Whilst this blog has been concentrating on the writing world,  my heart is never far from Bangladesh, and especially, from Bhola's Children. It's eighteen months now since I was there, but another of our Trustees, Freda Graf, has just returned. I thought I'd share her thoughts here...

I’ve been thinking a lot about love this summer.

All kinds of love. Love in its broadest sense. Love that runs smoothly and love that doesn’t. What love means.

Love Unlimited.

Working (mostly) from home, doing something I love, is a gift; right now, I wouldn’t change it for anything. That word ‘home’, though, should be interpreted as ‘anywhere I can sit with a Kindle or a laptop or a notebook’, and in July, it’s included: trains, planes, a boat, several different towns in a couple of different countries, and a yurt.

I love libraries. They’ve always been one of my life’s givens; wherever I’ve been in the world, I’ve visited a library. Whether it’s plate glass and modern chrome or an old Victorian school house, there’s a sense of familiarity, of safety even, and of something between expectation and excitement. You never know what you’ll find hidden inside this world of books.

What is a Mentor?

1. She’s the person holding the light at the (beginning, middle and) end of the tunnel when I’m flailing around in the dark, wailing and being neurotic.
2. The one who keeps giving me a good kick up the behind – but picks me up if I fall!
3. The ‘wise adviser’ originating from Homer’s Odyssey: entrusted with the care and education of Telemachus when Odysseus left for Troy.