When I moved to Sheffield to do a PhD, I didn’t know a single person in the city. Even my supervisor was a stranger. On the very first weekend, before I could lose my nerve, I signed on for a walk with the local Ramblers group. There were no logistical…

Portugal was wiped off the amber list with little warning about a month ago. I didn’t feel much sympathy for the people mobbing airport counters for flights to beat the quarantine deadline, any more than I feel sorry for people who fail to win the lottery each jackpot draw. The…

I used to dream, like all teenage girls, of one day meeting the Love of My Life. Specifically, this would happen in my late teens or twenties, early enough that I would have a partner on my great life’s adventure. What was the point of meeting HIM in your 40s…

Last week, when the shops reopened, I went down Byres Road to Rymans. I adore stationery and spend more on it than is necessary, but there are worse vices. Stationery, even more so than books, must be physically browsed. You can read a book review or an excerpt on Kindle,…