The week my kids have Oxbridge interviews, the legendary prof who took mine way back when - and immediately put me at ease - has died. John Carey was as generous as he was brilliant, supporting my own books years later (he chose Ben Jonson for Poems That Make Grown Men Cry). A kind, inspiring man.

Enjoyed stumbling across this 1996 takedown of ex-Prince Andrew from my old man, as featured in Andrew Lownie’s recent biography Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

Inspiring event hosted by Libraries Connected at amazing Manchester Central Library to mark 175 years of the Public Libraries Act. Great to hear Minister Baroness Twycross call libraries ‘the purest expression of democracy in action’. They remain our brightest beacons for true ‘national renewal’.

People Watching at the O2 with fantastic Sam Fender last night

Overwhelmed by the depth and power of my late mum Amanda’s translations, having seen three of her texts performed triumphantly by ENO during just these last two months… what a rich artistic legacy and how lucky am I to be able to listen to her work so beautifully performed?!

‘The goal in all life is simply contentment… the plea ‘It is only because I have wanted so much / That I have always been found wanting’ applies to most of the characters I have ever tried to bring to life.’
The late, great James Earl Jones in Poems That Make Grown Men Cry