It looks like the most hackneyed writer’s trick you can imagine: restart a blogging habit on new year’s day and see how long it lasts for. In this case, however, appearances are deceiving.
Read MoreSound good? Singing in a group and the Up Men programme
I can share what it’s like to have a broad smile on my face during every session. I can offer a glimpse of what it’s like to be there for the moment that happens during the learning of every new song, when we perform the different harmonies together well, and there’s a collective sense of achievement and satisfaction in the room.
Read MoreBegin again: meditation and the art of being in the moment
Because it is easy to make meditation sound like a cult-ish thing. I’m aware that this post could easily make for strange or even uncomfortable reading. The first few times I tried meditation, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at times, just because of how weird the whole thing felt.
Read MoreWhat I Think About When I Worry About Talking (4)
The optimism communicated by much of the book is infectious. Its compelling arguments for a brighter future almost help you to forget chapter one’s alarming summary of how it will take nothing less than significant action to avoid reaching a tipping point for the climate in 20 or 30 years.
Read MoreReflecting on Man Up
When I told my brother I'd started rehearsals for the performance, he said, "It's not something I'd have expected you to do." He wasn't the only one. But I'd been with Man Up the whole way and, if I'd departed from it at the last, there was no excuse I could have given that I'd ever have been happy or comfortable with.
Read MoreHow are you today?
Appearing vulnerable, especially in certain social circles or in the workplace, is something that many of us feel we can’t do. We may not recognise the feelings to give proper voice to them, but that only makes it more important to be honest with the people around us.
Read MoreMaking Yourself 'At Home'
The development of homes from single-roomed halls in which every household activity took place to multi-roomed houses is particularly fascinating. In the larger houses of the very wealthy, kitchens and dining rooms would be so far apart that one stately home owner resorted to installing a railway in his property in an effort to deliver food to the table while it was still warm.
Read MoreBrewing Up a Side Project
The front page of this website says I subscribe to the idea of side projects, yet since embracing self-employment I’ve provided little evidence of anything remotely approaching a ‘side hustle’. Today that changes. Today I’m proud to introduce you to a little-known thing I like to call ‘beer’.
Read MoreMan Alive!
Our social groups should have a positive effect, not hold us back. We need to share our stories because we are individual. One of the big messages of Man Up is that we share experiences, not opinions. Bottling things up and being someone we’re not is unhealthy. We need to laugh and cry and feel things because we are human beings.
Read MoreMaking Space(s) for Creativity
Sky-high land prices and poor quality existing building stock make it difficult for anybody to find healthy, comfortable and affordable places to live. For people in the creative industries, finding both places to live and studios or performance spaces that are fit for purpose is particularly difficult.
Read MoreWhat do you do if you see a spaceman?
This isn’t a minimalism blog. I’m not here to pass comment on how people live their lives. What I am interested in is: how much space do we actually need versus how much space we want?
Read MoreMaking the Leap: Three Months In
Three months since making the leap seemed like a good time to take stock and share some of what has interested me lately. If you get some value from any of these links, or come across something you think might interest me, let me know! Contact details are at the front of the site, and social media links are at the foot of every page. Here's to the next three months!
Read MoreFinding the Best in Film Screenings
What Sam has created in Screening Film is the website I once imagined ... but ten times better. Cinemas, film festivals and community screening organisations register on the site and enter their events, which then show up on a map like the one above. The whole thing is searchable by area, and blog contributors pick out upcoming highlights or review recent events.
Read MoreIndie Cinema Euro Stars
The only thing I can do with the language of France is ask for a vanilla ice cream, so understanding heated political debate was never on the cards. I fired off an email to the Nova’s contact address asking if I stood a chance of getting anything out of the evening, and started on a Plan B.
Read MoreMaking a Concerto-ed Effort
Which just goes to show that no matter what length of career you’ve enjoyed, what milestones you've reached or achievements you’ve unlocked, sometimes a creative task has to be reduced to its basic components.