When I started writing Wendy’s World in June 2024, I hoped it would get me out of a creative slump. And boy, has it! Two years on and this is my 100th post. It’s been a delight to share all kinds of real life stories with you.
In the style of a Top of the Pops reverse order rundown, here are links to the ten most-read pieces. I hope you’ll dip into any that are new to you. And, as always, thank you for reading, commenting and sharing.
Why I’m (quietly) infuriated about growing up with a “quiet girl” label.
Good and quiet in class
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September 3, 2025
One of my favourite children’s picture books is Tony Ross’s Super Dooper Jezebel (1988), about a girl who is proud of being perfect.
It was a long time coming! Our pragmatic reasons for taking the plunge.
After 39 years I popped the question: “Will you be my civil partner?”
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July 2, 2025
We never wanted to get married. I’ve already shared the story of how Ian and I met on a blind date in 1986, fell in love and had triplets ten months later. (‘How I met my match’ is the most popular piece I’ve published!) Being catapulted into family life seemed statement enough that we wer…
I find it cathartic to revisit old diaries. This piece is about the four Augusts I was pregnant (1986, 1999, 2000, 2001). (Mention of baby loss.)
Four Pregnant Augusts
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August 20, 2025
There’s something about late August that sparks memories. Summer is coming to a close, the trees are heavy with fruit, and the quality of the sunlight streaming through the leaves and throwing patterns on the windows, reminds me that during four Augusts of my life, I was pregnant. Here are diary excerpts from those months.
A devastating stroke in 2018 robbed my Aunty Jean of her speech and mobility. Reading aloud to her became a way of staying connected.
The Lost Voice
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May 28, 2025
I got a call from the police in October 2018 to say that my 83-year old Aunty Jean was in an ambulance being taken to Bournemouth Hospital. Please could I go there urgently? I was listed as her emergency contact. The policeman wasn’t sure whether she’d survive the night. She had been found collapsed in her flat, a suspected stroke. He didn’t know how lo…
My dad’s RAF pilot cousin, Gordon (Flt Lt Arthur Gordon Richardson), was killed towards the end of WWII when his Spitfire was shot down over Holland. Writing about him has had surprising repercussions. This is where the story started.
Champagne. Unopened. 1945.
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March 12, 2025
Looking for a tipple to celebrate Christmas 2020, Mum recalled seeing a bottle of champagne in the cabinet. My brother Robin, who was caring for our parents at the time, retrieved it and was puzzled by the dusty label. It dawned on Dad that this was the champagne his Aunt Florence and Uncle Arthur had kept to celebrate the safe return from World War II …
Who was I before I met Ian? How Desperately Seeking Susan and Blind Date steered me towards the personal ads.
Before I Met My Match
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Feb 5
Regular readers of Wendy’s World may remember that I fell for my partner, Ian, on a blind date in February 1986 and that we had triplets by the year end. Yes, woah! (I’ll add the links to previous articles at the end of this piece.)
On confiding in agony aunts in a time of need. A mini history of advice columns.
Dear Agony Aunt…
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December 11, 2025
When I found myself accidentally pregnant, aged 25, the first person I turned to was Just Seventeen’s agony aunt, Melanie McFadyean. Part of my role at the magazine was sub-editing her advice columns. I was a big fan of her cool and considered approach.
Why do we find it so hard to let go? On Mackenzie Crook’s TV drama, Small Prophets, and the memories it sparks.
Small Prophets, love, loss and hoarding
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Feb 26
There’s a scene early on in Mackenzie Crook’s wonderful new BBC comedy drama Small Prophets where you get to see what’s behind protagonist Michael Sleep’s locked living room door. It’s a shrine to his girlfriend who’s been missing for seven years. He has turned the room into a replica of her favourite photograph – which he has stuck to the fridge – of a…
My potted history of sex education proved very popular.
And in top spot, it’s a romance… how Ian and I found each other through my lonely hearts ad in 1986 and had triplets ten months later.
How I met my match
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August 2, 2024
I’ve read some highly entertaining stories of blind dates on Substack which have prompted me to tell my own story.
Some of my personal favourites from the past two years aren’t the most-read, but that’s part of the magic – you never know how and where your words will land, and there’s freedom in not writing “to order” but just following your interests and instincts.
Thanks for the engagement with last week’s piece about family grief, which was widely read and shared.
Until next time!
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