Armed with an umbrella and my iPod, I’d been drinking with work friends and was feeling rather relaxed and refreshed as I wandered along Oxford Street in the rain.
I reached an intersection and I noticed two people waiting by the lights. I asked if they would like to share my umbrella and because they were trapped, started a conversation about their plans for the night. Before we had reached the other side of the road, I’d discovered they belong to a quaint little monthly book club and we had swapped business cards. And so I turned up on my own the following month, not knowing a single soul, and continued to do so for about two years.
Catherine Donnelly 