Hello Last week, without giving it a lot of thought, I posted on Instagram a photo of the last pill in my last packet of anti-depressants. I'd originally taken the photo, and marked it up, as a kind of mini-celebration to share with people in my house. Obviously (?), I felt a bit exposed sharing this on Instagram, but why the heck not. After all, I’ve posted all kinds of things about having been mentally fragile in the past. Indeed, I've stood in front of huge numbers of strangers in busy...

Hello Reader Recently (*in the summer), I invited a handful of splendid individuals who happen to read this newsletter to give me one item of news - something on their mind - in ONE sentence beginning with their full name. I insisted there was no hierarchy of significance or mood, and was delighted to receive the following, some of which may be out of date by the time you read this: (Click on the links, where they are supplied, to find out more about the various splendid individuals.) Tracie...

Take a close look at these women, Audrey Heath (standing) and Alice May Spinks. For several years, while the men have been away fighting in the trenches, in France, these two have been running the office in London. Both women started work as secretaries. The war gave them a precious opportunity to do more, but with the war’s end their position became precarious: the economy was unstable, and the men came back. They could have reverted to being secretaries, if the company generated sufficient...