Category Archives: Creativity

Aqua vitae

Every two years we run a Dark Angels masterclass at Merton College, Oxford. I am there now. Three nights in a medieval Oxford college is in many ways a retreat from the world; but it’s also a sojourn in one … Continue reading

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Magic bus

I wrote last week about acting on wild ideas. My father was a judge. As the profession would suggest, he was the most rational of men and not given to frequent flights of the imagination. Occasionally, though, he surprised us … Continue reading

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Come to the edge

I spent the day in Edinburgh on Tuesday discussing the future of Dark Angels with Stuart and John at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Round one of our AGM, at Heathrow Terminal Five, three weeks ago, had proved insufficient for … Continue reading

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Winter spell

The last four days have felt like real winter. The thermometer has hardly risen above zero since I arrived here. The cold bites my cheeks as soon as I step outside and the snow crunches underfoot. Through the picture windows … Continue reading

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Silver linings

It might seem hard to look forward to anything on a day like this – with heavy grey skies, wind and rain, several inches of snow turning to a watery slush and news of snowgates closed on major roads a … Continue reading

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Ubi caritas

These last ten days or so have been spectacular. There’s a generosity in the air, a sense of abundance. All around us the woods are carpeted with bluebells. Sprays of hawthorn blossom decorate hedges and roadsides. The trees are bursting … Continue reading

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Lone Rangers

I’m about to drive into Edinburgh to record a four-way interview about the Dark Angels collective novel Keeping Mum for the BBC World Service. It’s Thursday evening and today is publication day. According to the information sheet from the friendly … Continue reading

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Making mischief

Most people who provide some kind of creative service to the business world long for a client who will say yes to their more extravagant ideas. But such clients are extremely thin on the ground. General anxiety, paucity of imagination … Continue reading

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The Angels’ Share

Has there ever before been a fifteen-author book signing? Unbound, publishers of the Dark Angels collective novel Keeping Mum, have just posted photographs of this unusual, probably unique event on Facebook. It preceded our 10th anniversary dinner last week at … Continue reading

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Sound advice

I’ve always found it intriguing that the beginning of all things is expressed so often in terms of sound. Science talks about the big bang. In the beginning, according to the Bible, was the word. For Hindus the moment of … Continue reading

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