"The young man pulled forward one of the chairs, “Please sit, please sit.” He knelt down by the fireplace and turned on the gas and lit a match and crack, pop, the fire burst into flame.
Hsiao Ling meanwhile picked up a plate of white cakes from the table and held them out towards Maisie and smiled encouragingly.
“Sticky rice cakes,” said the young man. “They’re for our new year.” He smiled at Maisie’s questioning face. “The lunar new year.”
So starts one of the key relationships in the life of Maisie, matriarch of "She, You, I." It shapes her life, and the lives of her daughters and granddaughter. With some unexpected twists along the way.
This weekend marks the Lunar New Year 2023. So a very happy new year to all our readers.
And many thanks to the Golden Panda restaurant in Woodbridge, Suffolk, for kindly providing the setting for the picture.