A little while ago, Bob Dylan was award the Nobel Prize in Literature – the first songwriter ever to receive the award. I found this really interesting for two reasons… Firstly that some people should question that a songwriter should be given an award for literature. And secondly – why hasn’t it happened before? Personally –…
My visit to the Aran islands (see last week’s blog) was all about knitting, but there were two more island groups I had to see while I was in Ireland. This time it was all about language and literature and puffins with light sabres. Both islands are uninhabited, but both have stories to tell. It…
A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to draw on my (too many) years as a broadcast journalist to offer some tips on how to make the most out of those rare opportunities to talk about our writing on TV or Radio. I thought I would share some top tips with you here…
I never throw away anything I write. Even if it’s terrible. It’s not just because I am a pack rat and have trouble throwing anything away (although I am and I do- as testified to by my messy office). It’s because there’s no such thing as a bad idea. A bad idea is just an…
I remember as a child being chastised by my teachers for using made up words. If it wasn’t a ‘real’ word, I wasn’t allowed to use it in my school work. To be fair, those teachers were trying to give me the kind of education that would allow me to make a living when I…
On a recent museum trip – I saw images from the Qajar dynasty in Persia – the period from 1795 -1925. The display focused on the women of that period. My attention was caught by description of the beautiful women of the Qajar court – paragons of beauty with a thick monobrow and moustache. Today’s women…
This week I almost but not quite managed to accidentally on purpose bump into James Bond. I was working at Pinewood movie studios – and Daniel Craig was too. The latest Bond film – Spectre – has been in production there. A couple of my (female) colleagues came into the office all agog because they’d…