Melissa Lawrence

Hi everyone. Even though I once had to read 40 Shakespeare plays during the summer holidays while I was at university (fortunately we had very long holidays), I always thought it was Shylock from The Merchant of Venice who spoke the famous line “Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.” Turns out it was Polonius in the play Hamlet giving advice to his son Laertes on how to behave at university. Hopefully Laertes didn’t throw a hissy fit when he discovered that he had to read forty Shakespeare plays during his summer vacation. Well, whether it was Shylock, Polonius or even Stormzy, I really wish I’d taken that advice in April 2022 when I lent quite a large sum of money to a neighbour. The money was part of a lump sum of equity release that I’d just taken out on my house and it was meant to last me until I reach State Pension age. Almost two years later, despite trying everything I possible can to get my money back, I’ve still only received about a third of it and the whole experience,

Hi everyone. Happy New Year! I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas, if you celebrate it of course, and as it’s now the beginning of another new year, I thought I’d pose the question “What makes a good beginning?” So if you’ve not already had enough quizzes over the festive period, you might like to have a go at seeing how many of these famous novels you can identify from their opening lines. Answers are at the end of the post if you want to put yourself out of your misery. 1. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. 2. I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. 3. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. 4. Call me Ishmael. 5. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. 6. It was a pleasure to burn. 7. Like most people I lived for a long time with my mother and father . 8. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . 9. Far out in the uncharted b