May 19, 2012

Absinthe for elevenses, anyone?

Sometimes we want to do what isn’t expected of us, go against the grain of ourselves for a moment, perhaps even in poor taste

May 12, 2012

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s Miss Kitty

A Taiwanese airline has created three Hello Kitty planes – it’s just about the best thing I have ever heard

May 5, 2012

Aargh! They’ve pirated Queen Victoria

To accuse a former monarch of procuring rare breeds for her fine dining did not sit well with me

Apr 28, 2012

There are times you need enemies

I don’t know who these people are, but how I wished they could have flocked to my side to witness a personal triumph

Apr 21, 2012

Deathly duty in the afternoon

I ought to be enjoying myself in the West End, but this quasi-responsibility somehow invalidates all sense of spree

Apr 14, 2012

Distinction in plane sight

Perhaps if you have six children you have to learn how to negotiate the world with calm and dignity

Apr 7, 2012

Voyage of discovery

Old rocking chair got me when I was about six and a half, and I’ve just never discovered anywhere I like as much

Mar 30, 2012

Impertinent inquisitors

Teachers like to tell us things, but they also take great pleasure in making us reveal embarrassing details of our lives

Mar 23, 2012

Crunchy consolations

Taking cheer from the merest trifle however down the chips are, and cheering other people up along the way, are great skills

Mar 16, 2012

The discomfort of strangers

‘I couldn’t help thinking my desire not to hurt people’s feelings was getting in the way of my sanity’

Mar 9, 2012

There was a literary lady from Limerick

A festival honours the county’s most esteemed novelist and woman of ideas

Mar 3, 2012

Sickening bravery

Due at a literary festival in Limerick to give a talk, I had 30 minutes to recover from an illness or to get myself out of it

Feb 17, 2012

Whistle while you work out how to survive

A self-conflicting existence may be as authentic a way to live as any other if it’s what we routinely do

Feb 3, 2012

Errors in judgment

Being judgmental has fallen out of fashion and with good reason, but we need our sympathetic ears pinned back sometimes

Jan 27, 2012

Anxiety for two to take away

While my daughter was sitting the first exam of her life, I didn’t know what to do with myself

Jan 20, 2012

What we can learn from Deanna Durbin

Appearing as a person in need deters people, but we can reinvent ourselves to become reacquainted on a better footing

Jan 13, 2012

Lunch without a bitter taste

I’m loyal to a fault: I carry on feuds years after the original parties move on or even made up

Jan 6, 2012

Me beside my bedside

Sometimes our surroundings express us so accurately it’s embarrassing

Dec 30, 2011

Glimpses of grandiosity

A warning bell should sound when you start letting your little conviction swamp your brain and take over your life

Dec 16, 2011

Pierced by gloom and wonder

Seeing one’s daughters finally get their ears done can be more disconcerting for a parent than it is for them

About Susie

Susie Boyt Susie Boyt writes a column on shopping for the FT Weekend supplement. She is a novelist and lives in London.

E-mail Susie Boyt

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