or family of friends. They have been vital to survive and enjoy each place we have lived in through the ups and downs. Some have disappeared due to lack of connection or personal situations but many are still in our life and it would be amazing if all lived within an easy train, plane or car trip. With our New York couple, we have promised to try to see each other every year if possible. Our French neighbours from our first time in France

As we wait to sell our apartment, it has become a lesson in patience and a sense of time going by slowly. Time is an interesting concept when sorting out old clothes, photos and other souvenirs as poignant moments are recalled of a bygone epoch in your own life.  Currently, we are entering in to the 21st year of having left our homeland and it feels like a century ago. The summer is ending and it feels like it has been ongoing for months. Our local friends seemed to have been part of our lives for years and yet

Others spend their money on designer clothes, handbags and watches and go for it if that is what is desired. You will find me hunting for treasures in flea markets, antique stalls and goodwill shops. There is always the hope of finding something that catches your eye and says, you must have me. We have a Selangor pewter sugar bowl and cream jug given as a present decades ago. By chance, the same style teapot was up for sale for only 20 euros and after contacting the seller to alert them to the design, we happily bought it and

“It’s a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do” – Walter Winchell. It is mid-August and the sun is frying, the sea is warm and even the seagulls are quiet. We get up early to swim in the morning heat and before the tourists arrive to put themselves on dial 6 to slow bake. There is a group of regulars and we bob our heads to each other in recognition. We say hello to the ancient, leathered-skin French ladies in bikinis, the Italian family that brings a suitcase of towels, food, umbrellas to set

Having a summer cold isn't great and a cup of tea in the afternoon soothes the throat. George Gissing said “The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose.” It does have a sense of ritual, a black Ceylon tea from the hills, in a lovely cup, can slow down the moment. How often have we seen a moment of crisis where the solution is supposed to be a cup of tea. Unfortunately, it is not but worth trying. And then Eleanor Roosevelt said, "A woman is like a tea bag: you never know how

It is life covers so many situations. At the moment we happily say this swimming in the Mediterranean aqua sea with the sun and sand at our doorstop. Other times, when another crazy person visits our apartment wanting a 19th century Parisian style building but with a 21st century car park, we say the same. Other friends are struggling with finances, some have work doubling up due to re-organisational schpeak, divorces are happening at the same time, others are changing their lives to something more positive, and we continue to have our face to the future whilst being in