Other humans

I have been finding lately that a conversation about empathy is a good starting point for workshops on any kind of business writing. It breaks the ice and gets people talking together about something of which everyone has some kind … Continue reading

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Finding the flame

Since the beginning of the year I’ve been involved in the drafting of three large, high-profile public documents, one an urban regeneration strategy, one an export strategy for a national industry body, and one a long-term plan for a cultural … Continue reading

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Prison reading

A few years ago I visited a prison to give a reading and run a writing workshop, the only time I’ve ever done such a thing. I wrote about it here at the time, but even without referring back to … Continue reading

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Bad apple

A couple of months ago a friend told me about an extraordinary experiment that he and his family had tried. He’s a rational chap who runs a successful arts organisation and I was intrigued. When I got home I decided … 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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War Horse revisited

I once heard the novelist Michael Morpurgo say, ‘The adults I find most interesting are the ones who know that the child inside them is really their soul.’ I’ve always admired his writing. He’s a consummate storyteller who tackles big … Continue reading

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Thanks but no thanks

My son Jake, who is nearly 23, has always been more interested in money than either of his parents or any of his three older sisters. A lot more. We all work in or around the arts and are, by … Continue reading

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Deep water

After the debate that last week’s post provoked (and thanks to everyone who commented, online and offline), I thought I would write about something slightly less contentious this week – sheep, for example. But the first thing that came to … Continue reading

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Voice of a nation

How do I explain to my English friends why I feel as I do about Scottish independence? Writing this on the day when that most unlikely of Westminster triumvirates declared that they’re closing the door on possible monetary union, the … Continue reading

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Data with soul

I’m writing this in the Scottish Storytelling Centre before I catch a train home from Edinburgh. Located partly in Edinburgh’s oldest house, on the High Street, it has a good café, a big airy storytelling space and a 99-seat theatre. … Continue reading

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