Last week as I was paying for a pair of jeans in Topshop I got talking to the super-cool assistant, who was having something of a dilemma. She’d been craving a burger from a particular restaurant all day. “When do you finish?” I asked. “Five minutes,” she replied. “Brilliant, not long until you can have one then,” I said. “But I can’t go on my own,” she responded, looking a bit sad…

“But it’s only a Tuesday, grabbing something to eat on your own on a Tuesday evening is perfectly acceptable,” I said. “Hmm, maybe you’re right,” she mused, “A Tuesday could be ok…”. “Yes, definitely a Tuesday, a Monday would be fine too, perhaps even a Wednesday. Probably not a Friday or Saturday though.” I added. “Or a Thursday, it’s pretty much the weekend, definitely not a Thursday either,” she chipped in. We couldn’t make up our minds about Sundays…

All of which got me thinking about what I will and won’t do alone. Any lunchtime and Monday to Wednesday evenings I’ll happily eat alone, with just one requirement – I must have a book, newspaper, or magazine with me. I’ll go solo to a gallery or museum any day of the week. When it comes to the cinema similar rules apply as with dining alone, the only exception being a one-off screening of a throwback/obscure/foreign film, even a Saturday wouldn’t be off limits if it was something I really wanted see, that no one else I knew was into. I’ve even been on holiday alone although there has usually been an organised element, most likely yoga, or a friend who lives locally so that, for at least some of the time, I have someone to hang out with.

I didn’t get comfortable with doing things on my own until I was in my mid-20s. Going to the cinema, eating out, holidays and shopping were all done with a group of friends in tow or, later, a boyfriend. I can pinpoint exactly when that changed. I’d handed in my notice on my job on a teen magazine for a position on a rival magazine and I was put on gardening leave, effective immediately. Which meant that for a month I was being paid but I wasn’t allowed to work. Awesome, right? But at such short notice no one I knew could take any time off.

Rather than waste the month doing not very much at all, and admittedly a little nervously at first, I took the opportunity to explore London. I wandered around museums and galleries. Took in tourist attractions I hadn’t visited since I was a little girl. Watched every film that was on general release and took in some retro screenings too. Sometimes I would get hungry a long way from home and so I would stop for something to eat, with a book for company, of course.

Going on holiday alone didn’t happen until much later and was very much a baby steps process. A work trip to Barcelona came up and, never having been to the city, I tagged on an extra night after the work bit of the trip was done. Having waved my colleagues goodbye suddenly I felt very alone. But at the same time it was totally liberating. I wandered around the city, popping into any shop that caught my eye, taking in the Gaudi architecture and stopping for tapas and a glass of vino tinto along the way. Since then I’ve been to Australia, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Laos and Spain on my own.

I have friends who won’t do anything alone. Who’ll deliberately arrive late so that they don’t have to sit in a restaurant on their own, even for a few minutes. Who won’t go to a class, or sign up to do a course, if they can’t persuade another friend to go along too. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing things with other people, it’s just that I’m not prepared to miss out on doing stuff because there’s no one around to do it with.

How about you, what are you happy to do alone? Anything you won’t do alone? Would you eat in a restaurant without a book for company? Am I being ridiculous for having rules as to when I will and won’t eat alone? Do share below!