Independent voices, one home
Good stories.
Fresh perspectives.
A little inspiration. A new way of seeing.
Discover thoughtful stories from people
with something to say.
For the endlessly curious.
Read widely, at your own pace.
The reading room
Fresh off the page.
New ideas. Good company.
Walking3 min read
Your weekend walk doesn’t need a bloody leaderboard
At the end of a perfectly pleasant walk, I looked at the distance and felt oddly disappointed. The trees had been good. The conversation had been good. We had stopped beside a stream and watched
Local history3 min read
That charming old shop sign doesn’t prove a damn thing
The sign was charming. Faded paint, an old lettering style and a name that sounded reassuringly established. Someone pointed at it and announced that the building must therefore be the oldest shop on the street.
Woodworking3 min read
The best workshop upgrade was an empty square metre
There was nowhere to stand in my workshop. I had a bench, tools, three promising projects and enough offcuts to suggest I was preserving a forest by installments. To reach one useful object, I moved
Interiors3 min read
Beige minimalism is allowed to be boring
The room was beige, the blanket was beige and the decorative object had apparently been chosen for its ability to remain beige under several kinds of lighting. The caption called the space calm. I found
Books3 min read
I hated this book. Years later, I was the problem.
I wrote a severe little note inside the back cover: too slow, too much description, nobody doing anything. The novel then spent several years on a shelf while I became someone with a rather different
Ceramics3 min read
The beautiful mug with a handle nobody can hold
The mug looked excellent on a shelf. The glaze had broken pleasantly along the edge, the body had a gentle taper and the handle completed the silhouette. I made tea, picked it up and discovered
Electronics3 min read
The tiny label that embarrassed my brilliant circuit diagram
The drawing was clear. The connections were clear. The little pile of wires on the desk had received neither of those documents and was behaving as a separate administrative department.
Astronomy3 min read
The Moon is the easiest wonder we keep ignoring
The Moon was visible above the neighbor's roof, and I almost walked past it. I was carrying a bag, thinking about dinner and behaving as though a bright world suspended above the garden were merely
Player development5 min read
Individual development plans that reach the pitch
Turn a review document into a clear player challenge, a coaching commitment and a useful conversation that travels with the youngster into their next development phase.
Mending3 min read
Your clothes don’t need replacing. They need ten minutes.
The jeans were not dead. One knee had developed a hole, which is a problem a knee experiences with impressive regularity. The rest of the garment was continuing its career perfectly well.
Board games3 min read
Stop kidnapping your friends with a twenty-minute rules speech
At minute seventeen of the explanation, someone looked at the snack bowl with the expression of a person reconsidering several life choices. I was still teaching the game. Technically. Socially, I had begun a small
Music3 min read
You spent a fortune on speakers and missed the bass line
The speakers were positioned with great care. The cables had been discussed. The chair had moved several times. We played a track I knew well, and halfway through I realized I had been talking about