Ira and the Magic Compass
Sometimes I’m in the zone, and the words just seems to flow, and I can leave my desk behind feeling like I’ve done good work. Other times, no matter how far off piste I’ve crashed, Ira Glass has a soothing way of luring me back out of the woods.
Bravo Martha
Ever since her eponymous debut album, Martha Wainwright has always held pole position on my iPod. Everything from her haunting, lingering voice, to her painfully raw candour, appeals to me. Plus, she’s from Montreal, which invariably strikes me as a good thing.
Carolyn See and the Charming Note
Last night sleep eluded me again. So I lay there thinking about how much I have already learned by trying to put together this website (not least thanks to the serendipitous intervention of web guru Nancy Nelson whose support, kindness and patience in recent weeks has kept me going).
One of the biggest eye-openers [...]
A Beacon in the Dark Night (or, why I love the Culture Show)
The Culture Show is back tonight and I can hardly wait. To me, each episode of this staggering wonderful programme is a compelling, bejewelled argument in favour of the BBC licence fee.
When it first aired, we were living in a small village in rural Scotland which was several decades from anywhere you’d care to visit. [...]
Olé to you, olé to me…
A few months back when I was going around in circles over a short story I was writing about a love triangle gone murderously wrong in Vienna, my friend Miko happened to send me one of the most generous insights into the creative process I’ve ever come across.
