For those that don't know me, here are the key things you need to know in a digestible nutshell. My British mum met my French dad while she was studying in France, she fell in love, got married and had me. She soon realised my father was a monster and had the courage, when I was … Continue reading Citizen of Nowhere
My Random Life
The black dog and a ginger cat
It is hard to believe that it has been over 8 years since I was diagnosed with the toxic cocktail of severe depression and anxiety. An oxymoron of an illness that leaves you caring too much and too little at the same time. In those first dark days it was hard to believe I could pull … Continue reading The black dog and a ginger cat
Recession of the Imagination
My latest blog post 'Diversity and Creativity' reminded me of a short story I wrote in June 2015 following the Anti-Austerity march. As it currently lives on a defunct blog site I thought I'd take the opportunity to give it new life in here, as it remains as relevant as ever. For the Anti-Austerity march I was part … Continue reading Recession of the Imagination
Diversity and creativity
Diversity, and broader accessibility to opportunities, have always been subjects close to my heart. If I had one wish for humanity, it would be that we could construct a world that allows all people to live their best possible lives. There is this very dangerous assumption, by many in a position of privilege, that offering "equal opportunities" … Continue reading Diversity and creativity
Professional identity crisis
In April 2016 I quit a great job to go self employed, and free up more time for my writing. The hardest thing with this transition has been trying to explain what I do in social situations. Let's face it "what do you do?", or variations thereof, is one of the first questions you're asked when … Continue reading Professional identity crisis
Bamboozled
Have you noticed that different professions have their own languages? Technically they might be speaking something approximating English, but their communications are so littered with jargon, if you are one of the uninitiated you may well struggle to understand what on earth is going on. The advertising world is one such profession. We love our … Continue reading Bamboozled
Appraisal Dread
I know I'm not the only person who has experienced dread before their work appraisal. I used to think I was, but once I started being open about my feelings I discovered very quickly that appraisal dread is a disturbingly wide-spread thing. The problem is that people don't talk about it, it's one of those … Continue reading Appraisal Dread
Escaping the writing cage
There is nothing like writing a novel to make me feel caged as a writer, the tyranny of a project that feels both never-ending and solitary. At one point in my novel writing journey I stopped writing altogether. Why? There are several possible reasons I could give, including my struggles with depression, or a more generic loss … Continue reading Escaping the writing cage
My first 9 months as a freelancer
In April of 2016 I took the plunge and decided to go freelance. There were several reasons for this: I'd been working on a novel for years but kept being distracted by the pressures of an intense day job, so the whole process was starting to feel like a frustrating game of snakes and ladders, … Continue reading My first 9 months as a freelancer
View From The Outside 