Well-being hubs and community initiatives abound. Research constantly proves that feeling connected and spending time with other people are overwhelmingly positive for well-being and for overall health. But so many well-being hubs and community centres can be found only in towns and cities. Is rural isolation still falling through the gaps? Are villages being left behind? And this leads on to another question. Which isContinue reading “Out In The Sticks”
Category Archives: Music, Art, Nature, Wellbeing
In Performance
A group of women wearing flowing red from head to toe stand and strike dramatic poses in a silent tableau. Or they form a procession. Every change of facial expression can be clearly seen as they wear mask-like white foundation make-up. In their headdresses, long robes, gloves and shoes, all scarlet red, they are anContinue reading “In Performance”
Make A Mark
In its essence, art is all about the moment the pencil, pen or brush makes contact with the paper or canvas, and what happens there. Paul Klee famously compared art to taking a line for a walk. Is that what matters most? Is it art’s main purpose, creating any line at all (or pattern orContinue reading “Make A Mark”
Each And Every
As someone who draws or paints most days and works as a visual art for wellbeing practitioner, I would never have thought that writing would suddenly prove more helpful than visual art as an expressive outlet. But this is what I’ve found as I endure bereavement, as I explored recently (https://medley.live/2026/01/22/lost-for-words) Now I’m reflecting onContinue reading “Each And Every”
Becoming
Gone are the days when children were supposed to be “seen and not heard”. But there are still many expectations and assumptions about childhood. Very different ones now. Children are supposed to be cheeky, playful, fun-loving, even naughty. Quieter, more unsure, polite or serious children are thought to have issues. There are also many uncertaintiesContinue reading “Becoming”
Down Memory Lane
Memory – a word that packs a powerful punch. Nostalgic, bittersweet, or simply happy and unclouded, or painful, or dark, or everyday, or even drifting out of your grasp. Memory can desert us after all. Memory can become as fragile as a dandelion “clock” – one gust of wind and the seeds float away andContinue reading “Down Memory Lane”
Slow Looking
How long would you spend looking at a painting on an art gallery wall? Or in a book, or online? Recent research found that the average person spends just a few seconds. Is that enough? Is it more important to see as many different paintings as possible, or to dwell on one or two? There’sContinue reading “Slow Looking”
The Magic Of Music
Just one year, 1935, produced two of the most legendary musical superstars of all time. Elvis Presley was born in January 1935 and Luciano Pavarotti that October. One burst on to the music scene and shook it all up, the other brought new life to the classics. I don’t play music or sing, and IContinue reading “The Magic Of Music”
Express Yourself
What do the words “comic book” or “graphic novel” conjure up for you? Do they awaken nostalgic memories of comic strips you enjoyed as a child, or do you read them here and now? Maybe you are contributing to the recent boom in comic books and graphic novels. All the time they’re becoming more variedContinue reading “Express Yourself”
A Past That Endures
Creativity, art, music, might feel a world away from the very brutal realities of war: mud, death, rubble, bomb craters. 80 years on from VE Day, which saw many countries emerge from World War Two, this week has seen crowds gather once more to commemorate and to celebrate. Those six long years of war areContinue reading “A Past That Endures”
Medley 