h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My parents moved around a lot when we were small. We didn't move *far* - the running joke was that we counted the distance in metres, not miles - but it did mean I never really developed much of an attachment to bricks.

Of all the places I've lived, it is a place I lived in for the shortest time that I hold dearest. I had just split up with a boyfriend, and needed to find somewhere to live quickly. Having viewed a couple of places I knew I could be truly miserable in, I stumbled past a brand new building advertising a one bedroom flat at a price I could actually afford, so I went in.

It was beautiful. Open plan, bright orange kitchen, huge windows, a huge bathroom (with a heated towel rail!), and a utility room big enough to store my bicycle.

I was there only three months, but it was the first - and last - time I'd really had a place of my own. When I tidied something, it stayed tidy. When I left something, it started left. It was just across the street from the Leeds covered market. Yes, the 3am taxi serenade wasn't great, but my local shop sold King Cobra.

It was a wrench to leave.

I like my house well enough now, but nothing will quite replace those few months of freedom.

Oh hang on, 2016. I'm a year behind.

Nothing to see her, move along...

But it's a great story! That apartment sounds so cool...

Two questions:

- A heated towel rack? Is that even a thing?

- What's a King Cobra? (Sorry for ignorance.)

Heated towel rails! They are luxury, basically; a long vertical radiator that's designed in parallel tubes so you can hang your towels from them and have them toasty for when you come out of the bath*.

King Cobra is an Indian beer. The regular 'Cobra' is a staple in Indian restaurants in the UK. The King version is stronger and smoother and yummy.

*It's also to dry them more quickly after you've used it, but I prefer the former use.

Thanks for sharing that glimpse into another world!

Those towel racks do sound handy.