Back from holiday and jet lagged, I had plotted to write about music at 40, since discussions while driving down the west coast of New Zealand had turned to mix tapes and CDs and a giant stereo I adored from Currys (in the sixth form, not now, obvs). But something else has come up and I feel the need to write it instead. So perhaps mix tapes for another time. So, the something else. Work. Are you where you want to be in your career as you turn 40? Or were you, when you turned

Travel goals are often a biggie when one turns 40. A friend has just spent her 40th on safari, and another went on a dream weekend to Paris. Some people plan a round-the-world trip, or name a destination they 'must' see to mark this special birthday. After all, if you can't go to your top-of-the-travel-list place for your big birthday, when can you? Some decide it's now or never and pack a rucksack, quit the day job and go travelling or even emigrate. But do travel goals matt

When I used to fill out dating profiles online, the one section that had me flummoxed was ‘hobbies’. The main hobby I had was, er, dating. It’s the same for my CV – ‘other interests’ tend to circle around eating out, seeing friends, cinema, sport. But hobbies? Hmm, not so much. I’ve realised that I don’t really have a hobby and I wonder if I should have, as I approach 40. Surely by now I should have an interest that is something other than wine, food, bothering dogs and spinn

Instagram is a fickle mistress. Unless you are a beach-body-ready-yoga-posing-clean-eating-guru or have the surname Kardashian, it’s hard to get that many likes. I post a lot of my food, which often gets a few likes. But then a couple of weeks ago, something astounded me. A picture – taken on a spur of the moment before I put some boots on – got 44 likes and 7 comments, something of a personal best I think. And the picture was – MY SOCK. Yep, one sock, on my foot, a blue and