It’s reassuring to think of old schoolfriends, colleagues, dates – and know we are still social creaturesI have an Auld Lang Syne earworm, a hangover from a New Year I didn’t even celebrate. I usually eschew the Hootenanny and head to bed at 10.30, sho…
‘We don’t have to command them – it’s a relationship’: meet Britain’s top dog whisperer
There are now more dogs in Britain than ever before. And many new owners are not sure how to cope. Louise Glazebrook, the country’s foremost dog behaviourist and author of a brilliant new book, explains how to make the most of your furry four-legged fr…
Emma Beddington tries … ballroom dancing: ‘This is the closest I have been to a stranger in a while’
My dance instructor has students as old as 90, so he shouldn’t be fazed by a hunched 46-year-old with no rhythm and keyboard-gnarled claws for handsI know it’s Strictly season, because I see it when I look into other people’s houses, my chilly face pre…
Emma Beddington tries … fell running: ‘It’s like dragging bags of cement uphill – only the bags are my legs’
A run on Ilkley Moor promises panoramic views. But what about the bogs and boulders en route – and my terrifying lack of fitness?My favourite part of childhood summer holidays with my dad was our trip to the Yorkshire Dales agricultural show, a respite…
A moment that changed me: my boss discovered my secret blog
Bored working in a law firm in Brussels, I filled my time writing anonymously online about love, life – and how dull my job was. Then my colleagues found my posts …I wouldn’t say I was a model employee in the law firm where I worked for nearly 10 yea…
Cashed out: a fond farewell to coins and notes
If you’re struggling to recall the last time you handled cash, you’re not alone. As we click and tap our way to a digital world, Emma Beddington asks if we’ll miss the pound in our pocket when it’s goneWhat’s in your wallet? Do you even know where it i…