jdettmannFeb 20, 20184 minPanic StationsLike sorting Lego into colours, listing your worries makes you feel like you’re making progress. In both cases this is an illusion. I’m...
jdettmannAug 17, 20173 minThere Will Be BooksCurious George is a movie that can penetrate even the most noise-cancelling of headphones. Writing a novel in the same room as a...
jdettmannMay 15, 20174 minHashtag Mother’s DayJust before dawn yesterday I had one of those very special nightmares where you wake, unable to breathe from the horror, saying to...
jdettmannMay 3, 20173 minStealth Health NinjaIt turns out this writing a book lark is harder than it looks and, like so many things in life, not made easier by having two small...
jdettmannMar 29, 20173 minJackhammers, InterruptedI, sadly not a celestial being, had to remain here on the earth that quaked every day for eight or nine hours as the diggers ripped...
jdettmannJan 12, 20173 minTWELVE Days of Christmas? Not On My WatchProper homemade gingerbread house that I had absolutely nothing to do with. Grandmothers are where it’s at. Good New Year to you, dear...
jdettmannJun 3, 20163 minWho Will Rock Me?We Will Rock You is a musical by Ben Elton, based on the songs of Queen. When arranging the tickets I made very sure Dad was aware that...
jdettmannJan 29, 20163 minThe First Rule of the Best Start Interview is Don’t Talk About the Best Start InterviewI was hoping the test hadn’t started yet. May Blossom has just been for her pre-starting-school chat with a kindy teacher, which is...
jdettmannNov 16, 20153 minIgnorance Is BlissApocalypse now, or have we time for another coffee before the end of days? ‘Why do I still have to go to kindy?’ May Blossom moaned to...
jdettmannNov 2, 20152 minQuestion TimeOne morning – bloody early one morning – he asked me the following questions in the space of half an hour, which is how long it takes to...
jdettmannOct 19, 20154 minA Very Peter Pan BirthdayThree weeks out she started saying, ‘I don’t want to hear it’s anyone else’s birthday before mine.’ Now we’re down to four days and she...
jdettmannAug 19, 20154 minSleep Like No-One’s WatchingGusto refusing to participate in a dramatic re-enactment of the sleeping arrangements at our house. Honestly, never work with cats. It’s...
jdettmannJul 30, 20154 minWaikiki? Your Guess Is As Good As Mine.Waikiki at dawn. I like this place best between 4 and 6 am. Aloha from Hawaii, where I am finishing up a three-week lecture tour of the...
jdettmannApr 15, 20152 minHow Funny? Pants-Off FunnyBenny Hill is a cultural reference that is on its last legs, I’d say. I only recall it vaguely from my childhood, mostly because it...