I would like to introduce the newest addition to my notebook. She is called Emily and has informed me that she likes kingfishers, scones, Ribena and the sound of rain on canvas tents. However Emily has also told me that she has a strong dislike for buttons, but not chocolate buttons, she likes those ones. Emily has been popping in and out of...

On a busy London train in the last few weeks of July I was very happy to see some of Gillian Clarke's poetry displayed between adverts for me to read. It really made me smile and forget the intrusive odour wafting around the stuffy carriage. The poem was call Ode to Joy and is as follows: Exultation! Salutation to the long midsummer days,...