Tahini on toast. My breakfast this morning, and it set me thinking, not for the first time, what a magical food tahini is. Surely, I thought, there must be one day in the year when this delicious, nutritious and versatile ingredient is celebrated. I searched online and to my surprise it appears there is no …
shedding light on (older) women poets
The Second Light Network aims to promote, encourage and highlight women poets, who traditionally have been underrepresented in the 'canon' and still struggle to pack the same punch as the big boys of the poetry world. As women still largely bear the burden of childcare, and caring more generally, finding the time and resources to …
some thoughts on thinking
A few weeks ago I saw a post by Mark Elliott, co-founder of Startup School for Seniors, on LinkedIn: Do you OverThink Things? I read the piece and thought about it. I thought about it all over the weekend. And then I finally replied 'I have been thinking about your post since I read it, …
Open Spaces in Nine Elms walk
I'm excited to be leading a free walk on Saturday 3rd June for this year's London Festival of Architecture, exploring open spaces in Nine Elms. In between all the tall, shiny new buildings and ginormous cranes, a new park is being created that will eventually form a pedestrian route from Vauxhall to Battersea Power Station, …
Teaching women in Wandsworth
What a joy it was to co-deliver this workshop with Joolz Sparkes for Wandsworth Heritage Festival. I love helping people explore their creativity through writing.
warming up into 2023
Daffodils are already opening in the community roof garden where I volunteer. Those yellow trumpets certainly lift the spirits, heralding the promise of spring just around the corner. I've had a quietish start to the year and have used this to reflect and think about how I can build on the workshops and walks I …
ending the year on a reading high
I've read a lot this year, including around 400 short stories for the Manchester Fiction Prize in the first few months of 2022. As a writer it's often hard for me to switch off the critical/analytical part of my brain when reading, so finding the right book to read in bed before sleep can be …
woman with a red clipboard
A week ago I led the last in a series of ten walks around the Nine Elms area in Battersea. This was part of a programme of free activities for local people funded by Wandsworth Council, with my 'Walks and Talks in Nine Elms' billed as a chance for people to explore the area and …
a poem for Wombat Day 2022
I promised (threatened?) in my post celebrating last year's Wombat Day, to post my wombat poem here this year if it hadn't been accepted for publication by now. So here, in all its earthiness, I present to you: Wombat Scat The wombat is a curious species.Of all the creatures known on earthwombats alone drop cube-shaped …
busy as a Battersea bee
Once upon a time large areas of Battersea were covered in market gardens and lavender fields. The air must have thrummed with bees and other pollinators. Bees feature in the mosaic tiled floors at Battersea Arts Centre, no doubt referring back to these earlier times, but also, like Manchester, an acknowledgement of the role of …
Hilaire 