A couple of weeks ago I re-posted on both my Instagram and Facebook stories something shared by Jewish Voice for Peace. It stated that Israel had responded to the initial ceasefire agreement by killing another 85 people (this number was a conservative estimate and it subsequently climbed much higher). The next day, when I opened […]
A number of years ago I was walking around outside Old Spitalfields market in London when I came across a plaque in a square. I stopped to read it, and something shifted in me the way that it does when I know something important has happened. The plaque read that in this place a few […]
It’s that time of year when I like to do a round up of my top reads of the year. I spent a little time making a list and then crossing out and adding, followed by more crossing out and adding. Which is always the way, and it means I read some great books and […]
‘Refuse to fit into the box that others have tried to make for you.‘ 🌿 It’s hard to introduce my latest guest on the blog, Amanda Fox, as I realise that she defies description in many ways. There’s something about her that helps me to feel, more than I feel with anyone else, that ‘You […]
During lockdown when we were all looking for outlets to put a chink in the monotony of our days, I heard about London Writers Salon. Which is a bit of a misnomer now, as people take part from all across the globe. But it’s true that it started in London, with a couple of friends […]
This blog post is dedicated to wonderful friend & reader Réne Petersen Back in 2019, I wrote on this blog about a good friend who had just finished reading me a book in chapter instalments on WhatsApp. Fast forward five years, and this lovely friend is still reading to me. Why? Well, I’ll get to […]
A couple of weeks ago I had two poems published in an online literary journal, Dodging the Rain. I’d like to say a few words about both of these poems to give you some background. The first poem, Milk, is a true memory from my childhood. It does feel important to say, however, that this […]
What is an activist? It can be so many things. We don’t have to glue our hands to the pavement or abseil down bridges with huge banners (though of course, we can also do that). I believe that if we are actively engaged in reflecting on where our world is hurting and trying to remedy […]
I’ve been really enjoying recently making connections with other local groups that Norwich Writers Rebel can collaborate with (Writers Rebel is the writing arm of Extinction Rebellion and I started a local Norwich group the year before last). In the pipeline, we have an event planned with Right to Roam; this is the national trespass […]
Last June I went to a writing course in Wales. My current novel, at that point, was at its fairly early thinking stages and one afternoon I sat in an old barn enthusiastically telling the tutor (a writer I really admire) my ideas for the book. I remember her looking puzzled and incredulous. There was […]