THINGS
Stories about the things we make, keep, use and give meaning to along the way.
Wonderment
Longer reads that stay with an idea, a memory or a human question for a bit longer.
A Lesson in Chasing the Wrong Things
At twenty-eight, after years of driving bangers and fixing cars at the roadside, I finally bought myself a brand-new car. I thought it would feel...
The Washing Line
A blustery day, a tangled washing line and one of those ordinary domestic moments that suddenly becomes about much more than laundry.
The Faces They Made
Ten students spent eight weeks studying my face closely enough to sculpt it. Yet when the clay busts were finished, none of them looked like...
The Garment as Witness
There’s a worn-out Primark jumper I’ve been trying to give to charity for ten years. It doesn’t fit, has holes under the arms and I...
Small Wonders
Short observations from ordinary life - the moments, details and thought that are easy to straight past.
The Little Hat
Today Halle turned nine. We packed the day the way nine-year-old birthdays demand — rock climbing, her favourite shops, presents, food, excitement — and then,...
The Chopping Board
I was cleaning the kitchen today. Nothing remarkable — just wiping things down, trying to bring the room back to order after another day of...
The Quilt From Someone I Don't Know
Before my first daughter was born, a parcel arrived from Australia. Inside was a quilt. Not one we'd ordered, not something off a baby list,...
The Only Quilt I've Ever Made
I've made one quilt in my entire life. It was terrible — not because I didn't try, I tried incredibly hard, but because I have...
All About Things
All About Things
Things is about the objects that quietly become part of our lives.
Clothes, photographs, furniture, books, gifts, souvenirs and completely ordinary possessions can carry far more meaning than their practical purpose suggests.
These stories look at why we keep certain things, what they remind us of, how objects become connected to memory and identity, and why something seemingly insignificant can sometimes be surprisingly difficult to let go of.
Some articles begin with a personal possession. Others explore the history, design or human behaviour surrounding the things we make and use.
You’ll find both longer Wonderment pieces and shorter Small Wonders here.
Because sometimes an object is just an object. And sometimes it has been standing quietly beside an entire chapter of somebody’s life.