LOVE...
…in lockdown has been complicated (but when is it not?). For some, confinement has brought us closer, for others, it’s torn us apart. For my younger colleagues embarking on new relationships, the past year has put the breaks on their romances, or thrown them into a joint domesticity they weren’t quite ready for. I know solo friends who’ve not been able to date, couples whose IVF has been halted and family members who have had to pause their adoption journey, after a sudden change in circumstances.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we always choose to celebrate love in the March issue of Red (not that we really need an excuse to dig into relationships, or matters of the heart). So this month, we are looking at the strength love brings – and what it takes away.
On page 37, three women write about their experiences of love – how one can still feel it keenly after a partner has gone, the way it can conquer cultures and traditions, and how it changes shape as the years pass. In contrast, on page 54, Rosie Green and Stacey Duguid reveal the impact the end of a relationship has had on them and share their advice for getting through a break-up. Whatever your circumstances, I hope our piece on ‘Alonement’ (page 44) speaks to you.
As a single person, I never truly felt comfortable in my own company, so the idea of reframing time alone from being ‘lonely’ to fulfilling and life-enhancing really resonated. If only I’d practised some of these techniques and recognised the value of having time and space back then.
Elsewhere, there’s lots more to fall in love with – from the divine dresses in our fashion story Feel The Joy on page 80, to the selection of beauty products guaranteed to give you the first flush of romance in The Look Of Love on page 102, to Arielle Tchiprout’s interview with the new Radio 4 Woman’s Hour presenter and all-round brilliant person Emma Barnett, on page 50. And if you’re looking for something else to set your heart aflutter, might I suggest there’s nothing more wonder-inducing than a seriously organised kitchen cupboard?! Our plan to help you ‘trash it, stash it or style it’ on page 106 will make your shelves and storage spaces things of beauty. In a world where we’ll take a frisson wherever we can find it (Bridgerton aside), a lustworthy cutlery drawer counts for a lot, right?!