The Library

I was a bit young to be waving a real war sword around the dining room, but if my grandparents were going to leave it in the giant, old fireplace, what did they expect from a kid who thought pushing boundaries was her calling?   Then there was the “yard of ale” glass...

There’s not much to like about the London Underground. It’s stuffy, gloomy, and there are humans everywhere (along with a few mice, but they’re cute). If you’re lucky enough to get a seat, you know around forty million butts have imprinted themselves there before you,...

I was 10 years old and strutting towards the school gates in my scarlet sweater and oversized rucksack when my friend asked me whether I knew that my surname was also a “rude word”. I did not know. But since that day, I’ve been reluctant to say my surname out loud. If...

How many times have you taken on a client and instantly regretted it? Those are usually the projects that stretch out waaaay longer than anticipated, or that feel like a special kind of hell to deliver, and that drown us in resentment. We ask ourselves why we did it....

Would you spend £8,750 on a ball of yarn? No? Not even if it was designed by New York artisans and made from sterling silver? I wouldn’t either. That money could stretch to at least 8 holidays featuring more sun, sand, and steak than currently feature in my life. Does...

Have you ever wondered why you’re not getting more errmmaagaahhhddd-more-please clients banging down your virtual door, money in metaphorical palms, begging to work with you, the whole you, and nobody but you? It’s probably for one of these 4 reasons... 1. You have no...

I’m perched in my favourite marina-side cafe having wolfed down the best smashed avocado, poached eggs, and bacon lunch in the history of food and I’m here to write to you about getting noticed in a noisy world. Because it’s really effing noisy, isn’t it?   Studies...

I think we can both agree that roses are all sorts of different colours, violets are actually violet, and a brand without diamond-standard clarity feels like a brain tornado. The thing about brain tornadoes is they whisk up all sorts of self-doubts we don’t like and...

I’ve been wearing the same camel-coloured jumper for six days in a row. Not because I don’t know how to do laundry, but because I’m actually in love with its irresistibly soft and snuggly embrace. A perfect antidote to this British monsoon. If I hear a song that has...