Real life
The rise of the johnny-come-lately anti-vaxxer
‘No way am I having it now,’ said a friend, as she insisted on discussing the latest scare stories. And…
Our toxic relationship with the NHS
The nurse fixed me with a disapproving stare: ‘Why is there such a gap between these prescriptions?’ I had gone…
Hostage drama at the village hairdresser
‘Then I got taken hostage in Iran,’ said the lady sitting next to me in the hairdresser’s as she was…
Why you should ask to see your pet’s medical notes
‘Notice from your vets’ said the email subject. I clicked and there was a letter telling me that my vet…
I have been locked out of my pension
With only five to ten more years to work out how to log in to my pension plan I need…
My battle with British Gas
By the time I got through to someone at British Gas to complain about them holding £491 of my money…
Wanted: a trap for a happy mouse
‘Excuse me, I’m looking for something to catch a mouse that won’t cause it any distress,’ said the young chap…
Me and the builder boyfriend are going to go without hot water
‘I’d like my money back please’ was what I was waiting to tell British Gas, if they ever stopped the…
British Gas has turned the builder boyfriend into a socialist
A cleverly worded email has arrived from British Gas to explain why, despite the Prime Minister’s announcement, my gas and…
AA only admits the right sort of alcoholics
The support group groupies have issued another ban. They have attempted to slap an exclusion order on another long-standing member,…
I just can’t face one more argument with anyone, ever again
The cyclist was on the wrong side of the road coming towards me head-on. It was a winding country lane…
The ugly side of AA
A lot has been going wrong lately in the support group I’ve been attending for more than 20 years. I…
The death of customer service
The ladies in the bank now wear badges telling you to Be Kind and not do anything that might upset…
My mare has had a ‘misalliance’ with a pint-sized stallion
My favourite vet came to see Darcy and immediately put his finger on the problem. Dusk was falling when he…
I can trace all our problems back to Frankie Dettori
‘If you think about it, Frankie Dettori is to blame,’ said the builder boyfriend, because when things are really bad…
My farmhouse nightmare
From the veranda of a small Irish farmhouse, I looked out over the sun-drenched West Cork peninsula. All I could…
There is nothing speedy about speedy boarding
When my black passport arrived in the post, I decided to take a trip. I’m not a good flier, so…
Everything’s burned to a crisp – and the horses are suffering
Everything is well and truly burned to a crisp, and we are piling through hundreds of pounds of hay a…
