So last night my current host student was showing me how she makes stunningly beautiful collages to post on Instagram - using an array of different apps, tools and media - all very fascinating stuff I had no idea about.

Recently, my current host student introduced me to a game called Sky: Children of the Light, and I say this - hand on my heart - it has become my favourite game. I don't say that lightly - for the longest time, Kingdom Hearts has kept that spot, followed by Death Stranding, and then came Baldur's Gate III, which upended the apple cart. And now...Sky...wow...

Stars – there are trillions of them. Stars are being born every day, it seems. But we are unaware because they are so far away, and their light takes many light-years to reach us. There are the human stars of TV, films, the sports arena, the music industry, even God.

Dear Grandma, I will miss you. Every time I sit down to write this, I find myself overcome with tears, filled with the realisation of just how much of a cornerstone you were in my life. Your quiet, gentle and warm radiance I have always known. Since the day I was born, you were there, like the most gentle touch of sunshine, always watching and always caring.

A question I often get asked is 'Where do you get your ideas from?' And it's a difficult question to answer on the spot. I tend to give a vague answer like 'oh, you know, they just come to me.' Which - technically - that's true. But it is a little more complicated and convoluted than that, and it does tend to take time for a story to mature to the point of being 'readable'.