Spend as much time as you can with Mam and Dad

We zombie gals gotta stick together, am I right?

I used to pride myself on my ability to fall asleep anywhere, easily, taking for granted that ‘certain knot of peace’, that ‘soft embalmer of the still midnight’.

I'm taking on No Buy 2025: A year of no shopping for clothes, accessories, or anything indulgent. Can I resist the January sales and avoid temptation? Let’s find out.

Here’s to minding our friendships

"...this particular portmanteau refers to the gloriously lazy, hazy period of December 26 to Dec 30 – so we are slap bang in the middle of it right now, like little piggies in blankets..."

"“Bygob, if it isn’t young Sheelagh, back from the big schmoke, here to help her ailing father save the family farm,” [the elderly man] says, helpfully for the audience."

These can be individualised according to your own family dynamics and dysfunction

"It’s the law for magazine columnists to do these, and who am I to go against tradition?"

"A long, long time ago, I used to be pretty good at witty retorts and sassy comebacks if someone was being a jerk. Alas, age, hormones, and the realisation that the effort of the perfectly-timed bon mot is mostly wasted on morons have dulled my fervour for backchat."