I am back in Brighton, catsitting lovely Lyra while her owners are away, and it’s weird to be back in the old neighbourhood a year after I left it. In some ways things haven’t changed – my old street is still full of fecking scaffolding, for one – and it feels easy to slip straight back into life here. The people at my favourite Patisserie remember me, and are as lovely as ever (it has changed its name, and is now Open Bakery, but luckily its coffee, salted caramel tarts, croissants and sandwiches are as good as I remember them.)The Kemptown Bookshop is still standing, and I am apparently still unable to visit it without leaving with a stash of pricey notebooks, and my other regular cafe, Necot, remains unchanged. Compass Point has moved from Kemptown to bigger, flashier premises by the sea, but I am hoping to squeeze a visit in later this week – if I can extricate myself from under the cat…