Jeni Barnett

Tuesday 18th January At 7.15 this morning the Wolf Moon was still hanging in the sky like a massive dirigible. As bright as last night and as huge, it hung over the farm and followed me round my walk. By 7.52, as the sun rose from behind perfectly formed clouds, the mist cleared, but that … Read more

Monday January 17th. Tonight we have a WOLF MOON. ‘The January full moon is traditionally called the Wolf Moon because wolves can be heard howling at the moon more around this time of year. It was believed that wolves howled more during the winter due to hunger. However, howling can also be a sign of … Read more

Sunday 16th January The Peters’ Principle: Rising to a level of respective incompetence. Do you remember Martin Shkreli the nasty 38 year old owner of ‘Retrophin’, a humungous drug firm. He was, for a time, the poster boy for unfettered capitalism. In September 2015, Shkreli bought the manufacturing license for the anti parasitic drug ‘Daraprim’. … Read more

Saturday 15th of January I sat bolt upright – it was 7.17 the precise moment that dawn arrived. Set my phone alarm and left the house to see the sunrise at 7.57. The dawn arrives one minute earlier every day. By February 1st I’ll be springing out of bed at 7.00 on the button. I … Read more

January 14th. Friday. I read a piece by Suzie Grant, she of ALTERNATIVE AGEING fame, research has revealed that to reset your circadian rhythm, reset your sleeping pattern, and all sorts of other stuff, sunrise is your best friend. So even though I didn’t climb into bed until 2.00 I set my alarm for 7.00 … Read more

Thursday January 13th – the garden is steaming, the sun is drying off the rain water. Leaves slip-slide all over the lawn, and Big Ed, a northern guy who chops trees and trims bushes, is coming on Saturday to give us an estimate for a ‘reight good’ tidy up. I know we should be doing … Read more

Yes? No? Lateral Flow No? Yes? Worra stress Christmas came in with a whimper. A glass of golden Prosecco from a daughter Yes? No? Lateral Flow All in all everybody is swapping symptoms . From flu to Covid, from sneezes to chills Everybody is swapping ills. Thank God for music and riffs, thank Heavens for … Read more

Well, Day-Out-Thursday came and went. Himself was chopping wood, the morning moved into the lunchtime slot and so I ended up accompanying the dawter for coffee and cake in The Pantiles. Up with the lark and we decided to do our Thursday outing on Friday. We bundled into the car and headed down Bunny Lane … Read more

We set off after the old git and the dawter had hung the festive lights outside the kitchen, after I had brought up the Christmas tree and box of decorations from the cellar, and after a quick shower. It was 12.15. The car seats were covered in Bombay mix – hard to get the Indian … Read more

We’ve been on an enforced cyber-detox. On Monday I was driving back from The Forest, called the old git to say I was coming home, when a young woman answered. I hung up and dialled again and the same young woman answered. I was short, demanding she told me who she was and what she … Read more