Chatting about embracing the ‘new’ with my #WeSayItAsWeSeeIt podcast guest, Sarah, my mind went to projects I'd “sensibly" abandoned - simply because they appeared to have insurmountable problems.

I suddenly realised the problems weren't that scary. My fear was leaving my comfort zone and adapting to the inevitable aftermath.

Rumour has it that some die-hard atheists think the Bible is quite a good yarn: highly unlikely of course, but not a bad read all in all! Well, they're right about one thing - it is a collation of many good stories. About real people, places, and events. And the Book of Esther, the eponymous tale of a young Jewish orphan made queen by the Persian monarch Xerses when he rejects his wife Vashti, is emblematic of all three.