The Library
Wonder, nature, folklore, culture, creativity.
I write about all sorts.
This is a selection of my writing.
More recent work is on Substack.
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The Woman Who Collects Signs
We got married in Italy. And for a country famous for love and grand romantic gestures, the wedding vows were surprisingly practical. I remember reading them for the first time and being a bit disappointed at how unromantic they were. No poetry. No promises of eternal love. They were more like a job description. All…
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Honouring the Women Who Built Us
I’m writing this on International Women’s Day. I love this day seeing all the stories about women. Making a mark on their own worlds in their own ways. I feel so lucky to have been surrounded by remarkable and strong women growing up. And now as I am older, I have women who lift me…
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The Classroom We Don’t See
My first parents evening was spent on a tiny chair, looking through a tray of scribbles. I spent my last one sat at home looking at a screen on Zoom. Reflecting on how much the role of ‘school mum’ has shaped my life. I was crying before it even started. I’m awe of teachers but…
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Home and Away
I held it together (only just) on Monday as I left my son at the airport. His first trip away from home. I heard and felt that familiar ache of homesickness when I received his first call home. And in all the messages after that. We’ve all felt it. That yearning feeling to be at…
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In the Space Between Doing and Being
Last Christmas was so different. It is usually a much needed rest followed by a surge of energy ready to make plans for the new year ahead. A few days before Christmas, on the winter solstice, I had closed the doors on a business that had been my life for years. It wasn’t just a…
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Forgotten Rituals, Remembered Joy
I can’t remember when I last wrote a stack of Christmas cards. I still have loads of the ones the kids made in primary school. I didn’t even send them back then. But I was chair of the PTA who organised the ‘another thing’ on the never ending list of things that a parent has…
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A Gift That Keeps Moving
“I read a book about that.” This is something I say often during conversations with friends. It’s become a bit of a joke now. It is always met with, “Of course you have.” This week, we were talking about Black Friday and the barrage of ads screaming at us from every direction. My feed is…
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A December “Not-To-Do” List
I often write notes and letters to my future self—little reminders about where I was and where I am now. This particular note was written by frazzled, end-of-Christmas me, determined to save future me from the same fate. A letter version of A Christmas Carol. In it, I gave myself a not to do list:…
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Recapturing Sundays: A Quiet Revolution
Once upon a time, Sundays carried an air of enforced tranquility. Shops were shut, activities were limited, and the world collectively agreed to simmer down. The Sabbath, as it was traditionally known, was rooted in religious practice. A day of rest and worship. Even for the non-religious, it was a chance to pause. A day…
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The Beauty in Watching Life
We spent half term in Dubai. I’ve been a few times as my husband works out there for periods through the year. I will never get used to the speed of it, I have to brace myself for it. A city that feels like it is never enough. With a skyline of tall buildings that…
By Eve Bell 