Aunt Cicely was a prolific – and excellent – communicator, both in person and on the page, so I chose the lamp that illuminates my work as a writer.

The two published collections of Cicely’s letters and selected writings (on the desk) provide a small sample of how she got her message out to the world. Goodness knows what she would have accomplished if email had been around in the 1960s!

There’s a postcard of the portrait of

Cicely that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery behind the lamp. Her piercing, compassionate gaze is a great source of encouragement – and a reminder that I can always do more.