MY WORK

Lying on my back, floating, eyes closed, letting the whiskey coloured water engulf my cold, ruddy skin. Everything feels like silk. It feels like nothing else in the world. It feels like it could heal wounds, hearts, minds. It feels safe.

         Above, the sky turns smoked salmon as the sun makes its way down, behind the ben and the ducks make their way across the Loch to roost. I am thinking I should do the same, return to where I know Mum is waiting with hot chocolate with a dash of Black Bottle and warm towels. But I’m not ready to return, because, unlike the ducks, I am aware of the world beyond the Loch. I am aware of hospice visits and chemo and wet eyes. I am aware that after I roost tonight my world may have changed. Simply returning to a place will not make it the same as yesterday. So I stay. With my ears submerged and my eyes tracking the clouds, it is just me. No thoughts, just me and the silk.

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If you want a fresh look at what it means to be Scottish, you could do worse than ask a Cornishwoman. Her writing is never less than poetic, with water serving as the metaphor. And it runs deep.

Lizzie Flynn, The Herald, Glasgow

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I love it! Very impressed by its fluency and charm. She has great talent.
Philip Marsden, author of Rising Ground

So impressed. Brilliant. She has a beautifully clear narrative gift which makes it a pleasure to read.

Mike Sagar-Fenton, The Cornishman

She can really write. There’s a natural gift at the heart of it. It’s such a thoughtful and clever piece of reflective writing and very readable.
Des Hannigan, St Ives Times & Echo

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I love the way the poems are interspersed with the ancestors and memory. Many beautiful lines in this beautiful book.

Anna Murphy, Kneehigh Theatre

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A woman walks into a coffee shop, buys a pint and finds a wall to lean against. Sounds like the setup to a terrible joke, right? Instead, it was how I, and around 100 other fellow hip hop fans, kicked off the first May bank holiday weekend.

While other cafes around the city had closed up shop for the day, Stokes Crofts' Boston Tea Party was undergoing quite the transformation.

Once the stomping ground of those who brunch, the small eatery was now filled with a youthful crowd eager to hear Bristol's up-and-coming hip hop artists.

Hosted by Hip Hop Coffee Shop (HHCS), founded in 2018 by Luke Guest, Ian Avery and Rachel Wiltshire and later joined by James Kennaby, the night kicked off with Illusionist playing his very first DJ set to a small but grateful crowd.

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New alcohol restrictions came into play this week for British tourists visiting Ibiza, an extension of a law that's been affecting visitors to the Balearic Islands since January 2020.

After many tourists found themselves restricted to just six drinks a day on their all-inclusive holiday, we've looked into why this law came into place and how much it will affect traveller's holidays.

In a bid to shake the party stereotype, the Balearic Islands government approved a decree law in early 2020 to combat alcohol overuse and create a more wholesome reputation for its destinations. The aim is to set the archipelago as a pioneer destination in combating excesses and create a more sustainable and respectful tourism model.

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There’s something well exhilarating about standing on a bridge as five hundred tons of metal and, like, a thousand people speed beneath me. I’m just stood, still and alone and there they are, all together at 125mph. I always think of the movies, like an Indiana-Jones-cum-James-Bond fight scene. I imagine myself stood up there, wonder what it’d be like to leap onto the train, just like those heroes, and run across the carriages, lying down just in time to not be smashed by an upcoming bridge. Or what it’d be like to leap. Just leap. Is it just me that thinks that every time I’m on a bridge? Me who wants to feel the wind through my scalp, adrenalin through my veins?

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TRAIN-TRACKS was a collaborative art installation that collated visual art, music, dance, theatre, writing and more, all inspired by one short story written by Jessie Parker. 

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WATCH VIDEO

People across the country are looking for ways to tighten the purse strings and save a bit of cash, but that doesn't mean you need to miss out on those memorable moments with your friends.

Whether you are a brunch pro or just starting out, we've got the perfect alternative to a pricey outing with the girls.

And anyway, who says staying in can’t be just as glam? With delicious cocktails and sumptuous puddings, you'll be living your best life in the comfort of your own home, plus there's no long queues at the taxi rank in heels!

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Soap & Glory has launched a new hand cream, the Real Zing 2-in-1 Hand Sanitising Balm, and, being a fan of the brand, I just had to try it.

The two-in-one hand sanitising balm sounds like a great idea, especially following the endless hand sanitiser use, that came during lockdown. Using that much sanitiser is bound to leave skin dry, and a product that both kills germs and moisturisers could be just what we need.

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A male friend of mine recently told me: “Stop saying sorry, it doesn’t suit you”, and it got me thinking. This is a trait that many women have and are often criticised for. So, why do we throw around the word when there’s nothing to be sorry for?

Are we sorry for taking up too much space? Sorry for having an opinion? Sorry for speaking our minds? I’m not sure, but I do know that throughout my adult life, I’ve been told to be more assertive and use the language of my male peers if I want to be successful.

But why do we teach women this? If women collectively stopped saying sorry for things that don’t justify the word and stopped using phrases that soften the meaning, would the gender pay gap magically close?

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Do you have a great idea for a business but have no idea where to start? That's exactly the situation this Camel Trail-based businesswoman found herself in in 2021. 
Laura Wilton, founder of TRI-Cycle, came up with a business idea after being diagnosed with SPG5a. The progressive condition affects the lower half of the body, weakening muscles and causing stiffness. Over time, it is likely that Laura will need a wheelchair to get around, but the difficulty walking isn't going to stop her from being active.

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When I was around 10, I learned about something called a period. Sat in my primary school classroom, my teacher explained what would happen to my body as I progressed through puberty and into womanhood.

The brief lesson, with boys absent, left me perplexed: “One day, I would start bleeding and it would never stop?” Admittedly, the name ‘period’ should have given it away but this misled thought begs the question: why is a topic that affects half of our population so little talked about and why are women and girls left to navigate this painful, bloody, and incredibly normal bodily function by themselves?

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When I was offered the chance to see the Plymouth City Patriots play I thought: "Why not? It's something different to do on a Friday night." But, if I'm honest, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it and whether I'd want to go again as I'm not usually a sports fan.

I'm not someone who keeps up with any live sports, or even really plays any for that matter, so the whole idea of watching a match seemed a pretty foreign concept and something I'd never really considered doing before.

But just minutes after taking my seat, I realised it was going to be an entertaining evening for multiple reasons.

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Ever wondered what your soulmate looks like? No, me neither. But in the spirit of stepping out of my comfort zone, I decided to step into the world of the paranormal.

Now, for someone who has no religion or sense of ‘fate’, I found this quite an uncomfortable notion.

With some (brief) research I came across MysticPsychicAva - an Etsy seller offering drawings, readings, spells and more.

After closing the tab multiple times, I hesitantly entered my name and birth date, then clicked 'buy'. Apparently that's all the info needed for an accurate reading.

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As someone with very dark hair, it's often hard to find a dry shampoo that doesn't leave your hair looking dull, white or as if you have dandruff. I've tried various brands that supposedly cater for darker hair but I've always been left disappointed and the tint has never quite matched my roots.

While I tend to go for the cheaper range, opting to apply before bed to avoid any white-cast, I decided to try something from the next bracket up, which has been made with dark hair in mind: Moroccanoil dry shampoo, dark tones.

Priced at £14.68, the can looks and feels like any other dry shampoo, but the spray itself was powerful. Instead of using the product in my night-time routine, I decided to apply it first thing to see if it was something I could wear day-to-day.

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