Apr 30, 2021Member-onlyCovid Against the MusicThe following is an excerpt from a feature I wrote for Pennyblackmusic about Covid’s devastating effect on the live music industry. You can read the full feature at Pennyblackmusic.co.uk “When COVID-19 mushroomed into a global pandemic, production work disappeared almost overnight. It is impossible to predict when it might return…Music6 min readMusic6 min read
Jan 2, 2021Member-onlyThe Best of Ravenna, in ValenciaCatch my latest post for SmartMouth, on one of Valencia’s fabulous, original Italian restaurants.Italian Restaurants1 min readItalian Restaurants1 min readPhoto: Cila WarnckeThe Best of Ravenna, in Valencia----
Oct 23, 2020Member-onlySexing Up Survival FoodMy first piece for the finger-lickin’ good SmartMouth newsletterFoodies1 min readFoodies1 min readSexing Up Survival Food----
Aug 9, 2020Member-onlyCovid-19 got your tongue?What’s left to say in our brave new world? There was a point, back in the distant mists of time (when we could walk barefaced in public, cluttering the air with our breath with the abandon of dinosaurs trampling twenty-foot ferns) when talking to other people made up a reasonable…Covid 195 min readCovid 195 min read
Jun 6, 2020Member-onlyJames Baldwin +Black Lives Matter#BlackLivesMatter The late literary genius and humanist nonpareil James Baldwin spoke for Black Lives Matter decades before the movement gained a name. And as a gay black man, born poor, he understood intersectionality in a profound sense. Baldwin’s gifts included the ability to study himself and report, however painful or unflattering…James Baldwin4 min readJames Baldwin4 min read
Apr 16, 2020Member-onlyA short quarantine reading listEven before a ton of ordure hit the propeller-style cooling device I’d only read three books this year. Three. Since the age of six or seven I’ve been capable of reading three average-length books a day. …Reading3 min readReading3 min read
Apr 11, 2020Member-onlyLove in ActionWhy courtesy counts for more than romance — Yesterday, after spending the preceding waking hours running in furious circles and generally comporting myself like a week’s worth of bad news, my friend called. We’d scheduled a video chat (the vomitous de rigueur of current social interaction) and, armed with a glass of cava, I sat down, propped my…Relationships4 min readRelationships4 min read
Apr 9, 2020Member-only28 Lockdown Days LaterSometime ago, in the hazy days when freedom still seemed like a possibility, however faint, I wrote a pile of rubbish. Writing rubbish isn’t an occupational hazard, it’s inevitable. Most writing is crap in the aesthetic/artistic sense: unrefined, hasty, careless, lacking finesse. …Mental Health Awareness4 min readMental Health Awareness4 min read
Mar 19, 2020Member-only10 Things to Do on Coronavirus LockdownNot allowed out of the house? Here’s 10 things you can do to make days better A week ago, life was normal — commuting, work, shopping, travel. My husband and I were planning a move and had a weekend trip booked for his upcoming birthday. I was looking forward an…Spain6 min readSpain6 min read
Mar 10, 2020Member-onlyPassing the DELE B1 — BaseLang ReviewA brief account of adventures in language learning. As a teacher, I constantly try to improve — to communicate more effectively and inform more thoroughly. There are two ways to approach this: perfect my existing knowledge or plunge into something unfamiliar. My druthers are always to do more of what…Education8 min readEducation8 min read
