Spring is most definitely here, even if the biting wind and chilly temperature suggest otherwise. And my Winter Walks for Well-being and Writing project, commissioned as part of Wandsworth Council's year as London Borough of Culture, wrapped up towards the end of March. The final part of the project, once I'd delivered three walks and …
Category: writing
Sleepless in Battersea
A tealight flickersin a frosted glassemblazoned with the wordENERGY.Outside it is 4 a.m.,deep night –even the trainsare asleep.From the other side of the worldmy sister textshappy birthday jane austen.On the bookcase behind meher novels wait to be read,re-read.
one of those ‘exciting news’ posts
I'm thrilled to have been awarded a micro-commission as part of Wandsworth Council's year as London Borough of Culture. Alongside a programme of large scale events and festivals, the Council has put in place a light-touch application process for Wandsworth artists to apply for a small grant to create new work on the theme of …
Of Islands and Strangers
I come from a sunburnt country.I come from Scottish and Welsh,and Protestant guilt.I come from stolen land.I come from privilegefrom classical musicand cryptic crosswordsand private education.I come from discontentfrom chucking in schoolfrom teenage rebellion. I came in desperation,I came a strangerin a strange state of mind.I came to Thatcher’s disunited kingdomto Red Ken’s London. I found …
Bon anniversaire Maurice Ravel
The French composer Maurice Ravel was born 150 years ago today. He's one of mine and Nick's favourite composers. Back in March 2014, BBC Radio 3 dedicated a whole day to Ravel's music, which really opened our ears to the wonder and variety of his music - there's so much more than his most famous …
strolling, chatting and scribbling
I've just compiled the feedback from the two Stroll, Chat, Scribble events I ran for this year's Brighter Living Fair in Wandsworth, and I'm feeling a rather chuffed. It's very gratifying to realise that what I set out to deliver pretty much hit the mark. Each session began with a stroll around nearby streets for …
Charlotte Despard gets a plaque
There was a fantastic turnout for the unveiling of a plaque honouring Charlotte Despard on Wednesday, in the heart of Embassy Gardens, Nine Elms. Despard, known as 'the Mother of Battersea', lived in a house on Currie Street from the early 1890s until she moved to Ireland in 1921. Her house was in the middle …
a lot of life, and quite a few words
I've kept a journal since I first came to London, nearly 40 years ago. Those journals have slowly accumulated on the top shelf above my writing desk, until they were crammed up to the ceiling and in danger of toppling. What to do with all these words, this record of my life lived mostly in …
where did it all begin?
Recently I was thinking about writing goals (not something I often do, actually), and thought how cool it would be to have one of my poems read on radio. Poetry Please, where listeners request poems on a theme, is perhaps the pinnacle, but I'd be just as thrilled to have one of my poems broadcast …
following the star to create new art
When the Rev. Betsy Blatchley, Pioneer Minister for the Arts in Nine Elms, asked if I would be interested in taking part in the Nine Elms Arts Ministry's Artist Studio Christmas residency at art'otel London Battersea Power Station, I jumped at the opportunity.* Italian artist Adalberto Lonardi has created a gorgeous mural in the hotel's art'beat …
Hilaire 