Anne Pickles

January. It’s always dire

They said it would be the most miserable day of the year and they got it just about right – unless you were a teacher, pupil or school-running parent spotting snow before first light, that is.

Last updated 22 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Back your local butcher for burgers without horse

So, there he was having a quick lunch in a Tesco cafe, when the waitress asked him if he would like anything on his burger.

Last updated 18 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Back your local butcher for a horse-free burger

So, there he was having a quick lunch in a Tesco cafe, when the waitress asked him if he would like anything on his burger.

Last updated 18 January 2013
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Alice Pyne has taught us all how to live

Alice Pyne photo We can learn a great deal from the all too short life of Cumbria’s exceptional Alice Pyne.

Last updated 15 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Nothing like a good ticking-off for self-confidence

In case you didn’t know it, this week started with the most adulterous day of the year. If you’d had no idea, there’s no point in even considering it now – because you’ve missed it.

Last updated 11 January 2013
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Fellowship. But only for Church’s old boys

As a much younger woman, many moons ago, I suppose I was a bit of a feminist. (5 comments)

Last updated 8 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Don’t worry, it will be over soon. Enjoy your Pringles

Two chocolate Santas, four mince pies, half a box of Quality Street – it’s not going terribly well. Diet wise. In fact it’s beginning to look a lot like a guilt trip.

Last updated 21 December 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

What did Santa bring for the baby Jesus?

It’s a simple enough story – baby born out of wedlock, in an outbuilding and in poverty did pretty well in the end and changed the world. (4 comments)

Last updated 20 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Stay out of people’s private lives

In the grand scheme of things – and in a real world where innocents are slaughtered in their schoolrooms and homelessness, abject poverty and hunger live cheek by jowl with eyewatering wealth – it matters not a jot. (7 comments)

Last updated 20 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

We’re friends now, but I thought I’d killed cyclist Jim

This is the story of Jim on the bike. And me. We’re friends now – but it could have been very different. Jim fell at my feet – well, in front of my wheels actually – sprawled spectacularly, legs akimbo, on a pitch black early morning of freezing fog and icy roads.

Last updated 14 December 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Sympathy? Don’t make me laugh

Bad humour has a horrible habit of going terribly wrong. Pranks and practical jokes, by their very nature, rely on causing their victims pain. (21 comments)

Last updated 11 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Father Christmas land full of fear, lies and loathing

Young Charlotte has just been told there’s no Father Christmas – which, as we all know, is a vicious and outrageous falsehood.

Last updated 7 December 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Confused? Bored? You shouldn’t be

It should have been relatively simple – relatively being the operative word. Crime and punishment usually is that way. You break the law, you’re named, shamed and you pay the price. (9 comments)

Last updated 4 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Surprisingly, I don’t manage surprises very well

It was a rude awakening – on a Saturday morning after the Friday night before. There should have been no disturbances beyond birdsong, drifting in gently through an open bedroom window. Soothing chirps and whistles from garden trees. And the distant, quarter-hour chimes from St Martin’s.

Last updated 30 November 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk