The subtle melancholy of Abba provides me solace against the mean world

As society has renewed its desire to be cruel, we turn inward to our comforts, looking for warmth

A few weeks ago, I moved out of the crumbling home I'd built for myself in a dilapidated Sydney sharehouse, and found myself living alone for the first time. The shock of being by myself was bruising. I walked around the rooms of my new home, idly picking things up and putting them down again. I was, quite suddenly, forced to confront something I'd long known, but tried to ignore - sometimes you have nowhere to turn but yourself.

I don't think I'm alone in that reckoning. The vibes, as they say, are bad out there - the world appears to have renewed its desire to be cruel. And so many of us turn inward, seeking shelter, and instead finding, terrifyingly, us. Faced with that gnawing ache of self-reflection, unsure of what else to do, I put on the 2008 motion picture Mamma Mia!

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