Funny Matters

A voice from the dark: why talking taboos makes for a better society

This post can also be read at the Huffington Post UK… *** Last month I published an article called An Open Apology to My Friends With Babies. It was about miscarriage … Continue reading

April 13, 2016 · 4 Comments

An Open Apology To My Friends With Babies

This post can also be read at the Huffington Post UK… *** We’re in an impossible situation you and I. It’s been weighing on my mind for a while now. And … Continue reading

March 3, 2016 · 21 Comments

David Bowie: Keeping Schtum About Cancer

This post can also be read at the Huffington Post UK… *** Well. That was a week of very sad news. David Bowie. Alan Rickman. Dead. Cancer. Aged 69. Like many … Continue reading

January 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Beating Your Inner Bridezilla (or How To Control the Weather From Beyond the Grave)

I was determined to be a laid back bride. An easy going wedding planner. It was one of my major worries about getting married. You see. I am very easily … Continue reading

December 23, 2015 · 2 Comments

My “Big Day”: My Mother’s Funeral

The day before my Mum’s funeral I went and did the food shopping. A few people offered to come with me. But I had it covered. It didn’t even occur … Continue reading

November 25, 2015 · 4 Comments

A Mother’s Love

When I was really small…. One of my earliest memories. An Irish traveller came to the front door. Selling chamois leathers and little bunches of heather wrapped in tin foil. … Continue reading

October 20, 2015 · 4 Comments

Death & Online Dating

I’m back. Back from getting hitched and honeymooning. I’m now an honest woman. And I have a piece of paper to prove it. *** The whole wedding caboodle was wonderful. … Continue reading

September 3, 2015 · 6 Comments

Three Years and Counting…

Remember me? I’ve not been round these parts for a while. I know. I’m sorry. Tsk. Start a blog. Invite people to subscribe. Then leave them in the lurch… Downright … Continue reading

July 14, 2015 · 10 Comments

Two weeks to go – have you booked yet?

In just over two weeks… …my one woman show My Mum The Chemo Ninja will hit the Brighton Fringe… for four nights only! I am now officially terrifixcited (see what … Continue reading

April 20, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Ready Steady Book!

  5, 4, 3, 2, 1… THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! Booking is now open for the stage adaptation of my blog, Funny Matters… CLICK HERE for the online box office & all show info … Continue reading

March 9, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Break-up. Breakdown. Breakthrough

The 25th of October 2011. I remember it well.  It was my Mum and step-dad David’s 25th wedding anniversary. I wanted to make a fuss of her. Of them. After … Continue reading

January 14, 2015 · 15 Comments

The C Words: Couples Counselling

Anyone ever done couples counselling? I have. Now. I’m going to give you a free tip here. Just one of my regular pearls of wisdom. Here it is: Couples counselling … Continue reading

December 17, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Change Management & Battenberg Cake

  Hello stranger. Sorry you’ve not seen much of me ’round these parts. Funny Matters has had somewhat of an unplanned hiatus. A mini-break if you like. I guess I … Continue reading

November 25, 2014 · 10 Comments

Finding the Positive

Wow….What can I say? You’ve overwhelmed me. I was blown away by all the wonderful comments and messages you lot – out there – sent me in response to my … Continue reading

October 18, 2014 · 17 Comments

The Grandchild She’d Never Meet….

When I was clearing out my Mum’s clothes. A few weeks back. I found a bag of her knitting. Unfinished. What she’d been making before she’d died. Maybe not so … Continue reading

October 3, 2014 · 27 Comments

Bitter-Sweet Charity

This post is a follow-on from my last one – Confessions of a Dysfunctional Daughter. So if you haven’t already read it. It’s probably a good idea to do that … Continue reading

September 18, 2014 · 2 Comments

Confessions of a Dysfunctional Daughter

Warning: Segue coming up. I repeat. Segue coming up Yes. I know. It was only last month that I was on here bleating. About how sorry I was. For going … Continue reading

