The thing about blogging

I follow a lot of bloggers on Twitter. It started with a couple of interesting people, then grew as a sort of attempt to dilute the larger world and its morbidity from my timeline. It might seem superficial to have more posts about photography and beauty products in my feed than world events, but I…

Why I love being a freelancer, and why that might end

I’ve written before about the perks of freelancing and self-employment, and even included some serious points aside from working in pyjamas, but things have changed for me in the last year or so, and I felt like it was a good time to re-evaluate. I’m about to mark my third anniversary of being a freelance…

Hull isn’t cool, and that’s OK

“What discount can I get on that then?” “Nothing until you admit Hull is cool!” This was the embarrassing exchange my ears witnessed today. It followed a fairly lengthy debate between a sales assistant in a city centre jeweller and a guy from Denmark, who was fairly adamant in his opinion that the sight that…

I am weak and that’s okay.

This is a guest post by Gary Barratt that I wanted to share for Mental Health Awareness Day. Because sometimes telling others that they're stronger than they think just isn't quite right, and also because he's written about it better than I ever could. You can find his blog at http://www.medium.com/@gsbarratt I have depression. That’s…

Review: State of Play, Humber St Gallery

Nobody ever won any awards for playing, or did they? Chess players win tournaments, football teams win trophies, and World of Warcraft gamers win the respect of those around them. Strip away the rules and formality and what you’re left with is free, organic play. Fun. Nestled among the world’s greatest thinkers, are arguably the…

A weekend of culture, finally

Shamefully, it is already September in 2017, which means eight whole months have passed since Hull began its City of Culture status and I’d been to only a handful of exhibitions. Thanks to having a tiny person at home, making out of the house at night is near impossible, and making it out anywhere during…

The £100 challenge – an easy way to fund your summer days out

I’ve done a bit of reading about frugality lately – I’m enjoying the topic of living simply, within my means and not spending unnecessarily. As a freelancer I’m always fairly aware of my bank balance. What’s coming in one month could be gone the next and I need to plan for the worst financial scenario…

Sea of Hull and Ron Mueck – a review

Coming out of the baby change, tucked away in the back of Ferens Art Gallery last week, I noticed the nearest gallery door was blacked out and featured a warning of nudity. Having come to see Spencer Tunick’s Sea of Hull exhibition, I assumed I was in the right place and pushed it open. What…

Travelling with a baby – why it’s fine and you should do it

Last week was a really important week for me. We took Maddie on holiday for the first time to Berlin. It was important for a few reasons. One, because it was pretty much the same type of holiday we would have booked before having a baby, and I wanted to see how she fit into…

My PR story

I haven't always worked in PR, but it feels like I've always been coming back to it. When I think back to how I started off on this path, I have to put it down to my primary school best friend. We'd known each other since reception class, and when I had a gap in…