Working in My Sleep
In the beginning, I had no idea what it was I was doing. I would lie in bed, going over and over everything that I was convinced I didn't know. I agonised over scales, guitar parts and techniques,...
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I Visited Ghana to See How Red Nose Day Cash is Changing Lives And Building...
When Cynthia invited me to help prepare lunch at her home in the rural village of Dwabor in Ghana I was so excited. Winning Celebrity MasterChef has really ignited my passion for food and I didn't...
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Six Burning Questions From the Star Wars Trailer
The first proper trailer for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens came out last night. You might have heard about it. This 'debut', as it was billed when it premiered on ESPN at 3am last night,...
View ArticleCometh the Hour, Cometh the Man. Why Strictly and the X Factor May Already...
The behemoths of weekend TV entertainment suddenly have more in common than their bitter rivalry to win the ratings war. In du Beke and Stephens respectively, Strictly (BBC1) and the X Factor (ITV1)...
View ArticleIs This China's Bravest Writer?
Murong Xuecun, nom de plume of Chinese writer Hao Qun, isn't afraid of controversy. Following the arrest of several friends who were commemorating 25 years since the Tiananmen Square crackdown, at...
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Star Trek Moments That Left the Fans Wanting More Space Adventures
Star Trek is a phenomenon. One of the greatest TV shows and movie franchises and the brain child of Gene Roddenberry follows a team of intrepid explorers across the galaxy seeking out new worlds and...
View ArticleThis Year's Mercury Prize Nominations Reflects the Changing Dynamics of the...
Every year, the much awaited Mercury Prize nominations stimulate a passionate debate which usually centres around alternative lists of the albums that various music journalists think should be...
View ArticleTop 10 Halloween Movies for Wusses
It's almost that time of year for vandalising pumpkins! Halloween is fast-approaching. But if abusing defenceless fruit isn't your thing, then watching horror movies is traditionally the best...
View ArticlePoetry And Mental Health - The Great Escape
It was sixth form when I first developed a passion (rather obsession) for poetry. I had always dabbled in my own poems, winning title of 'Bard' at primary school in Wales, but had never been encouraged...
View ArticleWhy I Cried for Domestic Abuse Survivors and Why You Should Be Crying Too
I recently visited a woman's refuge centre in the North West to record a segment for the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Programme. What I witnessed and the people I talked to tore me apart. It filled me...
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Ten Reasons We Need a Feminist Macbeth in the 21st Century
Macbeth is up there with Shakespeare's complex alpha males: ambitious, ruthless, dangerous. So it may seem surprising that director Justin Kurzel puts women and children at the centre of the action in...
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Is Hip Hop And Its Fashion Dangerous? Influenced The World? 'Fresh Dressed'...
Fresh Dressed is the fascinating movie chronicle of hip-hop, urban fashion, and the hustle that brought oversized pants and graffiti-drenched jackets from the New York discount markets to high...
View Article'Beasts of No Nation' Shines a Light on the Brutal Reality of Child Soldiers
On Wednesday I watched Beasts of No Nation, the visceral, immersive and harrowing story of Agu a child soldier. The film, released on Friday on Netflix, is unapologetic in its brutality and realism and...
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You Are My Tribe
So after my little trip to Burning Man, New Zealand and Cape Town I've come back to London. Don't worry - I'm whipping myself with guilt how lucky I am to have gotten that kind of gig. I worked in two...
View ArticleIs Electronic Dance Music Inherently Sexist?
Women are under-represented in lots of professions, but music and the arts are generally thought to be areas where there is at least a modicum of equality. In rock music, for instance, the battles have...
View ArticleThe Apprentice - Episode Three
The episode kicked off with a video message from the Great Leader, who had been kept away on urgent business (apparently). "Arm sorry ar carnt be wiv you," intoned Siralanlordsugar to the 16 remaining...
View ArticleThe House On Cold Hill - Peter James' First Full-Length Ghost Story in 20 years
Page 5 of Peter James' latest ghost-ridden thriller, The House on Cold Hill, ends with a terrific and completely unexpected shock - but it's just the beginning of a horror-go-round ("merry" doesn't...
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New Exhibition on Julia Margaret Cameron - A Photography Pioneer
Julia Margaret Cameron is an inspiring figure. This is a woman who picked up a camera for the first time when she was 48 years old and yet, in her short 15 year career, became a pioneer in...
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'The Long Siesta' by Nick Sweet, a Review
Photograph by Grey Cells Press Regular readers of my HP blog posts will already know the location of my favourite Spanish city. For the benefit of any new, or indeed irregular, readers, allow me to...
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How I Plan To Stay 'Fresh Dressed' This Weekend
Ever bought (or in my case, made) an outfit with no place to wear it to? Sometimes a nightclub or bar is not open long enough for you to really show off your apparel. Well this weekend from Saturday...
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