Yesterday, I called 999. It’s only the second time, I’ve said those words, “ambulance, please”. I was propelled back to the last time, to a cardiac arrest twenty-five years ago. It was history repeating itself. …

The cherry blossom is blowing in through open windows, sticking to windscreens, bonnets and wipers, entering homes on the soles of shoes, sprinkling itself over every pavement and path, leaving its legacy everywhere. It seems no time since the cherry trees in my neighbourhood exploded into full bloom, a glorious…

In December 2013, I bought a 100% wool, grey Gerard Darel coat in a large department store. It was one of the most expensive, and also one of the worst purchases I have ever made. It was double-breasted, a complete no-no when you are of diminutive stature, the belt threatened…

It’s one of our favourite restaurants. We go early on a Saturday evening. …

I might have been 50% rioja by this stage, or maybe I was still in a state of wonder due to that awe-inspiring first glimpse of the Sagrada Familia or warmed up inside by the lovely, retired couple from Dallas who told us about their extensive travels around Spain, waxed…

On a random Tuesday in April, I had a Ruth Bader Ginsburg¹ moment. Nothing to do with me serving as a Supreme Court Justice, campaigning for gender equality or being a civil rights pioneer. It was just a phone call. There was a voicemail. “Mrs Sloan,” said the lady from…

What women in the church need most is encouragement. Every single one of us has a frame of reference, a particular set of beliefs and attitudes unique to us and through which we view and make sense of the world. Think of it as looking down a lens with a…

“Thank you for ruining my day, my week, my life and I will never forgive you,” said Lydia. She was standing in front of me with a piece of paper I had just filled in. After two whole years of off/on remote learning, refusing to let them breath near each…

I was lying on the sofa when Ella appeared with a bit of paper and said those dreaded words, “Mummy, can you help me with my homework?”. “What is it?” I muttered, hoping it was Maths or Science or Geography or Technology or any of the functional stuff her father…