As many mothers know, juggling a career with parenthood is quite a challenge. Not only do I have to combine raising my three sons with running a home and a business, this week I have another monumental task: buying a new handbag. Sometimes it is all just too much. There are so many considerations. The practical ones: it needs to carry essentials, be small and light, large enough to carry a few pebbles but not the whole beach. The killer though is the identity factor, which inevitably leads to a personal crisis.

Fortunately, Lewes is blessed with a fantastic array of boutiques and my colleague Laura kindly came out to hold my hand on this difficult journey. We established that in order to meet all expectations the item needs to be business-like, mumsy but still sexy. But what is this creature and does it actually exist? Is it the neo-punk slashed item in Lazybones displaying the label Religion? Or among the Charlie’s Angelesque denim, studded and metallic range in Boules? Or perhaps one of Delilah’s gorgeous cowgirl and Aztec bags. Or even the orange disco one in Rubenesque at the Needlemakers? Which one is me in 2006? Who am I anyway? Laura began to question her own bag and spiral towards breaking point. The trip was brought to an end. After a restless night, I made my decision. In just a couple of weeks we will know how we get on together for real and a new era in my life will begin. JW