Jo Lister
Fickle fame fades away as I rise and go on my way
WELL, the time has come when I have to hang up my proverbial boots, lay down my pen, and call it a day.
Last updated 30 December 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Special guide to being prepared
WITH just one day to go, things are getting serious.
Last updated 24 December 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Getting to the root of festive tree trends
DECISIONS, decisions. The black one or the upside down one?
Last updated 10 December 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Community spirit working together in hope and in harmony
TEARS were brought to my eyes this week as I ventured through the queues of traffic to reach Sainsbury’s in Cockermouth.
Last updated 3 December 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
A giver of life, but a terrible bringer of destruction
I KNOW that my normal brief for this column is to write something light-hearted, but after the events of the last few days there’s no way I can ignore writing about what is on everyone’s lips.
Last updated 26 November 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
A stage debut as the second glitter-sprinkler from the left
I KNEW it was ominous when he started singing a song about her.
Last updated 19 November 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Obsessions with youth, beauty, death and vampires
I DON’T usually go to the cinema; in fact, I think the last film I went to see was Calendar Girls (or was it Finding Nemo?). You get the picture.
Last updated 12 November 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Bring out the spooks and spirits!
WE ARE just beginning the season of end-of-year festivals; that strange mix of Pagan and Christian celebrations.
Last updated 29 October 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
“WHAT’S in a name?” Shakespeare’s Juliet asked.
Last updated 22 October 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
A sad event, but then it’s back to busy village life
ANOTHER sad event this week: the last of our pets finally passed away.
Last updated 8 October 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Memories of remarkable Aunty Alice and 24 books
A SIGNIFICANT part of my past went for ever this week.
Last updated 1 October 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Child number four is going to be our eco-friendly offspring
REMEMBER that advertisement, some years ago now, for Allied Dunbar, where an older man goes looking for his razor in the bathroom cabinet, knocks down a pregnancy test from the top and storms into the kitchen to confront his daughters about being careful, only to be told by his wife that it is he and she who needed to be more careful?
Last updated 24 September 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
The legend of school dinners past and present
FROG-SPAWN semolina, slimy scoops of lukewarm mash smeared down boys’ blazers, lumps of undisclosed meat in a watery brown stew . . . school dinners.
Last updated 17 September 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Rain, school uniforms and an economy drive - summer really is over
THE rain started as we entered Cumbria. Still, we were nearly home and that was all that mattered.
Last updated 3 September 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
A taste of France worth the long slog of a journey
I WRITE this while sitting at a typical outside cafe in a quiet street in a French town, awaiting a cafe liegeois.
Last updated 27 August 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Our holiday plans give us food for thought
BY THE time you read this we will be somewhere in the Deep South; not America, of course, but our own England, en route to the Channel port of Portsmouth.
Last updated 20 August 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
We’re all going on a summer holiday . . .
THOSE of you with children will probably by now have encountered the “summer road trip from hell”. Others of you, like us, still have it ahead.
Last updated 13 August 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Generations must not fail to remember the troubles
WITH 113-year-old Henry Allingham’s funeral and the passing of Harry Patch, a mere 111, this has been rather a sad week but one that I hope will have a positive outcome for those of us who are left behind.
Last updated 6 August 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
When there is room for change, think calming and refined
THIS week I have been re-inventing my bedroom.
Last updated 30 July 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
A handbag? Mine needs a good clear-our
I THINK it’s about time I had a handbag sort-out.
Last updated 24 July 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
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Quick links
- West Cumbrian swimming club needs sponsors to dive in
- Cumbrian cannabis factory found after neighbours complain of smell
- Controversial West Cumbrian turbine plan rejected (2 comments)
- United Utilities fined for sewage spill in to Lake District beck
- Gannet attacks Cumbrian man
- Red Barn mixes it up
- Son donates kidney to Workington council stalwart
- Joe Mbu a threat to Workington Town
- It's an exciting and worrying time
- Don’t be a soft touch for online fraudsters
- West Cumbrian swimming club needs sponsors to dive in
- Cumbrian cannabis factory found after neighbours complain of smell
- Controversial West Cumbrian turbine plan rejected (2 comments)
- United Utilities fined for sewage spill in to Lake District beck
- Gannet attacks Cumbrian man
- Red Barn mixes it up
- Son donates kidney to Workington council stalwart
- Joe Mbu a threat to Workington Town
- It's an exciting and worrying time
- Don’t be a soft touch for online fraudsters
