When I reached into the cupboard for my coffee mug this morning, the contents of the shelf told me how much I’ve changed. The cups didn’t talk (I don’t live in a Disney animation), but they did make me think about how different I now am from thirty-year-old me:
Spectator Sport
When travelling alone, I used to occupy myself by guessing the age of strangers. I did this by observing how far they held their mobile phone away from their face.
Ugly Duckling Friends
I recently wrote a piece on how female friendship is one of the most valuable things about being a woman. Then my kids reminded me of what friendship is like when you’re a teen.
Thirsty Brain
Do you ever have those nightmares where you're about to sit an important exam and you haven't revised?
Who Wants to Live Forever?
When I heard the author Jeanette Winterson say, ‘Why would you want to be tethered to an ageing, dying animal if you don’t have to be?’ I felt like she was speaking directly to me.
Wasted Youth
Thanks to social media, many of us are in touch with people we may not have seen for over half of our lives. We follow their carefully curated stories and wonder if their lives are anything like those they show to the world (Don’t pretend I’m the only cynic – I know you wonder too).... Continue Reading →
If Menopause Could Talk…
I’m sorry she kept you awake last night, tossing and turning. It was hot, wasn’t it? I’m sorry she’s scared of her phone. Social Media used to be fun. I’m sorry she's yawning. She's not bored, just dog tired. I’m sorry she sent the wrong email. That’s not like her at all. I’m sorry she... Continue Reading →
Fifty Years in the Making
I am fifty-years-old and I feel I have been reduced, but not in the way you might think. I have simmered for five decades and I think, at last, I have achieved my desired concentration. I am thick (waist-wise, anyway), rich (in every way that matters) and, even if I do say it myself, really... Continue Reading →
Mortality Bites
I woke up last night with an intense awareness of my mortality. Have you ever felt that existential dread; hard and shiny as a car bonnet careering for your head? I used to feel it as a child, the sudden and suffocating knowledge that I was alive, in this time, in this fragile, terrifyingly mortal... Continue Reading →
What a Middle-Aged Woman Really Wants for Christmas
The predictable answer would be diamonds, but, failing that, there are a few less expensive, but equally precious things that would make my Christmas extra special this year: Finland’s Government. Too much to ask for? OK, I’ll aim lower. A Brilliant Box Set. It’s a quiet one for us this year, so I’m hoping for... Continue Reading →