“The other day, it was lunchtime, boiling hot, 23 degrees, and I was sitting in the park wearing my bikini,” says Joan, who’s 82. “A woman walked past and said, ‘How wonderful that you’re doing that. I wish I had the guts to do what you’re doing.’ And I said, ‘Do it! Why not?’ Nobody […]
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Once again, I was delighted to take part in a project with writers’ group 26 on behalf of the Bloomsbury Festival. This year, the theme is ‘Shining a light’. I chose to highlight a performance at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury that will showcase the talents of rising singing stars. This piece first appeared here […]
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Since before the pandemic (hard to recall, I know), I’ve been working on the editorial team for a new book, Threads of Time. It celebrates 25 years of Fine Cell Work, the charity that helps rehabilitate prisoners by teaching them needlework skills. Our Crowdfunder for the book goes live today. Do please support this book […]
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A visit to Doughty Mews inspires a piece about Dickens for the 2020 Bloomsbury Festival. As part of a project for the Bloomsbury Festival with writers’ group 26, I was allocated a small square of the map in Bloomsbury, central London. “Go there, find a story and write about it,” they told me. I discovered […]
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Protecting the rainforests of Indonesia The Environmental Investigation Agency asked me to write a charity appeal to go to their supporters, highlighting an urgent situtation that was threatening the Indonesian rainforest. Using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade announced that it was going to water down its timber laws. Environmentally, […]
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Keeping creativity flowing Say what you like about Zoom, but it does help you make things happen quickly. In May, Andy Hayes of the writers’ collective 26 organised a ‘creativity in lockdown’ session with his friend Sam Griffiths. Sam’s a designer who delights in being playful and enjoys turning labels into robots, and cardboard boxes […]
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How can you control your anxiety during a pandemic? We’re bombarded by news with headlines designed to terrify us: ‘global pandemic’, ‘rising death rate’, ‘temporary mortuary’. The economy is tanking worldwide, many have lost their livelihoods and don’t know when or how they will get them back. We fear for our own health, and for […]
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Mindful creative writing doesn’t have to involve meditating on a mountain top with a notebook by your side, or looking out across an Alpine lake, with a pen in one hand and a glass of kombucha in the other. It’s something you can do in a café or during your lunch break. You can write […]
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I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with the Environmental Investigation Agency on their winter appeal to protect the forest elephants of Africa. The charity does amazing work to tackle environmental crime worldwide. So if you possibly can, please do support their work. The plight of the forest elephants of Africa The forest elephants of […]
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A day as a writer in residence at the Bloomsbury Festival As part of the 26 group of writers, I was asked to spend a day as a writer in residence at the Bloomsbury Festival this year. My task was to attend festival events and write about what I saw going on around me. Here’s […]
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Photo: Dimitri Djuric Profile of Percussionist Angela Wai-Nok Hui The first time I see her, percussionist Angela Wai-Nok Hui cuts an arresting figure. She’s standing in the dark against a black background in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As she hits a snare drum, lights spark from the side of […]
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What’s the best way to interview people for corporate video content? I’ve always loved interviewing people, whether it’s a contortionist, a climber or a naturist vicar. But usually I’m sitting opposite someone with a tape recorder or typing away madly on the end of a phone. Here’s what I learned from my first time standing […]
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What helps you be creative? Speakers shared their ideas last week at The Story 2019, a one-day festival of storytelling held in Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London. Here are five of the best. 1. Investigate random objects Creator and performer Alison S M Kobayashi loves to investigate random things, like the tapes left in […]
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Roast chestnuts as a route to inner peace. Plus recommended reading material for a temporary escape from the modern world. As I write this, drones have brought Gatwick Airport to a standstill, plastics have been discovered in the Mariana Trench and the Government’s advising us not to go on holiday after 29 March next year. […]
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Nick Asbury is one of Britain’s most-awarded copywriters and a thoroughly good bloke to boot. He consistently produces truly inspiring work for everyone from Little Chef and Unicef to Cambridge University. Nick always has a creative side-hustle on the go, whether that’s Corpoetics (found poetry from corporate websites), his Perpetual Disappointments Diary or, most recently, […]
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