Meet Ella

read ‘What I Learned about Love, I Learned from my Dog’ to her, the same poem that had been read at our wedding. There are lines in it that still spring to my lips: When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently… Delight in the simple joy of a long walk together. Love each other unconditionally.

Dauphinoise, tartiflette, sautéed…

‘When she can no longer eat and is visibly uncomfortable, that is the time,’ Mark tells me. ‘I am on standby for you,’ he reassures me.

Elysian Fields.

You exist without purpose or direction. I can’t feel pleasure or excitement; nothing thrills me or even gives me a sense of anticipation.

Herdwick sheepskin we

am angry. With everyone and everything. And restlessness leaves me in a constant state of agitation and anxiety. The insomnia is dizzying. It feels as if ten different radio stations are competing for airtime in my head, the din ceaseless and exhausting.

My sisters gently cajole me out of the flat now and again. I go to see them for a change of scene. And fleetingly I do feel better. But the relief is temporary. Somehow these transitory moments of happiness make the lows even more crushing.

Honey is one of the few foods that never spoils – there are samples dating back thousands of years. It is nature’s finest medicine: it aids digestion, helps alleviate cold symptoms and hay fever, provides a slow-release form of natural sugar and is even said to promote restful sleep. I’ve read, too, that it has a role in alleviating depression. And