Hello, Hannah here. Merry Christmas. If you're listening to us on Christmas Day. Hope

you had a nice Christmas. If you're listening to us after Christmas Day. Or, you know,

maybe happy Easter. Who knows what your schedule is. So, I realised that this time of year

can be really tough for people on their own. However, for a lot of single people, being

on their own is actually a thing to celebrate. And so, I decided to get on the phone with

a woman after my own heart, the author, Tanya Hirschman, to talk about Spinsters, enjoying

single life, and her new book, Go On. Now, if you are one of those people who is alone

at Christmas and you do want some company, thanks to our lovely boss, Sarah Millican, there

is now the annual Twitter tradition of joining in. So, if that's you, please, please, don't

be alone and sad. Get involved on Christmas Day at Hashtag. Join in.

Welcome, Tanya, to Standard Issue. It's lovely to have you back. Thank you. Very nice to

be here. Now, this book, I'll actually begin to be going out on Christmas Day.

Oh, my God. Okay. Part of the reason that I wanted to put it out on Christmas Day is because,

you know, Sarah runs the most excellent thing on Twitter. Join in. Yes.

For people who are on their own, they don't have to be single, but they're on their own

at Christmas. And that's great. But lots of people are really happy on their own at Christmas.

And I suspect that you are one of those people, yes. I am. I am one of those people, yes.

It almost feels a bit sinful to admit it. Yeah. It almost seems a bit braggied, I think,

in a way, doesn't it? I think that's part of the problem with being single is do I have

to feel guilty for being glad to be on my own? I sometimes feel I have to tamp down the

glee with which I say, I'm just going to be a dynamite. It's a great start to it.

It's like a balance between trying to look sad and saying, no, I'm on my own or trying

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