Film Reviews: The Great Beauty / The Act of Killing
Stuck for Sunday entertainment? These two films – one documentary, one fictional – are perfect for curling up on the sofa and losing yourself. But perhaps best watched once the kids are in bed. The...
View ArticleMy Early Hour: Rob Auton, Poet and Performer
Poet and comedian Rob Auton has performed at Glastonbury Festival, Soho Theatre (last month) – and he won Funniest Joke at Edinburgh Festival in 2013. We talk mornings, criticism, his latest show – The...
View ArticleMari Wilson: The Neasden Queen of Soul
She had a UK Top 10 hit, spent the 80s touring the world with her 12-piece band The Wilsations and later took the lead in Dusty the Musical. Mari Wilson is currently on tour but took time out to talk...
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Hollie McNish on poetry and motherhood
Millions of YouTube hits, a new poetry book about parenthood set for publication and a breastfeeding poem soon to be aired on Channel 4. It’s Hollie McNish – on motherhood, feminism and the power of...
View ArticleHélène Druvert: the life of a Parisian artist
Children’s book illustrator Hélène Druvert discusses her nomadic existence between the city and the ocean, drawing, driving a Vespa around Paris and thinking Parisians should smile more… Did you know...
View ArticleWhy I dislike the term person of colour (POC)
“People are uncomfortable with outright saying ‘black’ and using racial descriptors, which is a bit frustrating because we are who we are, and it shouldn’t be awkward to call someone tall, short,...
View ArticleThe Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley
After a traumatic schooling experience; being racially bullied, Anoushka Beazley left school with two GCSEs. She tells us how this inspired her debut novel The Good Enough Mother, which is now stocked...
View ArticleThe life of Laura Dockrill: writer, drawer, talker
Brixton-born Laura Dockrill – children’s author, poet, songwriter, scriptwriter – says her dreams are “to make sure potatoes always exist because they are sensational.” Read on for more of her...
View ArticleUp in the Morning Early by Robert Burns
How have your mornings been during the festive period? Have you been rising early or snuggling up and hoping for a lie-in? Here are some thoughts on early mornings from Robert Burns in his poem Up in...
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Bento Monsters: the best packed lunch in the world?
When Ming blogged pictures of the bento boxes she was making to help her son settle at school, they went viral. She tells us about starting her blog – Bento Monsters – creating cartoon character...
View ArticleLine Severinsen on the frustrations of motherhood
When pregnant, Line Severinsen – like many women – received unwelcome attention from strangers. To cope, she turned their comments into hilarious illustrations. Here she talks art, kids and trying to...
View ArticleAuthor Marcy Dermansky on being a writer and single mum
What’s it like to raise a seven-year-old daughter singlehandedly while writing and editing novels? We talk to Marcy Dermansky, author of critically acclaimed The Red Car, about writing, motherhood and...
View ArticleThe best three podcasts you’ll ever hear
It’s a bit like a story tape – lulling, engaging – but you can listen on your phone, making podcasts the ideal early morning companion. Robert Knight talks us through his top three… (This was...
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Life through a lens: Jenny Lewis, photographer
“My first rolls of film were shot when I was 17 – so before university – volunteering in a Romanian orphanage. Their raw honesty still make it hard for me to look at them.” Photographer Jenny Lewis on...
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Daddy Style: a white shirt, styled three ways
Daisy Horswill was menswear senior stylist at asos for seven years and is now freelancing for various menswear retailers. She shares tips for how to wear a casual white shirt three ways, daddy style…...
View ArticlePoem: Raising a boy, as a feminist
On the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the editor Annie Ridout was in hospital having just given birth to a baby boy. Here, she reflects on what it means to be raising a boy in 2017… I couldn’t...
View ArticleBrigid McConville: Tales of new fatherhood
Brigid McConville is director of The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood UK and an award-winning writer. Here, she shares stories from her book On Becoming a Mother about the father’s role in...
View ArticleEarly Learning: LGBT Books for Kids
He takes traditional fairytales and introduces homosexual, transgender and racially diverse characters, as well as wheelchair users. We meet Olly Pike to talk early mornings, equality and LGBT books...
View ArticleEarly Music: Rosalind Plowright, opera singer
Internationally acclaimed opera singer Rosalind Plowright was on Desert Island Discs in 1984. Over thirty years later, the mother-of-two is still performing. Here, she discusses childhood music and...
View ArticleThe Museum of London Docklands’ Toddler takeover
If you’re looking for a fun, creative weekend with your family, head to the Museum of London Docklands on 20 & 21 May for their Toddler takeover family festival. Jungle sensory, storytelling and...
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