AUGUST 1997: I have a fantastic camping holiday on the Atlantic coast with Ma, Pa and my two brothers.

NOVEMBER 1999: My grandmother, whom I love more than anything, dies.

JULY 2004: We danced all through the night. I cycle straight to school drunk and stoned. I stink of beer.

MARCH 2005: When I console my flatmate, we start kissing intimately.

DECEMBER 2006: My shift in the bar starts at 3 PM and finishes at 2 AM, then there is cocaine and laughter, partying, dancing.

APRIL 2007: My first trip to Africa. I go to Ghana. I am completely out of my depth and glad there are two of us.

FEBRUARY 2009: He is amusing, charming, makes me laugh, makes me happy and is a fantastic lover. With him I feel protected, respected, loved.

FEBRUARY 2012: I complete my legal studies.

SEPTEMBER 2012: My father tells me he is gay. He leaves my mother after twenty-eight years of marriage for a younger man. My mother cries a lot. My brothers are unnerved.

FEBRUARY 2013: Our son is born.