With the NHS turning 75 – a milestone that has set the UK talking once again about the merits of this national institution – it’s as good a time as any to think about how the arts and healthcare overlap, and how they might overlap yet more. The NHS is struggling – still fighting backContinue reading “Health Check”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Moments That Matter
How many photographs do you take in a day, or a month, or a year? Today is National Camera Day. Now that so many people have phone cameras in their pockets or bags 24/7, photography has obviously soared – and this has an impact on how we experience the world around us. It might makeContinue reading “Moments That Matter”
Upbeat Downbeat
This week sees the longest day and midsummer, but also Make Music Day. This is a chance to do just that – to play around with sound and to make music, on your own or with others – but also to think more about music and its role in our lives, whether or not weContinue reading “Upbeat Downbeat”
Calming Calligraphy
Just like mindful sewing or colouring, calm calligraphy is growing as a wellbeing activity. When the printing press was invented centuries ago, people feared the end of handwriting and handwritten lettering like calligraphy. Now we are in the digital age, calligraphy really might have become a dying or lost art. But it is alive andContinue reading “Calming Calligraphy”
A Secret Garden
Thinking about how and why gardens can be so helpful for wellbeing, I lifted down from my bookshelf a little book of quotes, “The Joy of Gardening” edited by Eileen Campbell (Headline, 2009). Flicking through its pages, some common threads started to dstand out: gardening as a mindful and joyful activity, a way to experienceContinue reading “A Secret Garden”
Places Of Hope
How do you feel on entering a cathedral? You might feel awe, wonder, discovery or excitement. It might feel familiar or unfamiliar, welcoming or daunting. Some people going into a cathedral will have faith, some will have little or no faith, others will be wondering or seeking. Thinking how cathedrals might be places of wellbeing,Continue reading “Places Of Hope”
Release And Hope
What role does creativity have to play in a health crisis? This is the question posed by this year’s Creativity & Wellbeing Week, running from 15 to 21 May. So timely as creative health and the health crisis have grown in parallel over these last few years. It’s during these years that I’ve started outContinue reading “Release And Hope”
To Crown A King
With Coronation fever well underway, I started thinking about art, music and nature (the three elements that Medley focuses on) and what part they will play in the Coronation of King Charles III. Their importance in the Coronation highlights just how they help us enhance and enrich our lives and living. What role will artContinue reading “To Crown A King”
Dance The Night Away
What first springs to mind when you hear the word “dance”? The excitement of dancing to an irresistible beat? Embarrassing memories of showing yourself up on a dance floor? Or ballet lessons as a child? Or maybe you think more of films like Billy Elliot. Of the chorus line in musicals, or of the StrictlyContinue reading “Dance The Night Away”
Across The Globe
How will you mark World Art Day on 15 April? Perhaps by looking at a familiar painting you know and like, or maybe by discovering new styles and traditions. Perhaps by looking only, or maybe by getting out paints and pens yourself as well. Like so many of these special, named weeks and days whichContinue reading “Across The Globe”
Medley 