As explanations of the world, fairy stories tell us what science and philosophy cannot and need not. (Winterson, 2013).

My mother, in contrast, was very artistic and a very hard worker. During the war she sewed to make an income and also drove an ambulance in the Air Raid Precautions (ARP). She later taught at Medway College of Art, where I went at 18. We pretended we weren't related, but everyone knew we were. I'm now chancellor of the college. (Rhodes in Lewis, 2013).

Tweed is now a common sight in designer collections and on the catwalks of London, Paris and Milan. It is no longer a fabric for ultra-conservatives, geography teachers and hunting, shooting and fishing types. Its popularity is also being driven by events such as the Tweed Run and Goodwood Revival, and the sight of gorgeous tweeds on television in Downton Abbey. (Evans, 2013).

Historically, makeup was for the wealthy, says Aileen Ribeiro, author of Facing Beauty: Painted Women and Cosmetic Art. "Now it seems that things are reversed." The spread of nail, lash, blowdry and eyebrow bars has brought high maintenance to high streets all over Britain. (Cocozza, 2013b).

"I'm Fukuppy. Nice to meet you," the mascot says on the company's website. (McCurry, 2013b).

The reason fashion magazines have been excited over the M&S coat is because various high-end designers all made pink coats this season. Now, this kind of serendipitous synchronicity among designers does nothing to disabuse me of my belief that what we call "trends" are actually "evil plots cooked up by designers who scheme together ahead of time to make similar colours and clothes to convince the public that in order to look up to date we need to buy their wares." (Hadley-Freeman, 2013f).

The poster promoted by the campaign group "women against Islamisation" showed the legs of Anke Vandermeersch, a former Miss Belgium and now a senator for the far-right Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party.

Beside the image of her wearing the shoes, a key showed what it claimed was Islam's view of a woman, as measured by the length of her skirt, from "sharia compatible" at floor level to "whore" just above the knee and "stoning" at the top of the thigh. (Reuters, 2013e).

He said: "I don't think there is such a thing as a bad book for children." Every now and again there was a fashion for saying that Enid Blyton or RL Stine was a bad author or that comics fostered illiteracy. "It's tosh. It's snobbery and it's foolishness."

He added: "Well-meaning adults can easily destroy a child's love of reading. Stop them reading what they enjoy or give them worthy-but-dull books that you like – the 21st-century equivalents of Victorian 'improving' literature – you'll wind up with a generation convinced that reading is uncool and, worse, unpleasant." (Brown, 2013b).

Toby took up macrame, hoping it would cure her of her daydreaming and fruitless desires, and increase her focus on the moment. (Atwood, 2010, p.229).

It's got no screen, does only one thing and – get this – it thinks it knows what you want to listen to. (Hepworth, 2013).