Empty nest

AFTER a while, the hole in the bathroom floor became as familiar to Mary as her own reflection in the mirror over the sink. She contacted six tradespersons she found online before one agreed to even c

STARING out of her window at the small garden, Gemma sighed. It was nothing like the large rambling garden she’d had at her old house and there were times when she really missed it. If she were honest

PAM glanced up at the clock on the far wall of the classroom. Just half an hour to go until the summer holidays began. Six blissful pupil-free weeks, to be spent mostly gardening and binge watching pe

BY GABRIELLE MULLARKEY, PICTURES GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK CREATIVE ...

LESLEY patted her tearful granddaughter’s hand sympathetically and tried desperately to think of something to cheer her up. What could she say to a fourteen-year-old who thought her life was over beca

I WAS only five when Elaine first came into my life. She was tall and dark skinned, with a perfume that smelled of roses and big necklaces in bright colours that bounced as she laughed. Whenever my da