As a person who grew up with three siblings, I had often dreamt of being an only child. I didn't want to share, and I always felt that if I were an only child, I would have more. My siblings and I are all adults now and get along very well, but is it better to grow up as an only child or to have siblings? The main thing about being an only child, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, is that you will get the full love and attention of your parents. It is an advan

My passion is music. I love to listen to music, I love to play music, I love to study music and I especially love to teach music! When I teach music I make sure there is a solid backbone of music theory to accompany the music that some wish to learn. Before the student starts to play a song I make sure they know the title and page number. I often try to catch them out by quoting the title with the incorrect page number. I was playing piano at a funeral many years ago and un

After watching Blancanieves, a black and white Spanish film, I was familiarised with the magnificence of Spanish fantasy cinema (think Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth). Stellar cinematography accompanying a profound performance led me to rave about the film to friends. However, entirely unaware of the film’s existence, I looked the film up online for them. It was then my turn to be surprised as Blancanieves came up as a 2012 film; the UK release date was almost a year after the Sp

Proust nous a donné son secret : la potion magique du souvenir serait une madeleine trempée dans du thé. Soudain, on est transporté : on ne se rappelle pas le passé, mais on en revit une émotion. Pour moi, il y a eu les « chavroux », ces fromages de chèvre industriels en forme de pyramide que j'engouffrais à la chaîne en revenant d'expéditions enfantines. Il y a les petits russes, pâtisseries pralinées qu'on trouvait dans le sud chez ma grand-mère. Il y a le parfum au gingemb

Due settimane fa, ho scoperto lo storico 'Ladies' Pond' nel parco Hampstead Heath a Londra. Un'amica mi aveva parlato dei benefici inaspettati di un bagno nell'acqua fredda di questo laghetto verde, quindi sono andata – con un po' di apprensione – a provare a nuotarci. L'esperienza è stata magica. Un minuto a nuotare in quest'acqua freddissima mi ha procurato una eccezionale sensazione di benessere per tutto il giorno. Allora mi sono ricordata di quando studiavo l'antica Roma

Personajes femeninos que invitan a releer, una y otra vez, la obra de Lorca Lo que yo quisiera es que esto fuera cosa de un día. Que enseguida tuvieran dos o tres hombres. Así expresa el padre de la novia el simple deseo de tener nietos en la feroz tragedia Bodas de sangre (García Lorca, 1933). Sin embargo, la inquietante respuesta de la madre del novio alude directamente al universo de complejidad de sus arrebatadores personajes femeninos: Pero no es así. Se tarda mucho. Por