WE nearly owned a cat once. He caused something of a neighbourhood dispute, too. My other half advised keeping our heads down because of it, but I really couldn’t do that when pegging out the washing.

JANUARY 1. Hazel sat in the quiet cottage. It was one of two, semidetached, on the outskirts of the village, completely surrounded by fields. When she looked out of the window, all she saw was unrelen

I stood by the kitchen window; phone pressed to my ear. Outside, frost shimmered across the lawn, and the weak winter sun filtered through the trees. “So, what do you think?” I said to Phoebe. “A post

IN the week since Paul and Nina had brought baby Milly home from the maternity ward, a stream of newly promoted grandparents, aunts and uncles had come to welcome her into the family with love and pre

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

WHAT do you think, Zara?” Mum says, pulling her hair above her ears. “Hair up or down?” “Remind me where you’re going.” “To the cinema. And possibly for a drink afterwards.” “The cinema seats have hig