Hiraeth (said, ‘he raai’) is one of those tricky words that’s difficult to translate into English because we don’t really have the same concept. My understanding is that it means a longing for a sense of belonging that you won’t experience again: a home you’ve left, a lover that’s gone, a time that’s passed… an undefined regret and sense of unease. I always think of this word in August because it’s such a strange month: it’s still way too cold to be spring, but winter is theoretically nearly over. August is an unsettled kind of month, which is why, every year, my friend Heather emails her team to remind them that although they may think they hate her, their colleagues and their jobs, they really don’t: it’s just August and…
