Tattoos and talismans: journeying with Little My

Daily writing prompt

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

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In the first lockdown in 2020, I contemplated getting a tattoo after restrictions were lifted. The catch being, of course, that it was easy to think of going ahead with it when it wasn’t an actual, serious possibility.

We’re now almost four years to the day since that strange, hushed, other-worldly spring. And I still do not have any tattoos. The sheer permanence of it is off-putting. And, as that’s what tattoos are all about, I doubt I’ll ever get one.

But, if I did, I would choose to have a small black-and-white image of Little My, a memorable character from the Moomin series by the Finnish author Tove Jansson, inked above my ankle.

I was introduced to the Moomins and Moominvalley as a child and have loved them ever since. I have particular affection for Little My, as my siblings likened me to her when I was the (I suspect, annoying at times) little sister. And, like Little My, I’m a natural redhead.

She’s known for her fiery personality, outspokenness and bravery. She has deep affection, protectiveness and loyalty for those she loves, and a sense of what is right.

I added a Little My badge to my backpack when preparing for a challenging 10-day hike from the south to the north of Corfu, Greece, in 2023. A talisman of determination to carry with me!

What tattoo would you get, and why? Have you read the Moomins?

Rediscovering my blogging voice, or, hello, it’s me!

Somewhere along the way, I put down my blogging pen and didn’t pick it up again. I wrote here in this space for six years, rarely missing a week. A fact which, now, is quite remarkable to me, given that I was writing through big life phases: starting university, going through the anticipatory grief of (almost) losing my mother at the age of 19, caring for her while she recovered, dealing with the trauma and anxiety that this experience provoked, and beginning my first graduate job at a research consultancy (fun fact: my blog helped me get that job).

Through all of that, I somehow kept writing. Two of my posts were ‘Freshly Pressed’ – chosen by the WordPress editors to feature on their front page. And I made blog connections along the way, several of whom are friends to this day and have become off-WordPress friends, with real-life meetings, WhatsApp messages, emails, letters and Zoom calls.

Popping up to say hello (photo from an intrepid hiking trip in Greece, summer 2023)

It’s seven years since I paused writing here, and those years can change a person. I’m in my 30s now, more confident of myself but still questioning – I don’t think that big life questions ever really stop. In the past seven years, I’ve travelled, achieved an English teaching qualification and a master’s degree, been promoted in my job, and found the love of my life.

I’ve kept my toe in the WordPress world, reading the posts from my blog network and occasionally thinking about starting up a new blog. A fresh space. A different look.

But there’s nothing like home comforts, and you know me here, so I’ve decided to do a little spring cleaning, dust it off and get back to writing.

I write for a living, but in a very different context to this blog. This is a creative space, and the only editor is me!

My interests are still much the same as they were when I was last writing: travel, books, nature, films, art, food, culture… So, this space still fits. You can expect to see posts on all of those topics and a few others. I hope you’ll join me.

Puppy love: one year later

So, here I find myself at the computer, searching for ‘dog waterproof jumpsuit’ on Google. Because whatever niche product you want to buy, the internet is bound to have it.

In all seriousness, winter is coming. And the beautiful spaniel puppy I brought home a year ago this month has grown into an equally beautiful but very long-haired adult dog.

Books I Read in August

I love the style of classic Penguin covers (photo by Karim Ghantous on Unsplash)

It was a slow summer for reading. As I mentioned before, I filled a lot of the time I’d usually spend reading with my first viewing of Mad Men. Seven seasons, 92 episodes, and now it’s over I’m still suffering withdrawal symptoms! 😀

But I did find the time to read Elena Ferrante’s ‘Neapolitan Novels’ between July and August and I blogged about the series in my July reading round-up:

The greatest TV show of all time*

*well, at least in my subjective opinion. Yours may differ.

Warning: this post contains a mild Mad Men spoiler about the career path of one of the main characters. 

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I’ve always been more of a movie person than someone who’ll sit down and watch a TV series in one go. I love the big screen and a movie requires less time investment than watching hours upon hours of one series. But I’m not here to discuss the merits of movies over TV, or vice versa.

I just finished marathon-watching the whole of Mad Men for the first time: all 92 episodes from June to August. Now it’s over, I’m missing my nightly fix of a few episodes watched back to back. After spending all that time with the same cast of characters, watching them grow and change, I think any other series will be somewhat underwhelming. After all, Mad Men is regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. It’s pretty hard for anything else to live up to that, right?

Books I Read in July

Naples, Italy. Photo credit: Montse Monmo

In July I started reading Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. Set primarily in Naples, the four-part series follows two friends — Elena Greco and Raffaella (known as Lila) Cerullo — from childhood through to their sixties.

These books are bestsellers and have drawn global acclaim, but one of the great mysteries behind them is the true identity of the author. Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym, and there has been a lot of speculation about the person behind the nom de plume.

Last year, the New York Review of Books published a piece by an Italian journalist who claimed to have outed Ferrante’s identity. Given that she published her books with the repeated desire to remain anonymous, I feel that the media frenzy over uncovering her identity is in poor taste. It’s certainly unusual for bestselling authors to avoid publicity, but Ferrante clearly has reasons for wishing to write under a pseudonym.

Books I Read in June

Photo credit: Nicola Jones

June was one of those months when I hardly read anything. I can blame some of my reading slump on the fact that I signed up to Netflix and started watching Mad Men. I’d heard a lot about it but I hadn’t seen a single episode…until now. I’m mid-way through season three (out of seven seasons).

While it’s easy, relaxing viewing, I’m also enjoying watching how the characters develop as society changes. For me, Peggy is the most interesting character as she evolves from a timid young secretary to a confident working woman. I’m intrigued to see where all the characters will end up in season seven. No spoilers please! Are there any Mad Men fans among my readers?

When I wasn’t watching Mad Men, I read a couple of books in June: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien and The Durrells of Corfu by Michael Haag.

Musings on a Summer Evening

Last Night the Rain Spoke To Me
By Mary Oliver

Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,

what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again

in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped,

smelling of iron,
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches

and the grass below.
Then it was over.
The sky cleared.
I was standing

under a tree.
The tree was a tree
with happy leaves,
and I was myself,

and there were stars in the sky
that were also themselves
at the moment,
at which moment

my right hand
was holding my left hand
which was holding the tree
which was filled with stars

and the soft rain—
imagine! imagine!
the wild and wondrous journeys
still to be ours.

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As I go out of the door, taking my dog on the last walk of the day, my boot crushes a snail. I hear the sharp crunch and lift my boot, but it is too late. It’s pretty, with a yellow and brown striped shell. Not your average, drab common garden snail.

A Dog – and Blog – Birthday

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Aimée is one today. The little three-month-old puppy we brought home in September has grown up into a beautiful, long-coated adult dog. Despite technically being out of puppyhood now, she isn’t trustworthy yet, as shown by her decision yesterday to take one of my best shoes off the shoe rack. Fortunately, I rescued it before she did any damage!

Books I Read in May

May was a more varied literary month than April, with a couple of fiction books and one non-fiction title.

I started off the month’s reading with one of Alexander McCall Smith’s books, Bertie’s Guide to Life and Mothers. McCall Smith is an Edinburgh-based author who is a prolific fiction writer, well known for his No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series set in Botswana.

Bertie’s Guide to Life and Mothers is part of the 44 Scotland Street series, which follows various characters living and working in Edinburgh. At the heart of the series is Bertie, a young boy who is forced to cope with his pretentious mother’s overbearing approach to child rearing. Earlier in the series, she enrols him in a variety of classes, including yoga and Italian lessons, and sends him to psychotherapy.