“The (phone) camera has replaced actual looking and turned life into evidence. It drives me crazy.” (David Sedaris, A Carnival of Snackery) For me, social media sometimes feels like I’m in a relationship with an abusive partner. Someone who constantly goads, grumbles and gaslights; who’s constantly on hand with a…

Why do some people decide not to become parents? Many do their research carefully. For example, they will seek out, and actually read, messy first-hand accounts of life on the other side of wanting a child. (Parents often write articles along the lines of, “why didn’t anybody TELL me life…

I went to a local music festival recently. One of the acts, an artfully-dishevelled man in a faded checked shirt, took to the stage and explained the sentiment behind a song he was about to perform. What happened, he said, was that a homeless man had asked him for some…

“Set up an email newsletter!” all the slick marketing gurus say, the moment you go self-employed or start your own business. “It’s so good for brand-building and customer engagement. You can tell people about everything you’re up to, and then they’ll feel hypnotically compelled to buy from you! Don’t forget…

Recently, I mentioned that one of my clients — whose first language isn’t English — had used the word “enjoyful” during a conversation. “Enjoyful” isn’t a ‘proper’ word, I said (because I had to really, didn’t I?) But I liked it, and now I use it myself. I posted about…

I’ve got no idea what Paul Morland sounds like. But in my head, he spoke every word of his Sunday Times article, “Should we tax the childless?” in an ancient BBC Received Pronunciation (RP) accent. Especially the word “antediluvian”, which I’ll admit I had to look up. (If you don’t…

I used to see my time at the hairdressers as a lovely little ‘me-time’ treat. But as I plunge headfirst into my mid-forties, I’ve started to hate going. The reasons for this are many and varied. One: my roots have streaks of grey in them, so going to the hairdressers…

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everybody who’s anybody starts their day by plunging themselves into a body of freezing cold water. “Any other challenge today is going to be less intense than sitting in this thing for 90 seconds,” said BrewDog’s founder James Watt, about his morning ice-bath…

I say “estranged family”, but really I’m only estranged from my mum. It’s been this way for over 20 years, and it was my choice to cut off contact. This decision is the best I’ve ever made, for an avalanche of reasons. And as I haven’t got children (again: my…