Legend has it that Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived in two interconnected houses. So did Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton. These examples of keeping separate living space as a couple make it seem like an eccentric, artistic lifestyle choice. Yet so many women I know desperately want their own space (whilst also often wanting to be in relationships). It’s not surprising that a … Continue reading Living apart together
I haven’t written much lately. Lots of things are half-written, half-read and half-thought. The end of 2020 and start of 2021 blurred into one confusing block of time, which has now passed. I had reached the point where anxiety affected me physically. Stomach pain, leg cramps, awake each day at 3am in panic, frantically googling symptoms. Living in a fog of tiredness, yet on high … Continue reading Communal living
Sometimes it’s good to make lists. One day this year I started scribbling ‘Things I will do when this is over’. It’s a random assortment that might resonate with others. Also, I want to make sure I don’t forget. 1. Take a DIY course My flat has patio doors which never fitted correctly. It’s a long story. One of those annoying problems that I was … Continue reading A part of the list
It’s December and I’m wearing my leather gloves as the temperature is dropping. I was wearing them constantly in March. For a while they felt like my armour against the fearful global climate. It was a bewildering time and I’m not sure if that time has ended. We block out stressful periods so I remember only snapshots from earlier in the year. The eery feeling … Continue reading Manoeuvres
I had dreams of working in the publishing industry and it turned out to be different from how I imagined it. From 2007 to 2018 I worked in b2b publishing, at a company that used to publish over 100 magazines. It was a chaotic time for print media. ‘Print is dead!’ everyone said. The writing was on the wall. People were buying magazines less and … Continue reading Print is alive
I’ve been writing since I was a child. I have the excruciating teenage diary to prove it (apparently started when I was 11). It wasn’t designed for public consumption of course. Well maybe on the first few pages I was copying The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole or one of the other much loved fictional diaries I read. But it quickly descended into the unadulterated … Continue reading Why I am writing
