Congratulations to Alice Munro, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for literature. Well done, that lady. Now I confess: I’ve never heard of her. I gather she’s an elderly Canadian who writes short stories about life on the Canadian plains. Sounds intriguing....

House clean: check. Laundry done: check. House and Wonder dog sitter organised: check. Wonder dog bathed: check. Food sorted: mostly check. Bags packed: not yet, but soon. Okay I think I’m almost ready for a long weekend holiday with the family. You heard right:...

It’s been a shocker of a week. One of my nephews died in his sleep. We’re still waiting for the autopsy report, so we’re in the dark as to why. On getting the news, his mother, my sister, ended up in hospital with a suspected heart attack. You see,...