Using the above prompt - settle yourself to observe your breath for several minutes, whilst considering the prompt.

When you feel called, pick up your pen and write as stream of consciousness - let go of the need for perfection, perfect grammar and most important of all, permission for handwriting to be as messy as it needs to be.

For a writer, an everyday object can take on poetic / prose form, depending on the lens that it is applied. The Bed is one such piece of writing I first encountered whilst on a writing retreat on the Isle of Iona, run by the magnificent Roselle Angwin.

I returned to this prompt recently, and afterwards remembered my earlier writing. After digging through stacks of journals and rediscovering the piece, I thought it would be interesting to put them together as an experiment to see how time changes perspective, and more importantly my writing. 

Picture this: a bright, sunny Easter Sunday morning (8am to be precise) - connected to Zoom, with 9 women from different areas (including Madrid), converging to take part in a virtual conversation with nature.

This was our alternative to being physically present together beneath our Guardian Tree.

It is a known fact, that when faced with adversity, we are able to show our creativity and resilience in many unique ways.

Having planned another Womxn in Nature outdoors workshop, I initially felt disheartened, wondering when it would be possible to reschedule.

Then I realised that with the gift of technology, and womxn's unique blend of resourcefulness, it was still possible and I'm so excited.

From Thursday 05 March 2020, the women's writing group is venturing online.

Unfortunately with a change in the late night opening hours at the shopping centre, our favourite place is no longer open long enough for us to meet. Having experienced difficulties in finding a free alternative, this seems the only option at this time, if I am to keep this group free to attend.

Zoom is free to download, and can be used with ease from your phone or laptop.

Thursday evening we shared the space in John Lewis cafe with a much larger group of women who were knitting. Places for women to gather with ease is, ironically, not easy to come by. Hearing the other group occasionally in the background resonated with this month's theme: Free your Voice

For several years I've been dipping in and out of researching into what happens to women's voices as they age. I've even written about it.

This Thursday (15 February), the women's writing group will be utilising the focus from the day before and our writing theme is love.

Join us! We meet in John Lewis restaurant (2nd floor) from 19.00 to 20.30 - it is free to attend (but please purchase a drink from the cafe)

Summer is a source of richness in so many ways. We have good weather generally, though here in the UK that definitely seems to be an optional extra. There's also opportunities for many of us to unwind from our normal rhythms and try to reconnect with relaxation, which can take many forms from gardening, painting, writing or any other number of pursuits.

The return to schedules and school drop-offs and pick-ups can feel like our time away from it all was nothing but a distant memory.