To pants as a writer is to fly by the seat of your pants. That is, you’re allowing the characters to lead you rather than the other way around. A writer who does this exclusively is called a pantser. Then there are planners who meticulously map their whole novel from start to finish. A version …
In one form or the other I am writing most of the day but not usually the same book. Yes, I know that sounds a bit flaky but for years I have had at least two projects on the go. This began when I was having to make a living as a writer of drama …
A few weeks ago I went to La Rochelle in France to talk to five schools there, where I talked more about the genesis of the book itself than the history of suffrage, and compared the French journey towards suffrage with that of the UK. I was wracked with nerves before this one but the …
Eight talented musicians gave us a varied programme starting with a brand new composition from Paul Saggers, moving on to Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and finishing with Mendelssohn’s String Octet. The world premiere of Saggers’ Dear Nan is a musical depiction of the composer’s beloved grandmother’s journey through the different stages of dementia. The piece begins …
Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve just been a witness to something rather special? On Saturday evening I was overwhelmed by that sensation. The programme featured a Premiere performance of a piece by Christopher Churcher as winner of the Musica Viva Composition Competition and the Southbank Sinfonia which is made up of thirty-five …
A joyful evening with a warm intimate atmosphere, despite the large audience, was created last night by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra on tour. Different members of the orchestra stepped forward and told us about each piece, often with entertaining anecdotes and jokes. This all added to the fun and sense of celebration, fed by …
The newly vamped Hall for Cornwall with its emphasis on wood and granite – so much wood that the whole venue has a woody scent – has a lovely interior but is arguably better for drama than for concerts. The acoustics in the stalls where I sat were wonderful, though apparently not quite so good …
Plymouth University are lucky indeed to have the very talented Robert Taub as the Music Director of the University’s Arts Institute. He is not just a wonderful, expressive pianist who enters so deeply into the spirit of the music that each piece he renders becomes very much his own, but also an extremely knowledgeable man …
The Hellys International Guitar Festival is a yearly event [pandemics excluded] which takes place in Helston, Cornwall. Hellys is the old Cornish name for Helston. It is now attracting more international guitarists than ever with a wider spectrum of styles. This year alone, guitarists from Germany, Belgium, Australia, the US, Brazil, Poland and Italy, as …
Last night in the Tolmen Centre, Constantine, we were given a treat. A quartet of musicians attending the International Musicians Seminar [IMS] at Prussia Cove in West Cornwall came and played at the Centre as part of a short tour of West Cornwall venues. Founded by the Hungarian violinist Sandor Vegh, this is a big …