We went to see The Odyssey at the cinema recently. I went with my husband and our two young adult boys (I hesitate here what to call them – boys? Men? Males? I guess in some primal way they will always be boys in my heart, in the same way my mum told me, during a time of distress in my late thirties, that I would always be her baby, i.e. she would always be concerned for my wellbeing and comfort me). It's fair to say we all enjoyed the film in our own ways. But personally, I couldn't help...

Discover the missing piece in your mindfulness practice: how Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living deepens self-compassion, softens the inner critic, and helps you meet life's difficulties with more kindness. Read Kate's story here.

Roots, branches, and the wisdom of what stands still while everything grows. In the Celtic Tree Calendar, the Oak month (Duir) spans June to July. Growing up in Yorkshire, I always thought of the Oak as a particularly northern, particularly British tree. So it was a lovely surprise, researching this piece, to discover just how far its roots really travel, and how, the deeper I dug, the earliest layer of the story turned out to be rooted in the feminine. A solitary oak stands majestically in...