CHRISTMAS EVE 1992 Kraków, Poland “We’re closed.” That’s what I said to the woman as the chimes by the front door announced her entrance. I didn’t even bother preceding it with a ‘sorry’. It was quarter to two on Christmas Eve and I was just about to lock up shop and go home. Who can [...]
As a writer, it goes without saying that I have always been an avid reader. And the older I get, the fussier I become with my reading, and the harder I am to please. But that does not seem to be the case with many other readers. The astounding success of a number of contemporary [...]
At this time of year, when so many people are celebrating Thanksgiving, it’s a good opportunity for us to pause and think about what we have to be thankful for in our lives. Now please don’t say Yuk! – I know what I just said might sound like a truism, but very often it’s the [...]
“You should be careful what you wish for!” Hmmm. That’s what my ex-husband said to me (my first ex, not my second, let’s get it right) when I had a heart-to-heart with him shortly after Hubby No 2 and I split up, back in the inconsolable autumn days of 2017. “Weren’t you wanting more space [...]
I want to fly backwards in time, and head for my old Art Nouveau apartment – the one my children and I used to share with our newly opened school. It was right in the historic heart of Kraków, within earshot of the quarter-hourly chimes that drifted from an aortic plethora of medieval churches and [...]
It’s Halloween, the end of the half-term holiday, so their huge Art Nouveau flat is not infested with the usual chaos and commotion of their new private school. Just her two children and her husband. She’s looking forward to seeing all three of them again, after her weekend away in the Tatra mountains. Forgiveness is still rife [...]
Is there anyone out there? Or to be more specific, is there anyone out there who, like me, was once part of a busy, noisy, thriving family, tangled up in all its inevitable joys and woes, and who now suddenly finds themselves alone? If you are out there, then you’ll understand how I feel as [...]
Wendy Skorupski 