Could the government pay salaries to musicians and artists - no strings attached like they do in Ireland?

New year, new stories to explore

Most of us had to get back to work this week, and that includes writers! I’m at the creative stage, ideas flowing, crazy ones or a bit more sensible, I’m making a huge amount of notes, …

All the books I read in 2025 – 56 in total – and what I thought of them.

2025: Plot Twists, Book Deals and Carrying the Heavy Bits...

Real life, as it turns out, has the audacity not to care about plot. I normally show up here with sparkle: punchlines, pink things and over-enthusiastic exclamation marks. But today’s post is different. Same author, same typing posture (slightly hunched), but fewer jazzy metaphors and more truth. The past few years have been a masterclass in emotional compression that I am, frankly, failing.

Let’s be honest: skincare is confusing, expensive and suspiciously reminiscent of homework. Every time you open Instagram, a 22-year-old tries to convince you you need snail mucus, caviar eye patches or a jade roller blessed by a Himalayan goat. Meanwhile, your own “routine” consists of whatever you found on special in Boots and, occasionally, baby wipes (we’ve all been there).

Store employee found masked bandit sleeping off a bender after invading booze store and tippling a tad too much

I’m always a little bit surprised when I meet a deadline. Not quite sure why, maybe it’s because a book seems such a huge thing to undertake, until, bit by bit, it’s done. I imagi…