Leaving home

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

POSTERS for a touring circus blossomed in shop windows, and on any vacant stretch of boarding. Some were pasted on top of other posters, from many seasons ago. They were a snowstorm of colour to catch

MUM?” Becky said. “When did you know Dad was the man for you?” “What? Pretty early, I think,” Frances replied, taken aback. “It’s so far in the past, I can’t remember.” “It’s important. Try and think

SATURDAYS were no fun when Mum was on shift. She’d made it clear that while she was at the hospital, whoever was left in the house was expected to get on with all the jobs that had to be done. Today t

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

EVERYONE seems to have a favourite season, don’t they? My sister, for example, has always loved winter. She says there’s nothing to beat a cold, clear day when the ground is hard and sparkling with fr