I wonder where we would all be without second chances, whether the world would grind to a halt, or whether those who really are more attuned to life and all it needs would simply disappear from the surface of the Earth, finding no more use for their talents, because second chances are unacceptable. There is…

I didn’t overplay Christmas this year, although that is probably true of the last few years too, and one of the great advantages of living alone and having already done most of it. Christmas this last year was a time of relaxation for me, and I didn’t even need to hide away and avoid invitations,…

We have, hopefully, the stress and strain of the new year and its celebrations , or commiserations, behind us and can look forward, with baby eyes if you wish to believe those who claim that an old man stands looking back at the end of the year and an innocent child looking into the new,…

If we are going to enter this new year in any form at all, then it should definitely be one where we are prepared to seek out and accept challenges, no matter how outlandish or difficult they may appear to be. We should set aside our worries and our fears, leave behind the belief that…

The new year appears to have approached, been and gone without too many problems, as if anything would pause it or set it back a few days so that the organisers, whoever they may be, could get it right on the night! It was heralded in Germany by the normal display of fireworks lighting up…

I am told that most people will continue writing the year down as 2017 for another six weeks or so, that the habit of an entire year’s writing is unlikely to be changed so quickly, and that they will feel annoyed each time it happens, and promise to better themselves. Perhaps this is the one…

I will admit, it is a very strange feeling being passed from one person to the next, and not knowing what is going to happen, whether there will be a reply, or whether a new name will appear on a letter heading. My first thought was that this is something like a young woman at…

There are two things we need to remember about this festive season: gratitude for what we have; thoughts for those in need. It is almost impossible to accept one without the other, and both should be ingrained on our brains, in our attitudes, in the manner and style we live in not just during the…

One of the favourite insults used against me by Germans, those who do not know me and have never had the opportunity to work alongside me, is that, before speaking to them again, before having anything to do with them, I should learn their language. This is not because I cannot read, write and speak…

Having said all that I did before, I must also add that sometimes knowing the context of a piece of work takes a great deal away from it. Sometimes it is far more revealing when the artist challenges their viewers and readers to explain what they find in a work, what it reminds them of,…