September 11, 2014 · 4 Comments

An Unexpected Inheritance

I’ve always considered myself to be quite a shy person. I know this might cause guffaws from some. Those who know me. But it’s true. Meeting new people. Joining groups. … Continue reading

August 21, 2014 · 5 Comments

Going Ape With Mum

Right. Enough is enough. Stop with the distractions. I went off the beaten track for a few weeks there. Didn’t I? Got caught up in the bright lights. Of hospice … Continue reading

August 12, 2014 · 8 Comments

Sport, Grief & Clare Balding

Anyone see last week’s opening ceremony for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games? I did. And it got me thinking about the last time we all went a bit sporting gaga. Cast … Continue reading

July 30, 2014 · 8 Comments

Picture Perfect…?

So you may remember. A few weeks ago. I was getting all stressy. About those articles I’d been asked to write. The hospice ones. Well. Turned out I’d got it … Continue reading

July 24, 2014 · 2 Comments

Hospice: The ‘H’ Word

You may have seen me on my Facebook page this week frothing at the mouth with excitement and honour at my hospice article being published in the acclaimed www.ehospice.com! If not, … Continue reading

July 17, 2014 · 4 Comments

Two Years On…

Today is 14th of July 2014. Bastille Day. The anniversary of the beginning of the French revolution. The storming of the Bastille. For me though, it’s something far more significant. … Continue reading

July 14, 2014 · 16 Comments

My Can Of Worms

Last week I was approached by two different organisations to write about my positive hospice experience. Hmm. Positive. Somehow it feels peculiar to use that word. In the context of … Continue reading

July 5, 2014 · 4 Comments

My Mum Doctorate

I’m one of those people doctors love to hate. A researcher. Oh come on. Who doesn’t love a good research? <Tumbleweed> When I go and see the doctor. Chances are … Continue reading

June 30, 2014 · 2 Comments

The Marian Keyes Effect

I’ve finally done it! I’ve managed to write a short post. Well. You do deserve a reprieve Truthfully though. It’s not the post I’d planned. Gone slightly off-piste today. I know. … Continue reading

June 25, 2014 · 10 Comments

My Mum The Chemo Bandit

What is it with doctors’ surgeries? They’re full of people with infectious illnesses. Not ideal for hypochondriacs, I bet. They probably leave the doctors convinced they’ve contracted everything under the … Continue reading

June 23, 2014 · 2 Comments

How I Became A Compulsive Liar

My name’s Angela. And I’m a curtain-twitcher Well. A recovering one You see. I come from a long line of curtain-twitchers (see last post). You could say it’s an hereditary … Continue reading

June 21, 2014 · 4 Comments

How Are You?

How are you? Seems like a simple question. Three words. Uncomplicated Or is it? When you to say to someone ‘how are you?’ What do you expect back? The standard … Continue reading

June 19, 2014 · 4 Comments

My First Time

Do you remember your first time? I do. No. I don’t mean that first time… Tut. I don’t know. One track mind I mean the first time you realised your … Continue reading

June 14, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Hatfield & The North

Hatfield. The childhood abode of Elizabeth I. The birthplace of the Mosquito fighter bomber. Most famous for? The Hatfield train crash, of course. For me. It just happened to be where … Continue reading

June 12, 2014 · Leave a Comment

And Then I Did Jury Service…

I had been excited for months about doing my jury service. First off. It was a two week holiday from the job I hated. On top of that. I had … Continue reading

June 8, 2014 · 6 Comments

The Stupid Things We Say

Many years ago, my best friend and I were being chatted up in Barcelona by a couple of musicians. As was always the case, she got ‘the good one’. A … Continue reading

June 5, 2014 · 12 Comments

Funny Ha Ha or Funny Grief?

As part of the Screw Work Let’s Play 30 Day Challenge I have publicly committed to spending the month of June creating content for a funny book on grief and … Continue reading

June 2, 2014 · 1 Comment

How Jennifer Aniston can help monitor your mental health

I can gauge my emotional health by the things I want to watch on TV. You see, I’ve always been a bit of a telly and film snob. I would … Continue reading

May 20, 2014 · 4 Comments