As I sit on the train scrolling through the FT of a morning, I get a bit bored and decide to scroll through Twitter instead. This is usually a really bad idea, being full of complete misinformation and made up AI articles. But today I find an interesting article. it turns out that "50-70%" of... Continue Reading →
The sycamore tree is only a gap in time
Back in the blink of an eye As ever, autumn is a busy news month. This year, I mainly seem to find stories about AI destroying humanity, as well as the rather more tangible risks posed by Russia. We briefly explained to the kids that nice countries don't invade other countries, so they said, "well... Continue Reading →
Do we fear old people?
I went to a dinner at college the other day, and admired much smooth, dewy skin. The boat club invited Alumni along, either in the hope they would give more money, or in gratitude that they had stumped up for a new boat. Personally, I was aggrieved that the women have fallen so far down... Continue Reading →
The rich brother and the poor brother
Like most parents of small-ish children, I spend a lot of time reading fairy tales. I was reading my four year old a very short, slightly boring version of Cinderella, and my 9 year old snuggled in. He was quite aggrieved at the details being "wrong". In the version he reads, the coachman is crafted... Continue Reading →
The call of youth
Every year since I graduated twenty-one years ago, the phone rings with an Oxford prefix. Nearly all of us who matriculated in 1997 get this call, and each year we want it to be over before it has begun. I seem to be almost alone amongst my contemporaries in always picking up, despite knowing how... Continue Reading →
2021 – Another handful of dust
It was our 8th wedding anniversary recently. Given that my lovely husband is currently entirely housebound (and more or less confined to the sofa) with a climbing injury, I was being as upbeat as possible about adventures we have had. Indeed, smashing your Achilles in pieces and a few calf muscles to boot, within 6... Continue Reading →
Being a better person
How to fail at not failing
The second Mars Bar problem
Have you ever eaten a Mars bar when really, really hungry? I once got to the shaking with cold sweat stage of hungry, because I had forgotten my wallet at work. I eventually asked a colleague for £1 for the vending machine, because I didn't want to admit that I was so ditsy I didn't... Continue Reading →
Why does belonging matter?
January 2020 seems a long time ago. Back then, I was frustrated by the new-at-the-time HSBC ad. I hate being asked where I am from, and I hate thinking about it. Of course we all ask each other various questions designed to understand the parameters of the person we are talking to, for no particularly... Continue Reading →
Failing up
I have been resting from my writing more than usual. This is mainly because of the usual loss of faith in any of my abilities, whether creative, professional or maternal. I never embarked on the more creative endeavour of journalism that I wanted when I was 24, because it was quite likely even when newspapers... Continue Reading →
The resting writer 