September 3, 2017
I’m going to London and, standing on the platform, I feel glad that I don’t have to do it every day. Hardly anyone looks happy as we wait in the already strengthening summer sunshine. On the train people put bags on the seats next to them in a futile attempt to secure personal space before […]
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August 27, 2017
Ben tells me he needs “permission” for creativity because it’s indulgent. He says that it needs to have a purpose and he feels unable to create for its own sake. I feel immediately sad about what Ben is telling me. Growing up with a father who didn’t value art in any of its forms Ben […]
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August 18, 2017
Sitting with a client new in recovery from a gambling addiction which is threatening to ruin him he is telling me about a relapse which has, so far, netted him thirty thousand pounds. My cautioning against euphoria falls on deaf ears and, even though it feels to him like everything is finally coming good, his […]
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August 13, 2017
Songwriter Boo Hewerdine once told me a story about Richard Thompson and his approach to songwriting. Apparently he would write constantly, regardless of the quality of the work, just so that he was ready when inspiration came. He called it “keeping the shop open”. You never know when inspiration might walk through the door. My […]
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August 6, 2017
In “Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” Pirsig argues that “physical discomfort only matters when the mood is wrong”. He goes on, “Then you fasten on to whatever thing is uncomfortable and call that the cause. But if the mood is right, then physical discomfort doesn’t mean much”. It made me think. Putting together […]
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