I spent the last 13 years of my work life in Special Ed, the whole spectrum from behavioral problems to profound disability. It was a joy from start to finish and, if I had my time over again, I’d make a career of it. Before that, I did 5 years in Regular Ed as a substitute, but I had no continuity with the kids, and few light bulb moments. Students come in all shapes and sizes, it takes a while to get to know them and I was, at best, a holding action. But once I transferred

This book, and the accompanying BBC documentary series, was roundly condemned in feminist circles when first published. If there was an ascent of man, it was argued, its result was the descent of women. I must admit to boycotting the initial broadcast in 1973 because of this blowback and it was not until a few months later, when Michael Parkinson interviewed Bronowski on his talk show, that I began to regret my decision. He was not only warm, witty and fully human, he was als

The first psychic I visited was at the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain. A grand title and a grander location, given that they were headquartered in London’s Belgrave Square, which is chock-full of minor royalty and foreign embassies. It was 1969, I was 18, and I went there with a friend whose father had just died and, on a whim, decided to have my own reading. It was my friend’s third consultation, and she and her medium were on a roll. I had high hopes going in but

In the early 1930s, our paternal grandparents bought a house on the Grosvenor Road in the East End of London. I have no idea how they financed it, but I suspect it was through sheer weight of numbers. They crammed 2 adults and 4 kids into the top floor and rented the ground floor to relatives, all of whom shared a kitchen and toilet. Miraculously, it survived the Blitz but had degenerated into a hoard by the late 1950’s, when they sold it to Jamaican immigrants, who had no

I’ve been to Amsterdam twice, both times at Easter. The first trip was on The Magic Bus, a hippie company that gave backpackers easy access to all the European capitals, including its most famous route - a 5-day non-stop to Athens. Anyway, in 1979, it was ten quid to Amsterdam, I was at a loose end, and booked a ticket for the long weekend. On that particular Good Friday, there were two buses leaving for Holland, a British model more suited to prison transport and a luxuri

The author - 1982 In the spring of 1982, I was in my second year of university, majoring in Religion, and living off-campus in a cottage owned by the Catholic Church. I’d lucked into this rental, after flatting with two graduate students both of whom seemed incapable of finishing anything, let alone a thesis. I’d learned of the vacancy from a couple I met through friends; it was ramshackle, bordering on dilapidated, but conveniently located on the river bank a quarter of a

Alistair MacLean was famous for his action plots and ‘HMS Ulysses’ runs true to type. It’s set aboard a light cruiser during World War 2, and the book opens with a mutiny. The crew has had a bellyful of the Russian convoys: 4 hours sleep a day, hundreds of days at a stretch in 60-below weather, TB incubating in the enclosed living quarters, and nothing to eat but corned beef sandwiches. To redeem themselves they are forced into a final run through the black-out route to Murma

For most of my early life I wanted nothing to do with children, many of whom I found barely tolerable with their constant interruptions and endless questions. I had a friend whose 6-year-old son spoiled every outing with his screaming and yelling, and another whose two-year-old daughter sat permanently on her lap, holding her hand over her mother’s mouth whenever she tried to join in adult conversation. It was the era of Frederick Leboyer’s ‘Birth Without Violence’ and I ev

Of all the 20th Century’s literary bad boys – and yes, it’s a category that’s almost quaintly masculine – Gary is the most intriguing. A Lithuanian Jew born in Vilna in 1914, he was fluent in six languages. He became a master of multiple literary personae, a decorated hero of the French resistance, and two-times winner of the Prix Goncourt. Hephzibah Anderson – bbc.com Romain Gary wrote under several aliases and The Roots of Heaven, which was made into an indifferent and mu

Personal boundaries are the rules and limits you create for yourself that define what is acceptable behavior from others towards you. Google The worst person you know is in therapy getting told their feelings are valid. Daisy on the Block In 1984 I had a paranormal experience, which I’ll describe in more detail in another post. Reduced to its baldest terms, however, I left my body and had a conversation with someone or something - call it what you will - who convinced me t

There are some notable exceptions, and I’ll get those out of the way immediately. Otis Redding’s ‘Merry Christmas Baby’, William Bell’s ‘Every Day Will be Like a Holiday’, And let’s not forget ‘Fairytale of New York’, and Swamp Dogg’s ‘An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year’. But, The Pogues aside, these guys could sing the phonebook and still have me hooked. I’m also a big fan of Gaby Moreno’s ‘Posada’ album, a mix of traditional hymns and gospel. Her voice is exquisite

Samuel Butler said that ‘It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs. Carlyle marry one another, and so make only two people miserable and not four.’ The Carlyles may have been famous for their squabbling but there is little sign of it in Thea Holme’s ‘The Carlyles at Home’ - an entertaining look at their day-to-day routine in Victorian London. In fact, the author would have us believe that Thomas and Jane were a perfect match for each other: hypochondriacs who lived in t

Because my mother’s minutes were sucked into the roar of the vacuum cleaner, Because she waltzed with the washer-dryer, and tore her hair waiting for repairmen, I send out my laundry and live in a dusty house, Though really I like clean houses as well as anyone. Woman Enough – Erica Jong 'Feng Shui - It's not you, it's your furniture!' - Unknown Person on Pinterest In ‘Love at First Bite’ George Hamilton (as Dracula) winds up in New York, where he has sex with Susan Saint Jam

‘ A perfect piece of written heartbreak’ – The Jewish Chronicle The first half of this book, a reprint of the author’s diary, is a scattered account of the days and weeks leading up to the Liberation of Paris in 1944. Inevitably, each entry veers between elation and despair: the end of the War is in sight but Mesnil-Amar’s husband is in German hands, and destined to be on the last deportation train out of Paris. The family, who are Jewish, have spent the war years moving from

The Bible warns us not to judge others but, according to Google, this has been downplayed to ‘righteous discernment and evaluation’. Judge, but be self-aware and avoid hypocrisy. A significant improvement on an eye for an eye, wouldn’t you say? However, 5 verses later we are advised against ‘giving dogs what is holy, or casting pearls before swine’. Okay. But how do we sort the dogs and pigs from the rest of us without a judgment call? And how do we reconcile that with

Adorable small person, annoying the hell out of his fellow travelers According to Reddit, there is someone on every flight who will insist you exchange your comfy aisle seat for their narrow middle one. These are last minute ticket purchasers who want to sit with their significant other, or cheapskates who now want the stretching room your space would allow them. And why not when you’re small and a better fit for their seat? Either that, or they don’t want to be around babie

Let the music keep our spirits high Let the buildings keep our children dry Let creation reveal its secrets by and by, When the light...