How well do you know your own work?

Bernie and Riley, who was also in the studio

I was interviewed on BBC Northampton this morning (get her!) about A Sparge Bag on the Washing Line. It was great fun and I enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame, but the interview didn't go as I'd expected it would.

The host of the show, Bernie Keith (see page 167 of the book), is a lovely chap and very easy to talk to, and he always does his research. He knew, for instance, that I'd been to Worcester, so he must have read this blog. However, while in my mind my book is all about the funny stories, he came at it from a different angle, homing in on the whole business of diary writing, on the local connections and the rather serious side of adjusting to the 'new normal' when one of you retires.

I've just listened back on BBC Sounds here (I'm on at 1.44.45) and I'm pleased with the result. It is actually more lighthearted than it felt at the time - there were things recorded that I don't remember saying: isn't that strange? - but it has made me wonder if as writers we get so caught up with what we think we're saying that we forget our readers might have a different agenda.

What do you think?

Who do you know who might be lonely?

Over the weekend, I turned to the trusty i-Player to watch Sue Bourne's fascinating documentary The Age of Loneliness. I heard an interview with Ms Bourne on Bernie Keith's show on BBC Northampton, else it's not really the sort of programme I would watch. I'm glad I tuned in.

I'm generally quite happy with my own company, but there is a world of difference between solitude (a good thing) and loneliness (most definitely not a good thing). There have been times when I've felt a touch isolated, such as when I first left home all those years ago, when I've started a new job or been somewhere everyone knows someone except me; but they have been fleeting and manageable, and I'm blessed in that I've never been properly lonely. However, if this programme is to be believed, it's only a matter of time.

It seems to me that one thing we can do to help ourselves is to be involved with as many different groups as possible. Some of the saddest stories in the programme were of those long-married couples where one spouse has died and the remaining partner has looked up to find she or he has no friends. Devotion is wonderful, but only doing things as a couple is always going to end badly. The same is true where a partnership breaks down and one person moves on. If friends have only ever been joint friends of the couple, rather than the individuals, it's bound to be tricky when the dynamic changes.

Obviously I'm no expert, but may I urge you all to embrace contacts and friendships wherever you find them? Spread your wings. I'm not saying everyone you meet will become a bosom buddy, but living a closed-off existence is storing up trouble. (That said, I appreciate that crippling shyness and mental illness bring their own issues, also touched on by Sue Bourne.)

The other point that came across is that busy people can still be lonely. So if you know someone who lives alone, even if they seem to be quite content, it can't hurt to ask them in for a cup of tea once in a while.

The Divisional on the radio

Warning!Proud mother moment coming up!

Younger son Joe's band The Divisional were played on Radio Northampton yesterday morning. It always sounds a bit odd when I've got my MP3 player on 'random' and their song comes up, so to hear them on the radio was very odd. I'm so proud! The presenter, the incomparable Bernie Keith, played their song 'Insecure/Manicure', and was very complimentary and is passing the CD on to a colleague who focuses on unsigned bands - so watch this space. (Follow the link - they're on at about 40 minutes.)