I SPY in the country has become my most entrusted creative companion. For the past month I haven’t left the house without it, and my knowledge of the countryside around Oxfordshire and Berkshire has genuinely broadened through organising interviews and visits connected with investigating all the items contained within its beautiful, vintage pages. I was […]
I really enjoyed reading Kate’s recent post on walking and how we build up imaginative representations of places as we patrol them. It made me think about my familiar routes, the places which I habitually visit, the things I note along the way, and how I remember places. Pigeons in the snow in Palmer Park, […]
I have a *thing* for Meerkats. From bouncing on the sofa excitedly at any appearance by Aleksandr Orlov on the TV to insisting on watching every annoyingly-voice-overed episode of Meerkat Manor, I cannot get enough of these animals and their behaviour. I readily sought out and absorbed Tim Clutton-Brock‘s book on the subject of Meerkat […]
Yesterday I went to Beenham in Berkshire to meet with 8 wolves who reside there at the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. Thinking up features for our Halloween special on The Hub, I was initially going to go on some kind of scary walk in Oxfordshire and make field recordings along the way. There are certainly […]
I was intrigued recently to note that at the same time that Love is Awesome was taking place, Grupat – a show featuring many installations and works relating to sound and objects – was running in Ireland. It is just my luck that an incredible, not-to-be-missed show was on at the same time as my […]
The mics-on light in the BBC Oxford Studio Today has been a productive day. It began with editing my feature and packing up my Art Object for an hour of recording at the BBC Oxford studios. On Sunday at 9 – 10pm, on 95.2fm in Oxford or anywhere online live, you will be able to […]
Who remembers Messy Tuesdays? This morning I have briefly enjoyed re-reading about the various messes that people have honoured and mentioned in the past, and posts about messy knitting needle-jars, bags of selvedge, unwashed dishes etc. have given me hope and made me feel that I am not alone in my struggle with STUFF. It […]
It is time to reveal the truth about the mystery blueness in the last post. You see Mark’s niece left some little mice here, last time she stayed with us. I found them all nesting under a pillow on our cornerseat: I quickly discovered that – being an adventurous bunch – they had ambitions to […]