A few weeks ago, I asked that readers “Tell Me Their Stories”; below you can read three of their responses, each very different in content and form, yet equally delightful.

Today' is my dad’s 50th birthday! I can’t be with him to celebrate in person, but instead I am sharing a selection of birthday greetings, poems, art, and dedications from friends around the world…

My friend Kosta (yes, yes: that's Gabi's Dad) drove me into town from the lakeside hotel, and shepherded me onto the bus. And as the vehicle pulled away I realised, not for the first time in my life, that I am a complete idiot…

Kosta Milkov writes a poem about childhood using “The Flavor Thesaurus”… Kosta Milkov is a writer and theologian based in Skopje, Macedonia. He holds a DPhil in Patristics from the University of Oxford and is the author of children’s literature, a poetry collection, and several books on theology and the Early Church.

Arah Ko writes, ‘I superimposed my own meaning into the adopted “Birch Skin” form, exploring the concept of the “unblessed” and how my own experiences with asthma had to do with negative space, with the un-. While not being able to breathe has always been a specific fear for me, it has been adopted as a societal fear of coronavirus. A friend of mine in the Chicago area who had to be hospitalized for suspected COVID-19 said, “I’m not afraid to die. I am ready. But every night I am afraid I will stop breathing in my sleep, and not even know.”

Georgia Louise Luckhurst is a 21 year-old writer from Scotland, in her final year studying English at St Andrews. Her favourite poet changes every day but she is especially fond of e.e. cummings and Terrance Hayes. She has written a poem from quarantine that you can read here.

Rebeka, graphic designer, writes: ‘amidst all this fear, uncertainty and panic, I would like to encourage all of you to focus on the good and be the light that shines even brighter in the darkest places. This too shall pass’. Read more here.

The Quarantine Diaries was based on three simple premises: that whoever wants a song written for them send Annabel a BPM of choice, their favourite time of day, and a colour which best represents how they feel. This is the result.

Ruins of a Letter from Hemingway to Fitzgerald during the Quarantine.

Thoughts on the plague from Prof Meic Pearse: ‘I conclude from recent articles in my daily newspaper, "The Feudal Times and Reactionary Herald", that the bubonic plague is making an awful nuisance of itself of late…’ (read more)