(Illustration: the author as an Occasionally Angry Young Woman) You’re young, and sure, and full of outrage now. I understand, you know. I’ve been there too. I wasn’t born this age. We ‘dissed’ our parents’ generation too and thought we were the ones who cared, who knew, who’d fix the world and make it right. But no-one ever does. We follow in the footsteps of the old but never reach them, pass our pearls of wisdom to the young but fail to teach them. That’s the way it goes

My family has a habit of making a drama out of Christmas. It began with my older brother having his birthday on 27 December, making Christmas a three-day affair back in the post-war era when it was unusual enough for a family to have even a two-day celebration. Fast-forward to 1966, and as a 17 year-old I was at a Christmas dance with a friend on 23 December, when I met a boy who took me home that night, and then took me out on a date on Christmas Eve. This was the boy I marr

Where d'you go on bonfire night? You gave us such a dreadful fright. You should've been here, safe at home. What a night to choose to roam! The fireworks banged and lit the sky. Next door's bonfire burned so high. We searched and shouted, called your name, felt so anxious, felt to blame. We looked in all your favourite places - under trees, in hidden spaces, Under cars I shone my torch, stood and shouted from the porch. What if you'd been spooked, and run - then forgot whi

Criticism : there’s something about that word that makes us cringe, or feel uncomfortable, isn’t there? I think we all imagine it must always mean disapproval. It might evoke memories of childhood misdemeanors – being ‘told off’ – or of arguments, where someone pointed out our faults, and perhaps not in a kind way. But you know, that’s not the only meaning of the word. It can also be related to the word critique , which implies someone, hopefully someone knowledgeable, listin