Losing My Ambition

  Towards the end of my treatment for cancer in 2006 I had one of the most profound conversations of … More

February notebook

‘The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to … More

The how of it

  I was having a coffee with a new writer friend the other day. Not having known each other for … More

What you read in 2017

Dear Friends Here are the blog posts which you read most often in 2017, according to my WordPress stats:   … More

The year of not blogging

There’s a problem with that title, isn’t there? While I have not been completely silent (fifteen blog posts at most? … More

Discovering Geoffrey Summerfield’s Worlds

In support of crowdfunding our new anthology of poems, No One You Know, with Unbound, Sue Dymoke and I are … More

Back to school

Every September is the same. I pack a bag for work, set off into the still warm sunshine, and wonder … More

What really matters?

I was on the phone to a writer friend the other week. In itself this is a rare occurrence: normally … More

On Not Being Anthony Wilson

On Not Being Anthony Wilson   I haven’t always been Anthony Wilson. For a long time I wasn’t even Anthony. … More

What do I know?

  One of the more interesting paradoxes of analysing the interviews of professional writers during the Teachers as Writers (TaW) … More

The Next Swim

    For a number of reasons –too much grief in my life, too sedentary, too much television, too out … More

In Praise of Rupert

  Rupert Loydell is shouting at the countryside. I have got up at sparrow-fart to drive him to the Blandford … More

#NaBloPoMo 24 – See you later

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo, that month in the year when someone decides it is a nice idea … More

#NaBloPoMo 23 – Prayer

Dear God   Do you think you could fix it so that I might have some of Martin’s playfulness, his … More

#NaBloPoMo 22 – When Josephine Corcoran interviewed me

As we draw to the end of NaBloPoMo, I have invited Josephine Corcoran to collaborate with me on a joint-interview. … More

#NaBloPoMo 20 – On ambition

It wasn’t much of a day. I was in noodle-mode, sticking things into my day book, quotes and articles and … More

#NaBloPoMo 17 – Coffee? (meditation on a blog post by Josephine Corcoran)

If you came round for coffee these days you’d be offered decaff. Doctor’s orders, I’d say. And against my better … More

#NaBloPoMo 16 – To autumn

What I love about autumn is the night arriving early. What I hate about autumn is the day leaving even … More