Sue James

Stories, Reflections & Journeys

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archives
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022

Play Time

Filed Under: Reflections, Stories · March 19, 2017 · Leave a Comment ·

Yep … play time … two words. Though I guess it was playtime too  … :) Thoroughly enjoyed Faith Healer, written by Irish playwright Brian Friel back in 1979 during The Troubles.

MTC put on a fantastic production, directed by Judy Davis. A minimalist stage with only a few props allowed the audience to focus on the poetry and emotional power of the script – a fascinating woven tapestry of four independent but linked monologues.

Strong performances from all three actors beautifully delivered the humour and deep tragedy of the story. Colin Friels as the troubled, yet charismatic faith healer, Alison Whyte as his devoted wife/mistress and Paul Blackwell as his long-suffering manager … all were excellent and often nuanced performances..

The whole play was a wonderful and at times very moving illustration of how we create our own realities. And how, as Fred Allen one said:

A human being is nothing but a story with skin around it

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…]

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 11
  • Next Page »

Subscribe to my blog

Tags

GraceBessie StanleyCharlotte JaconelliBritain's Got Talent 2012AdviceweatherMt Baw BawsnowingImaginationW. H. DaviesStop and StareKFPSFriesian horsesDirk H KelderRalph Waldo EmersonRalph CoshamWorld of WarcraftHarry AldisComputersE-readingLove of BooksGene Stratton PorterAndrew LangAlan GarnerOscar WildeHans Christian AndersonDaniel KeyesC. S. LewisRichard AdamsJonathan Antoine

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