Jane Alexander's Blog, page 20

Life from the padded cell of BBC Somerset

So, I spent the vast majority of yesterday stuck in a cell at the BBC.  Doing a shedload of publicity for my new book, Kind Regards – the Lost Art of Letter Writing (Michael O’Mara Press). This is not a plug, btw, as I don't get any royalties for the book, sadly I don't make any more money whether anyone buys it or not.  :-) On the other hand, if you buy my Kindle books, I do - so please, be my guest.  
Anyhow, I’d fecklessly agreed to doing any radio or TV interviews that...

Free quasi crisps up for grabs...

As you know, I get sent stuff from time to time… with the hope I’ll review it on the blog or in print.  The stuff is often weird, generally wildly random and, to be honest, I don’t inflict most of it on you. James has become horribly blasé – he pokes his nose in the parcels and then rolls his eyes.  ‘Jesus. How old do they think I am?’  Okay, so as I pulled out the teeny weeny T-shirt and the yoyo I could see his point.  It takes a lot to impress him these days…unless...

Lost weekends and the Hedgerows Heaped with May

Weird old weekend, spent mainly in the past.  As anyone who knows me on Facebook will have realized, I finally got a scanner and indulged in a totally over-the-top nostalgia fest.  Pictures spanning a century (no, I’m not quite that old – I found some of my mother’s old photo albums too).  Living in a box, living in a cardboard box.It was bittersweet, the way looking at the past often is.  I compounded it by reading through old diaries.  And then, just to cap it all,...

Shyman saves the world...

Jakey (aka Si Jakeman, aka Shyman) is another great guy I met on Twitter.  Probably via Hen, if I recall.  We don’t chat a lot but we have the odd exchange on shamanism, on dreams, on the earth, on deep ecology, on the concept of the 100th monkey. J I love his open heart and mind, his enthusiasm, his huge desire for understanding, his respect for the world and everything in it, his total lack of ego.  I also share his frustration that people just don’t open their eyes and see w...

"At any one time there are only seven great dogs"

‘Have you got Game of Thrones on DVD?’ I asked Rachel.  She shook her head. ‘Can’t you watch it on Sky?’‘We haven’t got Sky.’  She shook her head again, this time in wonderment. ‘Everyone’s got Sky. You’ve got to have Sky.’  I shrugged.  ‘Nope.  No Sky. But I do need Game of Thrones.’‘Why?’‘Cos I feel the need for some deep fantasy and I can’t watch Lord of the Rings any more, cos it’s getting crazy – I can say all the lines along with the people.’‘Even the...

Back off, pushy sport parents

On the news this morning they were talking about how parents have been banned from children’s school football matches. And, you know what?  I’m not surprised.  When James used to play football (not at school but at the local club) I was often appalled, nay disgusted, at the behaviour of parents on the touchline.  These were children of…what?  Seven? Eight?  And parents were bawling and screaming; yelling at their own kids to be more aggressive; taunting other kids whe...

Boden...WTF?

So I’m browsing through Facebook and see a plaintive cry from the lovely Fiona.
Nice brogues...‘What's going on?’ she asked. ‘I usually throw the Boden catalogue straight into recycling but in today's there are at least 20 things am salivating over. Has Boden got better, or... have I 'gone Boden'?And I thought, yeah, good point well made.  In fact, I said, 'Yeah me too. WTF?'  Cos I’ve been feeling exactly the same.  I even stuck a Boden picture on Pinterest the other day with...

DIY detox

So. Since I’m no longer going on detox at Anamchara I figured I’d just do it myself at home.  Because, really, it’s not as if there’s any great mystique behind the process and, now I come to think of it, I’ve written two darn books on detoxing sooo…
I pondered a juice detox but then decided against it. Not because I don’t like juicing (cos I really do – as evidenced here) but because it’s bloody cold, for pity’s sake, and I don’t know about you but I’m feeling the need for some warmth. ...

No more shit...

Life really does delight in biting you in the bum sometimes. So be careful. Don’t tempt fate. J
You know how the other day I was saying that you really should never ever ever share a bathroom when you’re detoxing?  Well.  I was due to head off to check out another detox in a few days’ time – this time not so far from home, in Somerset even. And it looked great.  A week of juice fasting – you know, just my game. Lots of yoga and Pilates and meditation. Yum.  Conveniently for...

So so so...

You have to laugh right?  I go to Italy to become all cleansed and pure and I find myself mired in shit. Again. I should have known.  Everything moves in cycles and I had been feeling buoyant for quite some time. Buoyant despite the disasters surrounding me on a material level.  Buoyant yet…maybe a little negligent of my spiritual thingy.
And when that happens, something always tends to come along and stir things up.  As someone once said: ‘Alchemy makes a mess of the...