More than Writers

My younger son is a musician, publishing his songs online (here’s the link to his Facebook page if you’re interested: https://www.facebook.com/padraigsnotes/ ). Recently he was intrigued to see that one track had been downloaded in America and New Zealand and wondered who these listeners were. I’ve had the same with my blog. Wordpress statistics tell me that today it’s been read as far away as India, Ukraine, and Canada. I’m fairly sure who some of these readers are but most I know almost nothing about. Back in May ( http://morethanwriters.blogspot.com/2019/05/6-blogging-mistakes-ive-made-and-which.html ), Lucy Rycroft challenged those of us who blog to come up with a reader avatar, in order to define and personify our target audience. I had a go at this and, after some mind contortions, came up with this: ‘X knows a bit about Christianity from when they were younger. Maybe they went to Sunday School or had a Christian relative. But they are not an active Christian t...

To fully appreciate this post, you’ll need your “scratch-and-sniff” technology enabled. Ready? Right, then: what do you think of this? For those of you who don’t recognise it, this is allium ursinum – or wild garlic – and its dainty white flowers and not-so-dainty aroma permeate British woodlands at this time of year. To my mind, however, it’s not quite so pungent as its more widely recognised cousin, allium sativum , which is the usual garlic you find in the supermarket. Personally, I rather like the smell of both varieties, and use enough of the regular stuff in my cooking to send any level-headed vampire running for cover. I’m pretty sure, though, that while a large number of you are now licking your lips and nodding in agreement, others will be grimacing and making a mental note not to sit too close to me in future. Garlic – like that well-known yeast-extract product – is one of those things that divides opinion. But wouldn’t...