In twenty-five years as a journalist, I have been lucky enough to write for many of the top titles. Here are some examples of my work – I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. 

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I love music and culture, and have interviewed many inspiring people including David Lynch, this interview with Damon Albarn, the folkstar Anais Mitchell (co-creator of the West End hit 'Hadestown'), author Sara Barnard, and classical composer Sally Beamish. I also loved chatting to the comedian Pope Lonergan, broadcaster Tom Shakespeare, and writer Lucy Anne Holmes, who founded the No More Page 3 campaign in 2012. .

 

My work has appeared regularly in The Guardian, including this article about positive psychology exercises proven to help boost people’s wellbeing (dubbed 'the happiness workout’). I have also asked whether we are growing angrier as a nation and what strategies people can take if they think their anger is getting out of control. Other subjects include how we benefit from knowing our family history, the hidden prejudices of accentism, my great grandmother’s piano, and the impact of secondhand homes on seaside towns, as well as passing on my surname to my children. I have also had many features in The Independent, exploring issues such as co-sleeping, kissing and children’s meditation.

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Passionate about tackling the climate emergency, I have written extensively about sustainability, interviewing co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer; co-founders of Extinction Rebellion, Ian Bray and Simon Bramwel; and ecological philosopher Rupert Read, who founded the Climate Majority Project. 

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Food is also a passion of mine and I have written widely for The Guardian‘s food section where I cover tasty topics such as edible cocktails, the demise of legendary Soho eatery The Stockpot, gourmet doughnuts, temperance drinks, kids characters in food and the return of larders (the cupboards, not the cars). I’ve also asked Can food make you angry? Is there a frog in your spinach? Are gentlemen too butch for cake? To peel or not to peel? and other pressing food-related questions.

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I also write about wellbeing and in this Natural Health magazine article describe my experience of ecotherapy and the revitalising power of nature, while here in The Guardian I explore way of coping with the damaging effects of unwanted noise. I’ve also contributed regularly to Red magazine over the years, exploring subjects such as the health benefits of darkness and how sitting too much is risking our health.

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One of the perks of my job is I get to try out some pretty quirky therapies, and I certainly have sampled a fair few in my time, from ecotherapy and ‘hot yoga’ to future life progression and kinesiology. It’s definitely given me a sense of what works - and doesn’t work - and in this article for The Independent I put my relationship through its paces by attending a  bibliotherapy session – to interesting results.

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I’m pretty big on healthy eating too, and have written a lot about nutrition over the years. This one in The Guardian discusses how we can eat ourselves fit by choosing the right foods to boost our workouts while here in The Independent I ask whether wannabe-gourmets can learn to refine our palates and taste food in the same way as a top Michelin-starred chef.

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As a mother of three, I know what a challenge it can be to encourage our kids to eat healthy food, but hopefully this article I wrote for Psychologies magazine offers some useful tips. 

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And can desserts ever be good for us? Here in The Independent I attempt to find out. 

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As a long-term meditator, writing about meditation is always close to my heart. This Psychologies article  about standing meditation offers an unusual spin on the subject, and questions our sometimes self-defeating tendency towards ever-frenetic busyness, while here I explore how living with our senses fully switched on can also promote our wellbeing.

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Workplace stress is something many of us have struggled with – myself included – and this column is one of a series I wrote for the journalism trade magazine Press Gazette about dealing with the pressures of the job.  Meanwhile, here I talk about the difficulties some journalists face when covering violent or distressing events.

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Finally, here’s an extract from my book The Virgin Guide to Volunteering, published by Virgin Books (now Random House).

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