Sue James

Stories, Reflections & Journeys

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Only yesterday …

Filed Under: Featured, Journeys, Reflections · March 2, 2015 · Leave a Comment ·

Life passing in an hourglassI was sitting on a tram on my way home the other day and idly looking out of the window.

We pulled up to a very crowded stop where I saw all the hopeful faces of people waiting to board. And the thought suddenly crossed my mind … “Wow …. they’re all younger than I am!”

A young woman climbed aboard, dressed to the nines for a night out. Surely it was only yesterday I was as young as she is now, full of fun and hope on my way to a party. Some fashions haven’t changed all that much. Mini skirts and wedge heels are back in!

There’s a serious-looking Uni student, laden with books, presumably on her way home. Only yesterday I was at Uni too. Of course I didn’t have a smartphone in those days. But I recognise myself in her worried look. I guess there must be an assignment due.

I also find myself smiling when I see a wee girl in school uniform, juggling her heavy bag and moving down the tram to find a seat to hold because she’s too short to reach the overhead bar. I remember that very well! Hmm … though lots may have changed, my stature hasn’t. I’m still too short to reach!

And surely it was only yesterday when, at family gatherings, I saw all the ‘oldies’ sitting around the edges of the room, watching with smiles on their faces as we young ones mingled, danced and exuded energy. Now I’m one of those oldies myself.

Only yesterday, it seems, I could leap out of bed without a single muscle twinging or complaining. And only yesterday, I could see my reflection in a mirror without any if those wrinkle-shadows cast by an overhead light.

Only yesterday – just a heartbeat ago – I was much younger.

To forget is the secret of eternal youth. One grows old only through memory. There’s much too little forgetting.

(Erich Marie Remarque)

Perhaps Remarque was right and I need to do more forgetting! :)

Things My Grandmother Taught Me …

Filed Under: Featured, Journeys, Stories · February 26, 2015 · Leave a Comment ·

My Grandmother

If someone gives you something nice, you should probably “keep it for a better thing”.

You need no more than three of anything anyway – one on, one clean and one in the wash.

Always remember to wear clean underwear, in case you get run over by a bus and have to go to hospital.

And if you’re going anywhere, be sure to have a clean hanky!

If you can’t be nice, then hold your tongue.

Sometimes rules are made to be broken.

And remember you can’t always trust a Sassenach! (My granny was Scottish …)

Staying in bed after 7.00 a.m. is sheer laziness …

Nature needs five
Custom takes seven
Laziness nine …
And wickedness eleven!

Finally … she taught me a very important lesson! How to make tea …

  • Warm the teapot first
  • Put in one for each person and one for the pot (spoons of tea leaves)
  • Take the pot to the kettle, not the kettle to the pot
  • Put milk in the cups first (for those “contrary enough” to take their tea with milk)
  • Let it steep for at least two or three minutes before pouring …

old_teacosyThat last is absolutely necessary if you’re making tea for someone who appreciates a decent cup!

I remember Granny commenting disgustedly about visiting someone where she was served tea that was “nae mair than a cup o’ hot water wi’ a couple o’ tea leaves floatin’ in it!”

My grandmother died a very long time ago, when I was only 17.

But all these years later, I still hear her voice. :)

Books: Windows on the World

Filed Under: Journeys, Reflections, Stories · December 31, 2014 · Leave a Comment ·

I’m sure anyone who has been following my blog for a while will know reading has always been one of my life’s delights. I’ve shared some of that joy through blog posts such as Widdershins, Holding the Centre, Revisiting Brideshead, The Book Thief, or Audiobooks, E-books and Old Friends

My First BooksI don’t remember the process of learning to read. But I actually do remember not being able to read. And I have the evidence! :)

Two of the books on my laden bookshelves are the very first two books I ever owned. One is a collection of nursery rhymes, with gorgeous illustrations by Hilda Boswell. The other is a book of stories about a family of teddy bears: The Teddy Bears’ Picnic, with images by Dutch illustrator Willy Schermelé.

I still have a very clear memory of only seeing the pictures . Large slabs of each page (the text) meant nothing to me. But the illustrations – Hilda Boswell’s in particular – were a wonder-filled world to explore while the nursery rhymes or stories were read aloud to me. I can actually remember that time when I needed an adult’s voice to interpret and share the stories that went with the pictures. [Read more…]

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Books I’ve Read

Sue's bookshelf: read

The Chase
3 of 5 stars
The Chase
by Janet Evanovich
The Heist
3 of 5 stars
The Heist
by Janet Evanovich
Vanish in Plain Sight
3 of 5 stars
Vanish in Plain Sight
by Marta Perry
Eat Me
4 of 5 stars
Eat Me
by Agnès Desarthe
Odd One Out
3 of 5 stars
Odd One Out
by Monica McInerney

goodreads.com