Ah, 2020. What a strange year for reading. Once the pandemic hit, the local library became one of my most visited (and only) destinations, and I coveted my pile of loaned books like treasure whenever a new lockdown caused the library to close. I regularly scrolled Amazon’s kindle deal page, joined my first ever book club – which, three books later, has still only taken place on Zoom – and managed to publish my first book, The Adult Orphan Club. The unsettled and uncertain mood of global events made some books harder than usual to engage with though. I stop-started often, put quite a few b ..read more

Canadians are famed for being ‘nice’. But until last summer I’d never been to Canada before – so my first introduction to Canadian hospitality was actually in London’s West End, where I sat on the edge of my theatre seat and happily sobbed my way through ‘Come From Away’. For those who haven’t seen it, this incredible musical tells the true story of what happened when 7,000 international passengers were stranded in the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland & Labrador, in the week after the September 11th attacks. As I watched these characters welcoming complete strangers into their lives, I st ..read more

The secret’s out. I’VE WRITTEN A BOOK! Surprise! I’ve been working on this book for over a year: drafting, revising, editing, pulling my hair out, sending it to beta readers, working with editors and cover designers and proofreaders. And yet I haven’t spoken much about it online, aside from the occasional veiled tweet or Instagram caption. Perhaps because of the subject matter, I’ve needed to move through this process in my own private way. And then when the global lockdown began, I took a definitive step back from blogging and posting on social media. Many of my heaviest grief moments mirror ..read more

I’ve read a lot of grief books over the years. That’s what happens when you lose your mum to cancer when you’re 20, and your dad to fibrosis when you’re 29. I’ve spent a full decade dealing with grief – and although writing has often been my catharsis, I’ve also found a lot of solace in reading other people’s words. If you’re new to grieving, it might feel strange to actively seek out the same pain on hundreds of pages. But grief is a collective experience. Every person on the planet will go through it at some point. And one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about grieving is that we’re hone ..read more

What do you do if you’re an anxious flyer who loves to travel? To be perfectly honest, I’m still trying to feel my way through this one. Because every time I board a plane, I have to quell a near-constant flutter of panic in my stomach; a myriad of catastrophic thoughts careening through my mind; and a tendency to break out in a cold sweat at the tiniest hint of turbulence. Also I need to pee literally all the time. What’s weird is that I’m not alone in this. The more people I tell about my flight anxieties, the more I learn that it’s actually really common to feel nervous, anxious and general ..read more

Welcome to Shibamata, the most nostalgic neighbourhood in Tokyo. In fact, Shibamata’s nostalgic nature was pretty perfect for my first full day in Japan, because I felt like I was stuck in something of a time warp myself. For those who don’t know, the direct flight from London to Tokyo takes twelve hours and crosses nine timezones. By the time I landed, I was in a state of delirium – and the bright lights and street-side chaos of central Tokyo only exacerbated my condition! But when you’ve just arrived in Japan, there’s no time to waste. So the next morning, still jet lagged and unsure of what ..read more

2019 was the year I finally got myself back into reading. It was the year I re-discovered the joys of owning a library card. The year when going to bed with a book became one of my most treasured ways to both fall asleep and practice a bit of self-care. So when I read Candice’s 2019 reading challenge post I immediately wanted to write one for myself! I’ve never done one of these challenge summaries before, but I’ve spent the last few years becoming increasingly obsessed with adding books to my Goodreads account so it makes a lot of sense. Besides, I’d like to write more blog posts which make m ..read more

I barely remember my first time in Japan. Although I was only eight years old to be fair. In 1996, Japan was a world away from my childhood life in London – a place which had barely crossed my mind – but then my dad got a job directing a play in Tokyo, and that summer my mum and I flew out to join him. We spent a month exploring Japan as a family, and for a child who’d never been out of Europe before, my first time in Japan was nothing short of incredible. Alas, my memories now are somewhat hazy. I can remember the sugar-fuelled excitement of Goofy’s bouncy house at Tokyo Disneyland; eating ho ..read more

I wanted to find the best things to do in Palma de Mallorca. The problem? I only had twelve hours to do it in. Palma de Mallorca is the capital city of the Spanish island of Mallorca, as well as the capital of the Balearic islands (made up predominantly of Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera). Although I could easily assume Mallorca’s attractiveness as a beach destination, I didn’t know much about Palma itself. After my eighteen month adventure through South America I now jump at any chance to visit any country that speaks Spanish. So when I was invited on a sailing trip around the Mediter ..read more

There are currently 170,000 people homeless in London. Over the last ten years, a succession of drastic cuts means rough sleeping in the UK has increased 165% since 2010. By the end of this year, there will be more vulnerable people sleeping on England’s streets than ever before – an estimated 9,000. Yet homelessness is not just sleeping rough. You can be homeless if you’ve been evicted; if you’re sofa-surfing; if you’re escaping a problematic or abusive relationship; if you’re a refugee. In fact, at this moment: There are 14.3 million people are living in poverty in the UK. (Source) Nearly ..read more