Welcome…
This website is all about words, travel and music… portable arts that combine to make life a series inner and outer journeys - through a piece of music, a book, a film, a painting or by jumping on a train, catching a boat or flying to the other side of the globe…
Whatever route you choose, I am hoping that this site will inform, entertain and inspire you…
Here you will find interviews with artists as diverse as Soweto Kinch, Mercury Award winning jazz saxophonist; Clare Martin, top UK jazz singer; Acker Bilk of ‘Stranger on the Shore’ fame; Julian Bliss, clarinettist and international soloist; Michael Collins, clarinettist and international solo artist; Alan Barnes, top UK jazz sax player, to name just a few. Read music reviews that I have written in venues that range from London’s Wigmore Hall to the 606 Jazz Club in Chelsea, and beyond. In ‘Writer’s Tips’ you will find interviews with a huge cast of writers and literary agents – so whether you want to write a novel, pitch an idea to an editor, or write a Hollywood screenplay, this may be a good place to start…
The travel section is inspired by trips I have made in a professional or personal capacity – or even a happy combination of the two. In it you will find articles and ideas to get you packing your bags faster than you can say ‘Bon Voyage’…
Like dropping a pebble into a pond and waiting for the ripples…
Tips for Travellers
The journey begins the moment you step outside your front door…For
me travel has been a voyage of rediscovery, of following one’s
instincts and senses. I have relearned the pleasures of travelling
alone, with a friend, a lover and the joy of seeing the world
through another’s eyes....
Music Tips
Here
we travel beyond words to ‘tell the story,…’, the
magical way that music gives a voice to all human experience, from
the evils of slavery (the ‘field songs’ that became jazz)
to the grand passion of opera, love, loss, longing, redemption and
beyond…
Tips for Writers
The interview process is best approached with an open mind – a
journey that you lead the interviewee through to some resolution and
end point. I rarely plan an interview completely in advance – although
preparation beforehand is crucial