1. She says that she had no idea where they were going. "We drove west, and I thought we were going somewhere like Cornwall. Then we got to Heathrow and I thought it must be a domestic flight. Then when we got to the terminal, I got my boarding pass...

1. Talking to a wise man who has met Nelson Mandela. He tells me about "that happiness he has." 2. To come home and change out of a pair of jeans that are stiff and heavy after a dash through stair rod rain. 3. The taste of particularly good olive...

1. In the bakery, listening to the girls behind me deciding which cake they would like to take back to the office. "I couldn't eat a whole one of those. I'd have to cut it in half." "I'll have one, but for later." 2. A pan of orange vegetables...

1. It is a day of wind and rain. A maelstrom of leaves twists at the crossroads. The common vibrates, as if the gale has got in underneath it. The land feels alive, wild and joyful. 2. In the afternoon the sun comes out. We stand on the top of Mount...

1. My aunt brings me a white potted azalea. "It's bridal colours," she says. 2. One of my friends (a teacher) tells another (a mother-to-be): "You're going to make a wonderful parent." 2. While we are being taught how to paint ceramics, the man from...