If marriage is a journey (and not a destination, as Jane Austen says), I want mine to be like a car trip: a nice long one, on interesting roads. Although not as interesting as London’s M25 which I was on yesterday and which may have actually taken several years off my life. There are so […]
The natural order – Robyn Goss
“Nasty, brutish and short”, my husband observed the other day, as we sat on the patio in the rain, having sundowners. “That’s a bit harsh,” I said, watching the children smear yoghurt all over the newly washed windows. “Brutish, yes, undeniably. And of course they’re short. They’re still young. But nasty? I don’t know … […]
So … how about this weather?
Funny you should ask. I’ve been thinking about winter a lot, lately. This may seem a strange time, what with all the blue skies and sunflowers, but it’s best to be prepared: what Switzerland lacks in poisonous spiders and man-eating potholes, it more than makes up for with deadly weather. I don’t want to sound […]
Up, Up and Away – horse balloons and sport – by Robyn Goss
I’ve never understood sport. I don’t mean the rules – although, quite honestly, whoever invented cricket must have been insane. No, I mean I’ve never understood the appeal of sport; never understood why supporters go so far out of their way to have their hopes crushed and their hearts broken. Take the World Cup for […]
Robyn Goss explores her husband’s efforts to get their kids interested in sport
With all the football fever in the air, my husband has been fantasising about – finally, finally – getting one of the children interested in sport. He gave up with me just after we met, but with his daughters … well, he might still have someone to watch the rugby with; to go to cricket […]
Pet peeve – there is a lot of talk about pets in Robyn’s family this week
So we’re talking a lot about pets again, in our household. It seems the children are not content with four fat goldfish, three layabout guinea pigs, a geriatric cat and a Furby that will not shut up (I’d take the batteries out but what if it goes all Chucky on me and keeps talking?). No. […]
Home and away – the consequences of going camping as a family
“We’re going to need a bigger tent,” my husband said, with some surprise. The last time we used his three-man tent, it had been more than big enough. We didn’t take up much space in those days, back in the first flush of romance, when we still fell asleep in each other’s arms. Also, we […]
Evolutionary regression
These last few weeks have seen something of a regression in my family, all the way back to our days in the cave. It started when the children watched The Croods, which is a very sweet (if completely factually inaccurate) story about the last Neanderthal family and their moment of personal evolution. The older child […]
Of bugs, bacteria and human behaviour
Funny things, bugs. I was pondering this the other day, as I sat watching my children performing in a school play. They were on opposite sides of the stage and I spent an hour trying to make eye contact with them both at the same time, so no one could accuse me of loving the […]
This fusion life
One of the most amazing revelations I’ve had in Switzerland thus far (apart from the fact that eau de parfum is not pronounced ‘err de parfyoom’) is that not everyone likes biltong. I shared my treasured store with some British and Swiss friends once, and it was an eye-opener. Half of them paled at the […]
