The notes app on my phone disappeared – and spurred a come-to-Jesus moment | Maddie Thomas

Like Carrie's laptop dying in Sex and the City, my collection of seemingly insignificant moments suddenly mattered like a magnum opus

I opened the notes app on my phone to find a blank screen. I froze, agape, like you do when you just realise you've sent an email to the wrong person or left your favourite item of clothing in a hotel room miles away.

I'd gone to find something I'd written about my home town after a recent visit, a scant thought at the time. The app was empty.