Issue 1429

Turning back home
She might have been late to writing but Carol Birch now has thirteen novels to her name, one shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Antonia Charlesworth visits her at home in Lancaster where she hears a snatch of her playing the concertina before they talk about music, the strangeness of memory and Manchester. Photos and cover: Claire Griffiths.

If you build it…
Why does Britain build what it does and what does it say about us? Writer John Grindrod’s latest book looks to solve the puzzle. Neil Tague speaks with him.

Local elections
With voters going to the polls on 5 May 2,500 seats on 114 councils in England are up for election. The cost of living crisis is uppermost on people’s minds on the doorstep, while Partygate also figures. Many of the key battleground contests are in the North, reports Roger Ratcliffe.

Plus
Arts and entertainments, songwriter Jimmy Webb’s letter to his younger self, crossword, Sudoku and more.