‘Hugging is like medicine, it gives us hope’: friends and lovers on the joy of touch
Deborah Linton
The home schooling family: Abhi, 36, and Chloe Shivraj, 34, and their daughter Ella, seven, Stockport
“I would describe myself as a promiscuous hugger – it’s how I feel connected to people – and I’m talking fairly strong, well-intentioned hugs,” says Abhi. A business development manager, he and Chloe are working at home, and home schooling Ella. “I try to get up from my laptop and stretch my legs every hour or so. I might find one of them to cuddle as part of that. Some people do coffee or cigarettes for a break, I crave human touch.”