Jeni Barnett

I know a woman who decorates her house every five minutes. From pale blue dados to blushing pink borders. I have never said anything but her house is boring. The space is neither comforting nor vibrant it’s just clean. Modern interior design is not my taste. Bland colours and square kitchen islands do not speak … Read more

I tried praying as a child, kneeling at the side of my bed and putting my hands together. I’d seen it in picture books, all be it that it was often blonde white children wearing dressings gowns their hair immaculately combed. I seen them do it. How hard could it be? I didn’t factor in … Read more

I’ve been sleeping on the settee for three weeks. It’s not a bad thing only psychologically it feels like I haven’t slept for twenty one days. My shoulder fracture is getting better, but I still can’t drive or pull my socks up. I sat at the computer and asked the God of Kidneys to find … Read more

The Buddhist monks walking through America with their rescue dog Aloka is an extraordinary sight. The calm they bring. Hundreds of people lining the road as they walk for Peace. Their orange robes wrapped round them through rain and snow. Quietly entering peoples hearts. Talking with children, accepting flowers, Aloka padding along beside them. The … Read more

As if things couldn’t get any worse I am now writing one handed. Of course I feel sorry for myself, and for himself and for the dawter who is trying to live her life while everything around her swims into double vision. On last Wednesday I baby stepped to my car, rain lashing my glasses … Read more

My first professional job was at The Watford Palace Theatre. I was familiar with the beautiful theatre as my mother took me regularly to see all sorts. I liked the front row, touching the stage and smelling the grease paint. I went to Watford School of Music aged thirteen. Studying to be a concert pianist … Read more

This morning I went to my cranial osteopath. There are those who think it’s a waste of space and too woo-woo to heal anybody. I’ve been seeing Stuart Korth for 38 years. he treated the dawter from her tiny baby body to now. He is 83 and comes from a family of helpers. He has … Read more

Patches of snow and ice surround the cottage. I hold onto branches and leaves to get me to the garage. Driving to the dry cleaners three times a week is now part of my life. In the winter its dreary and uncomfortable. The lights on my car are the opposite of glaring full beam. Even … Read more

You hug a child and squeeze a granny but you always embrace a lover. You shake hands with a stranger and bow to your elders but with lovers you embrace. You can embrace an idea or an opportunity, you can even embrace Buddhism. It’s the kind of word that embarrassed me when I was younger. … Read more

In this world of exhausting alternatives, there’s nothing more woke than ‘Manifestation’. You can, we’re told, manifest health, wealth, love and perfect self expression, or you can’t. Affirmations and Gurus are now part of everyday life. But, they say, it requires a life time of gratitude to get the angels to bale you out. I … Read more