I’m driving my daughter to Canterbury for her first Fresher’s event. She’s doing her makeup in the passenger seat and I’m wondering why I agreed to collect her again later when the club ends, at 2 am tomorrow morning. “How are you feeling?” I ask “I’m fine. I’m a bit..” “Trepidatious?” I … [Read more...] about How To Know What Is Yours
Relationships
How To Be Heard
A couple are screaming at each other in the street as I’m walking home. He is on the phone and is relaying the conversation to his angry and agitated partner. “What’s she fucking saying?” she yells at him. He pulls the phone away from her as she lurches forward to grab it while he yells … [Read more...] about How To Be Heard
How To Be Tolerant
I’m sitting in the car alone, waiting for everyone else. It’s a familiar scene and one which, oddly, still surprises me. My daughter emerges first. “Where is everyone?” I ask. “Apparently you said we were leaving at 6.15” “It’s 6.14”, I say. Beth looks at me with a tight smile and … [Read more...] about How To Be Tolerant
Why Freedom Isn’t Free
Taking the bus to Folkestone, Dave Clark and I are on the top deck in the front seats with a big bag of dark red cherries to share. We see if we can spit the stones up and out of the small window, open just a few inches to let in the dusty summer air. I am thirteen years old traveling the … [Read more...] about Why Freedom Isn’t Free
How To Explore The World
There’s a guy I see most mornings on my walk to work. He is always standing at the rear of his car outside the nursery smoking a cigarette while his tiny daughter sits alone on the back seat. He stares into space dragging on his cigarette while she waits patiently to be unstrapped and taken into … [Read more...] about How To Explore The World