I WOKE up after a vivid dream of Eleanor. I’d had quite a few recently. Eleanor was my half-sister. She was older than me – the daughter of Dad’s first wife, Dorrie. My mum only found out he had a fir

I’M up at my parents’ old house, surrounded by boxes of books. My mum was a voracious reader. You only had to see all the bookcases in her home to realise that. Many books were bought for her as gifts

I LONGED for my own mother. Sometimes grief does that, comes back when you least expect it to. I brought out three scarves for the mother and daughter to see and they laughed in delight. “You take one

On a break from the city, Polly hadn’t expected to find treasure

JILL tries to avoid talking to herself but always allows private laugh-out-loud moments when there’s no one around. This morning, standing alone in her spare bedroom, arms heavily loaded with a huge p

MY mum and dad don’t live together. They split up two years ago, when I was eight. I mostly live with Mum, in our cosy semi-detached house where I have my own bedroom. But I also have my own room in D