Let Them Eat Cake

The current court case between M&S and Aldi, over Aldi’s apparently “copying” of M&S’s signatures “Colin the Caterpillar” cake has really gotten me thinking about the way we shop and spend our money, and also about the questions around class-issues that this whole thing raises. The issue of class is something that is often bouncingContinue reading “Let Them Eat Cake”

The Graduation That Never Was

This last Tuesday was my graduation from university. Not to toss my own cap or anything, but I somehow managed to achieve a first-class bachelor’s degree from one of the best universities in the world. I’m proud of myself. But, thanks to the current pandemic, I won’t get the chance to don the cap andContinue reading “The Graduation That Never Was”

How to Do Everything

(or not care that you can’t do everything) A few weeks back I received an email from one of my university professors asking if I’d like to submit a poem for a special feature in The Manchester Review about writing in the pandemic. The poem I submitted, which was later published in the feature, wasContinue reading “How to Do Everything”

The Graduate Mother

As the final year of my undergraduate degree drew to a close I would like to say that I felt nervous, but the truth is that I had been feeling nervous for the past 4 years. Deciding to return to education as a mature student with a husband, children and a bottomless laundry basket wasContinue reading “The Graduate Mother”