The perfect present

So, what do you think we should get Elsie this year? She’ll be a hundred and one next Saturday.” Jemma beckoned her husband over to her laptop where ‘Granny Gifts’ ranging from bird baths to potted ja

IT had been a long, hard drive. Frances had left early, hoping to get away before the rush hour – only to discover that the rush hour started earlier still. She stopped for a break further south than

THE clamour of seagulls woke Frances. For a moment, she was disorientated. Not so much in place – she knew this bedroom well – as in time. She had the odd feeling that none of the last 30-odd years ha

I n the corner of the drawing room ...

Their tiny little black eyes stared up at her as they lay motionless on the soft bed of shredded lettuce. ‘They’re looking at me, I don’t like it!’ Marion said, prodding one of the small, lifeless sea

Marrows. Homemade jam and chutney. Fresh eggs. Friendship bracelets. “Mummy, what’s that big, stripy green thing?” Ruby’s six-year-old daughter, Violet, pointed at the large vegetable sitting on the s