I spent much of today editing my entry as an author (and artist) on Amazon.com – that isn’t to suggest that I have altered it dramatically – but more that, in updating it, I noticed how much that was put up in the past has gradually drifted away. There is a theory that, whatever you put up on the internet… Read More

A complete Short Story extracted from “Short Blasts” by Mai Griffin (may be shared freely – providing all shares include Mai Griffin’s name) Last Straw by Mai Griffin What to do…? “Who could have dreamed that every individual in the whole world could be suddenly under threat of death from a previously unknown virus for which there is no known… Read More

It wasn’t how I’d planned to spend my weekend – but, on the other hand, my weekends never needed much planning in 1951. The young man I intended to marry was serving in Malaya (jungle warfare, strategically called The Emergency to safeguard the Planters’ insurance), so I spent time writing letters to him or watching TV for news of the… Read More

Children are a joy to portray in oil on canvas… please note that I didn’t say “to paint”, as someone would be bound to interrupt with whoops of derisive laughter! Not all the little people who have sat for me have done so willingly; anxious parents’ warning about sitting still and being quiet for the three hour session, never help! A two-year-old… Read More

I couldn’t help reflecting on other long road trips. Most went smoothly but one in particular was unforgettable. In 1963, while living in Singapore, my husband decided that we should have a week in Penang. If memory serves me right it was 132 miles away and he drove with only a couple of short breaks in eleven-and-three-quarter-hours, mostly through secondary… Read More

I have never understood why autobiographies start at the beginning. Unless you know me, the terribly amusing anecdotes of my life as a tiny tot are unlikely to enthrall. When you get to know me as I am now, you may then be interested in discovering the process that went into making those eighty-four years stimulating enough for me to still be… Read More

Juggling the demands of everyday life with the urgency to finish writing the current book is difficult at the best of times, but the summer heat here in Spain has not helped! As you can guess, if you have read of my own experiences, ideas are not much of a problem and, in the beginning, I wrote so much without worrying… Read More