Slow and steady wins the race — There’s this strange thing I’ve noticed — three of my fellow writers had staggering success early in their Medium journey. They were making large sums of money soon after joining the platform, fast surpassing me in earnings and in some cases, in followers. I tried to learn from what they…

Ignore your instincts at your peril — I read this fabulous story by The Autlaw about the time she got talking to a stranger and went off with him on the London Underground. It reminded me of a time I got into a stranger’s car, because I didn’t like to be rude when the nice man was…

Today’s mood: fuckety fuck fuck fuck — I recently got a message from an editor who’d been interfering with my copy… ‘We suggest that you download “Grammarly”. It is a free application that will assist you with all of the grammar and spelling issues.’ There were no grammar or spelling issues. I cross checked what she’d published…

There’s a possible risk of infringement — Many Medium writers have written about ChatGPT and their experiences feeding it questions and prompts. In fact, it looks like a really exciting tool, with the potential to put writers out of a job — although we’d still need an army of fact checkers, for anyone who can be bothered…

Current status: hiding — Meet our new boys, Cookie and Coco. After a stressful time last week when our beloved elderly guinea pig Pumpkin passed away, we decided the best way to lift the mood was to get two more little rascals who we could get to know and love. …

Trying to reconnect doesn’t always go how you imagine — Back in about 2010, I met an old friend while attending a job interview. She spotted me across the car park and came running over to say ‘hello’. She was really chatty, wanting to know how I’d been. I was pleased to see her and friendly, but she’d got me…

Are you cold enough to try something new? — Readers enjoyed my article ‘15 Eccentric Ways to Stay Warm Without Turning the Heating Up’ and added some suggestions of their own, so here more readers’ ideas to help you stay cosy this winter… Use microwavable heat pads and microwavable neck wraps to keep you warm. Get a small electric…

But he probably won’t publish it — Last week, the Telegraph tweeted: ‘The Duke of Sussex has revealed that he has enough material to write another book, having held back disclosures for which the King and the Prince of Wales would not “ever forgive” him if they were made public’. Harry told the paper that his original…

I tested a new remedy and my infection disappeared! — Have you ever had a fungal infection? They can be very unpleasant and difficult to treat. That’s why, when I was offered a free trial of a fungal nail treatment, I thought I’d take it up. …