My memoirs

A given name is a label fraught with dangerous connotations and comparisons. It is something we need to think carefully about when we name our offspring as they may not thank us for how it is used… My parents named me Susan, because my father always wanted a “Suzy”, and Patricia, after mum’s closest cousin and confidante, Pat. These days, the only people who call me Susan are my own family and Martin is the only one who calls me Suzy. To anyone else I am Sue. Susan was the most common given name in the year I was born, so I have many friends with the same name as me. If I’d been a boy, I was to be called Peter – also the most common name of that year. When I was at school, my nickname was “Spike” because my surname was Milligan and there was a famous UK comedian, Spike Milligan. My father had also been called Spike when he was younger. It was not a nickname I liked, but it was better than that bestowed on my younger sister, who was called “Prickle” because she was little Spike. Eve...