THIS week I was proud to support a charity event for three very special little boys. Technically, I was a sponsor, having created a seating plan for the Hat-trick! dinner free-of-charge. But all I did was offer to help a former newsroom colleague, who did a tremendous job of pulling the whole thing together single-handedly. I also had a…

I love finding calligraphy in unusual places. Since setting up Creative Calligraphy, I’ve definitely found myself taking more notice of writing styles on anything and everything, from billboards to tattoos! Fortunately, the museums and other visitor attractions of the north east have provided a wealth of calligraphy examples to delight and inspire me. During a visit to…

What have the Romans ever given us? It’s an oft-quoted line from Monty Python’s Life of Brian that provokes quite a list of benefits, from medicine and education to wine and public baths. They also gave us the Latin alphabet – and western calligraphy is instantly recognisable by the use of Latin script. The Latin…

Another fascinating example of medieval calligraphy has gone on display in South Tyneside. Bede’s World in Jarrow is currently home to the only surviving full-scale replica of the Codex Amiatinus – and now South Shields Museum & Art Gallery is playing host to the oldest of the four surviving copies of the Boldon Book. Both manuscripts are in…

Bede’s World in Jarrow is currently exhibiting the only existing copy of the Codex Amiatinus. When I first laid eyes on the full-scale replica of Bede’s Great Bible, it was still packed in boxes on a pallet in the museum’s reception, fresh from its flight from Italy. To see it on display, in all its…

Starting a new business is like having another child. So, just like I did with my son James, four, and daughter Sophie, two, I’ve been taking my new ‘baby’ along to some groups to meet other ‘parents’. Having written about The Inspire Network during my time as a journalist, one of the first people I…