other people’s stories

On time, memory, and what it means to tell someone else’s story.

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Dizzy’s Business

Good morning! I’m here with a rather different kind of diversion today. If you’ve read Handywoman, you’ll know what a huge influence my creative dad has been on me. Dad grew up in Prestwich, and after teaching himself to play alto and tenor saxophone as a teenager, worked as a bebop musician in 1960s Manchester,…

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forty things

Yesterday an ancient wooden trunk turned up at my house. This was what I found inside. Now, you may (or may not) remember that I turned forty a wee while ago. At the time I told my family and friends not to get me anything: I am not one for birthdays, plus at that time…

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my handmade childhood

Various things have been prompting me to think a lot recently about the role that sewing and knitting and other handmade things can play in the shape of ones life. Like many crafty folk in the UK, I enjoyed watching the Great British Sewing Bee. Unlike so many of these competitive TV formats, this programme…

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