The first thing I remember reading about Doris Lessing was that she had been sadder about the death of her cats than at the death of some people. I suppose I … [Read more...]

‘Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.’ Thanks for that, Gore Vidal. He died last year  – whether due to the success of his friends, I don’t know - so … [Read more...]

She has an OBE for Services to Literature, and is the first female chair of the Royal Society of Literature.She has worked and worked and worked and worked to … [Read more...]

Yesterday was an extremely busy day for me. In the morning, I limped the Royal Parks Half Marathon. In the afternoon, I sang Handel in the beautiful parish … [Read more...]

I was a teenager in the 1980s. I wrote to my friends on paper, with a pen, and posted the letters in stamped envelopes. The charts came out on a Sunday … [Read more...]