Some time ago I was in Kenya. I went for lots of reasons, chiefly after a difficult series of incidents which is to say that I kept making a mess of things I wanted to run away. So I did. Some of my experiences I wrote about here. You can call me sentimental but I want to … Continued
Do you remember your first crush? Our writers take a potentially embarrassing trip down memory lane to relive the joy and pain of their first times. My first bout of romantic love will be forever trapped flatly within two dimensions – which, I’ve since learnt, is probably right bang smack where romantic love belongs. You … Continued
Recently, I have made a wonderful discovery, comparable only to the apple falling on Newton’s head- I came across (more accurately, was introduced to) the ‘good bad’ novels of Angela Thirkell. Thirkell wrote delightfully staid novels through the 1930s-50s, in which very little happened, but a good time was had by all. A cross between … Continued
The Martini is a drink I simply adore. It was the very essence of grown up sophistication to my teenage self who one day imagined, hoped and grafted to one day move to the big city, listen to hot jazz and drink ice-cold gin. Such guff gets written and said about the wonder that is … Continued
Lucy Whitehouse’s My First Time series begins firmly at the bottom. If you’re going to write a gratuitously self-indulgent lifestyle blog, probably better start at the bottom and work your way up. Earn a bit of cachet, build up a devoted following, gain a few hysterical fans (dreaming big here) before you even think about … Continued
Why aren’t we way past weddings as major markers of adult life? Sian Gardiner ran the London Marathon last year – the hottest on record at that – and reckons there’s more to life than putting a ring on it. Here, she explores why we still can’t seem to celebrate more meaningful milestones. At a … Continued
As London struggles through the dark and miserable start to the year, the skies a uniform and oppressive grey. It’s at times such as this that you need a wine which can beguile even the most jaded of palates. It is those reds from the Loire, at turns delightful, light, fresh and quaffable, that I … Continued
Valentine’s Day is a key day for breakups, apparently. You owe every other person the respect of a graceful conclusion, and they owe you that too. Here’s how. A text from a close friend in romantic crisis, Galentines rolled out again as the dutifully crap portmanteau it is, and Sex Education trending on Netflix: it … Continued
Lucy Whitehouse has spent the past five years living, working or at times just visiting countries in Europe in a bid to learn four languages in five years. We discover how she got on. The quest to reach a passable level of linguistic prowess continues. It’s not proving quite the unadulterated four-languages-in-five-years triumph that I … Continued