Author(s): Ben Aitken

Biography & Memoir | Travel

From the author of The Gran Tour, a portrait of an intergenerational friendship.

Recently widowed, Winnie, 84, was in need of some companionship. Someone to help with the weekly food shop and offer tips on the crossword. Ben, 34, was looking for a new housemate.

As the UK was locked down in 2020, Ben and Winnie's lives interwove, forming an unlikely friendship, where lessons were learnt (heat the red wine in the oven with the plates; preserve or pickle whatever you can; never throw anything away) and grief, both personal and that of a nation, was explored.

Charting both their time together, and the details of Winnie's life that are shared with Ben in fragments, The Marmalade Diaries,  is a very human exploration of home, of the passage time, of the growing relationship between an odd couple, told with warmth, wit and candour.