Introduction

Abstract

I sit and wait in a very noisy coffee shop in an affluent suburb of a Northern English city. I clasp a lukewarm cappuccino and wait for Anna to arrive. It is five years since we last met and I’m anxious that I’ll no longer recognise her. The field notes from 2006–7, when she was last interviewed, document her changing hair colour; it changed three times over the course of that year so I’m not sure what to expect. Then, in she walks. I spot her instantly. Her hair is long and blonde this time and her casual, student clothing of hoodies and jeans has been replaced by a mature and corporate style of dress. Anna takes a seat opposite me and as she does so she apologises for coming to the interview straight from work. She is visibly harried and nervous: ‘Is it too noisy here?’ she asks, ‘Has it really been five years?’ Soon we slip into an easy familiarity and, as the conversation begins to flow, I switch on the voice recorder.