December 15, 2019
We’re going to London and I’m asking my daughter what we should do while the others are hanging around in the viewing gallery at the top of the The Shard. “We can go to Borough Market and buy chocolate brownies,” she says. “For ninety minutes?” I ask. She shrugs. “We could go to the Tate […]
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December 8, 2019
Walking to work down Union Street a man strides out from the hairdresser and, as he passes the hi-fi store, immediately turns and looks at his own reflection. Apparently dissatisfied, he rounds the corner and crosses the road where he can try another window, the one in the cafe behind which two builders sit eating […]
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December 1, 2019
I’m driving to Battle with my friend Martin. He’s a recovering alcoholic and we’re laughing about how, at the height of his drinking, he could steam up the windows of cars because his sweat glands were working so hard to try and break down the alcohol. He noticed obsessive tendencies early. The need to keep […]
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November 24, 2019
Recording a festive episode of our new podcast this week, Martin is telling me that he finds it hard to give gifts without worrying he will disappoint the recipient. I tell him it’s a reflection of his doubt about himself and that sometimes, being aware of a vulnerability, helps us to cope better with it. […]
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November 17, 2019
It was suggested this week that we take the CDs to the charity shop. “What, all of them?” I ask without fully understanding why a partial clear out feels less uncomfortable than getting rid of the whole lot. I don’t even have a CD player any longer. When my mother died she left a house […]
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