Encouraged by the continuing trickle of hits and the rarely arriving email I've somehow kept going till now.

For instance, in my father's business the timing of sales and purchases was very important, and he would sometimes write or say to his colleagues "There is a tide," without going into detail.

He keeps a toyshop in a small way.

In other cultures, the balls were filled with earth, grain, bits and pieces of plants, and sometimes even pieces of metal.

Muriel is living poorly off of her part-time job.