Elaina James

Big, but not overly so, my handbag is just the right size to carry my notebooks so I will never be without them.  Its dark black exterior with single beige stripe give no indication of what lies within. To the rest of the world it looks like a smart business woman’s handbag. Who else but I would know its main purpose is to carry my dreams? However, it doesn’t end there. In addition to my dreams my handbag carries pretty much everything you can think of, and probably a few unexpected items too. I always carry at least one extra pen. I have my own portable first aid kit from paracetamol to plasters. I’m prepared for any kind of weather with a pair of sunglasses stashed beside an umbrella. A tape measure. Spare plastic bags. Tissues. A pair of pliers. A torch. My handbag is a girl guide’s delight. Ironically I wasn’t a very good girl guide. At least not according to our troop leader. Nevertheless, I returned each week decked out in my neatly ironed uniform, the traditio...

Most families inherit things from their ancestors. An antique vase that no one can stand but can't bring themselves to get rid of because it has history. The colour of their eyes that comes from their father, or their mothers nose. Me, well I inherited the family quest in addition to my brown eyes from my dad. The quest has been passed down from my grandmother to my mother, aunts and even cousins. We all activity pursue the same goal, and so far we have all failed. So what is this impossible mission? It's the quest for the perfect handbag. I came close to achieving it once. I found a bag with just the right number of separate pockets. There was a place for my keys, a pouch for my phone, somewhere for my make-up and purse and even a handy little pocket for my business cards so I could avoid the embarrassing unprofessional rummage. Finally there was a larger section for everything else. There was just one problem, it turns out that there's a lot of 'everythin...