Author: Christine Yarnall
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Where do your ideas come from?

It’s a question that can stop us in our tracks. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, where every task feels like it’s tied to an ever-growing (and never completed) to-do list, it can be hard to find time to pause and reflect. Yet, it’s often in these moments of stillness that our best
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Ancient words and reconnection

When was the last time you truly paused to appreciate the natural world, or learned a word that allowed you to see it more clearly?
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All the colours remind me of you

Writing a post like this is never easy but I’ll do my best. Several weeks ago, I was one of the many that knew nothing about the Northern Lights paying the UK a visit. I had turned in, oblivious that anything interesting would be going on in the sky and woke up to endless photos
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Words to use more in 2024

Another year has gone by and, as always, I’ve been keeping an ear out for words that I’ve found appealing – whether ancient, new or previously unknown to me. Of course, there are always the official words of the year. Oxford University Press opted for “rizz” – a shortening of charisma, pertaining to someone’s ability to
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To meme, or not to meme

Social media. WhatsApp. Text. Email. Zoom. Skype. Teams and the inevitable “you’re on mute”. We have more ways to connect with one another than ever before. This freedom (or perhaps lack of it), has been driven by improving technology. In the western world, most of us carry this technology in our pockets – a generous
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You’re punbelievable! Puns – culture, marketing, groaning

Ah puns. They have been dividing opinion for a long, long time. No matter how refined your sense of humour may be, I believe there is always space for a little punnery. Whether they are in the realm of a dad joke (cue the odd eyeroll), or something a little more unique, puns have a
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Scurryfunge, gigglemug and sploot! My words of 2022

As with each year, 2022 threw up several new words as our rich language evolved to reflect our ever-changing world. A difficult year with Covid still making an impact, the war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis, the struggling NHS and various strikes, many of the prominent words from last year have a distinctly negative vibe.
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The art of lyrics

My passion for words started at a young age. I’ve always made a mental list of favourite words, which gets added to each year as I unearth terms that are new to me. Susie Dent introduced to one of my most recent, highly relatable, favourites – scurryfunge: to frantically tidy the house before guests arrive.
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Jargon, babble and balderdash

It’s 8.30pm on a Monday. You’ve just sat down for dinner after a long day at work and taking care of all those other life issues that pop up unannounced – boiler giving up, the cat letting a live mouse loose in the house, clearing up that broken glass that you skillfully elbowed off your

