Reflections on the C-word : At the Centre of the Cancer Labyrinth

My husband and I were staying at a charming little boutique hotel not far from the Cathedral and enjoying the elegance of the city and of the ix hotel with its art deco furnishings, the good California wine served by the fireside each evening, and the big bowls of local apples at the front desk. [...] On this bright autumn day, the sun cast moving shafts of colour through the windows onto the church walls and on the barefoot people who circled around on the tapestry labyrinth at the centre of the hall. [...] Perhaps it was a nightmare that woke me, or perhaps it was the second helping of summer pudding, but I came downstairs to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and surprised Auntie Mabel as she stood in front of the washbasin. [...] These are the kingfisher days, the time of year when the seas were thought to be calm and the 11 kingfishers could build floating nests made of fish bones on the sea and the female and her eggs would drift on the tranquil sea amidst becalmed winds. [...] The book I made this Christmas was about the alphabet, and the letter C gave me one of my drawings, a picture in which Charlotte and I are upside down and the verse says C is for Charlotte, and Carol, and Christmas.