While I was running around Battersea Park this morning, I started thinking about how much I hated exercise and sport as a child, and then well into adulthood. My younger self would have been amazed, and possibly appalled, to see me pounding along paths between trees and gambolling down grassy knolls. Running isn't my favourite …
Category: London
a year since found ~ flow ~ flux was launched
A year ago today the found text poetry pamphlet found ~ flow ~ flux was launched at a celebratory event at the ROSE Community Clubroom in Nine Elms. It was the culmination of my commission from Wandsworth Council to create new art in Nine Elms. I loved the whole process. The first part of the …
Continue reading a year since found ~ flow ~ flux was launched
looking ahead to September… and feeling more positive
After the low of no one turning up for my first flying-solo Nine Elms walk earlier this month, I had the pleasure of leading a lovely group around the route on Sunday. I really enjoy sharing information about the area's rich history, and I'll often also pick up an interesting new nugget or two from …
Continue reading looking ahead to September… and feeling more positive
a washout
Two people turned up for my Open Spaces in Nine Elms walk: Nick & me. Well, the weather was more like October than August; cold, gusting winds and heavy downpours. And I know London is half empty in August, so maybe it was the wrong time to try my first walk under my own umbrella …
Proms encore
To celebrate the start of this year's BBC Proms, I thought I'd dust off a poem I wrote many moons ago after my first couple of visits to the Proms, and which I posted here nearly a decade ago! Nowadays, I enjoy following the Proms in the comfort of my own home, where I can …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
found ~ flow ~ flux launched into the world
It's just over a week since I launched the found text poetry booklet found ~ flow ~ flux into the world. This was the culmination of my project, which was commissioned earlier this year by Wandsworth Council. Held in the same room where I'd run the workshops back in June, the launch was such a …
Continue reading found ~ flow ~ flux launched into the world
Hilaire 