LETTER OF RESIGNATION Dear Sir or Madam, I regret to inform you that I am unable to continue in my role as Responsible Adult, for a number of reasons. I feel that having given it my best shot over a period of approximately twenty years, I am now able to…

I’m sure I’m not the only one who became slightly obsessed with bread during lockdown. It seems to happen when something becomes harder to obtain. Along with the loo roll, bread disappeared from the shelves for a while in the early days back in March. I remember buying plain scones…

Today’s writing prompt: write about a time you broke a bone. I was twelve, it was the summer term of my first year at secondary school. ‘Upper third’, they called it — I suppose that tells you all you need to know. A ‘fun’ P.E. lesson with silly games and…

I have never knowingly broken a heart, Unless it was that of poor Ben; My ‘boyfriend’, so-called For a week or two When we were perhaps nine or ten. One playtime I stood in the ‘circle of truth’, A strange game some child had devised And under the pressure, Embarrassed perhaps, When asked about…

I’ve been trying to be colourblind, trying to ignore the thoughts which notice, identify my multicoloured surroundings, attempting to overlook the observations of the varied shades which punctuate the parity. I have shied away and stayed silent, preventing offence my justification; fear of discomfort my uneasy confession. But my eyes…

The current exhibition at Thought Foundation, Birtley, celebrates craft techniques in art; the intricacy of a hand-made surface and the use of traditionally domestic methods to address social and political issues. Processes such as knitting, stitching and knotting enable the artists to leave their mark in a very personal, tangible…

In the Hatton Gallery’s current exhibition, the works of two artists are displayed together to highlight the connections and indeed contrasts between their work. Built around a painting from the Hatton’s own collection, ‘Study for figure VI, 1956–7’ by Francis Bacon, the exhibition consists of several of the renowned painter’s…