When I lost my face I LOST MY CONFIDENCE

I’ve always found that being single is more noticeable at Christmas than at any other time of the year. One less person on the Christmas-card list, one less person to buy presents for and one less plate at the table. And as I sat with my friends at a pub in my parents’ home town of Thorpe-Le-Soken, in December 2013, the absence of a partner over the festive period for the first time in three years was almost tangible.

Back from my flat in Colchester, I was staying at my parents’ for the Christmas holidays, and it was a welcome break. The rest of the year, I led the busy life of an independent 30-year-old. My days were filled working