To a dour Brummie like me, living in Liverpool is an unending source of hope and delight. This photo reminds me, says author Lynsey Hanley

A brightly lit Kali Puja marquee was made to look like an identity card for the goddess – complete with a heavenly address, says author Amit Chaudhuri

Who knew that a clip of actors talking about drinks could be so sexy and comforting, asks Guardian columnist Hannah Jane Parkinson

I wanted to learn a skill that would come in handy after society collapsed – perhaps I should have taken up unarmed combat, says Guardian columnist Rebecca Nicholson

As I lie down under a 2,000-year-old small-leaved lime coppice, I contemplate what is truly sacred, says author Max Porter

An encounter in a New York nightclub left me squirming with inadequacy, a feeling I thought I had left behind, says the writer Megan Nolan

In 1987 I was an extra in Turandot, alongside operatic legends – little did I know I’d be directing the show 35 years later, says artist Ai Weiwei

Meandering across an artificial line that divides humanity, the tortoise had a lot to teach my children – and me, says the LSE professor and author Lea Ypi

Sometimes I can’t bear to find out what has happened to people I spoke to in the early days of war, says Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk

My brother organised a medical camp after the summer’s deadly floods – a disaster caused by powerful nations, says author Fatima Bhutto

The protest against the police abuse of a teenage girl at her school showed that people refuse to tolerate black children being seen as less than human, says teacher and writer Lola Okolosie