The cottage is filled with butterflies. They aren’t sprightly things, cheerfully fluttering about, as in summer. No, these are lethargic. I open windows, and issue gentle nudges and hints, but they don’t want out. It would appear they’ve crawled inside to die. They each find a corner to hide in, and they go very still, […]
Long ago in public toilets for women they sold tampons and sanitary towels in a small vending machine, discreetly tucked away in a corner. The one I saw yesterday was the first thing to greet you at the entrance, and offered more options. As well as the above, they also had two types of condoms, […]
I’ve known this neighbourhood for over thirty years. Many things have changed and yet some things seem to never change. Now it’s phenomenally multi-cultural like never before, with dozens of groups represented, and yet as always it’s still so strongly Jewish that most shops are closed on Saturday, Jewish or not. For lunch it […]
As I get older, I do forget a detail or two when packing to travel, but this time I discovered that I packed no underpants. Dementia be damned, I just donned a long skirt and strolled commando-style to get underpants or knickers or whatever is the euphemism of your choice. I went to the 24/7 cheapy […]
At least local scorpions aren’t lethal here. I have seen these little pale brown nasties, and heard they are not killers but their sting is extraordinarily painful, like a chemical burn that eats into the flesh and gets worse as it goes. One just stung my neighbor. She hobbled straight to Mrs Landlady, who immediately […]
There’s so much going on in the world, some days I can’t face the news. Today I stood perplexed for a full minute in front of a box labelled “Oat Cookies” made of wheat and barley and no oats at all. Even cookies refuse to make sense, some days.
Eleven year olds on motorcycles are a perfectly normal thing. Clearly I have been here too long. I realized this the other day, on the last day of tutoring kids for a little while. The Thai school term ends in a couple of weeks, so I have ended already. That’s because after-school stuff must give […]
Book Events in Scottish Libraries, September-October 2015 Author Eileen Kay reads from her book Noodle Trails and talks about Thailand, Fair Trade, elephant dung, and the longing for snake-free travel Q&A, chitchat and cups of tea. Book sales and signing Courtesy of Dumfries and Galloway Libraries Langholm Library Mon 28 Sept, 5.30 – […]
I am not a cat lady. I was a cat-child certainly, and I fear it is inevitable I should at some point in my dotage become a cat lady. “Don’t hit the cat!” That was the spark. The tutorial hostage (pupil) was slapping his cat. “Don’t hit the cat!” He hit the cat. It wasn’t […]
Snake paranoia is usually not wasted, in the name of safety. It can also be useful for comedy purposes. Last night at dinner, the laws of physics played a prank. I didn’t notice the bright green straw floating high in the glass, above the ice cubes, hanging over, until it startled me when it fell […]