I started a new creative practice this year, called ‘Notes to Self’. The idea is to capture everyday moments in my life through photos and write a small piece of advice or wisdom underneath each one. I was lucky enough to get a Kodak Memoshot camera for Christmas, which has a built in thermal printer. This creates a really unique black and white look for each image, and the best part is that you can pair it with your phone, meaning you don’t even need to carry the camera around with you. I’ve been learning lots about what works and doesn’t work in black and white, and I’m also really enjoying reflecting on lessons I’ve learned recently and wisdom I need to remind myself of. Here are some of my favourites so far…
A talk I gave at Oasis Church Bath on reimagining/revisiting the ancient bible story of ‘David and Goliath’. This story is often misinterpreted and doesn’t mean what we think it does – let’s just say maybe we’ve got the identity of the underdog wrong. If you’re into Balearic slingers, singing resistance, creative activism, defeating ICE agents and finding a third way, you’ll enjoy this talk!
I always enjoy engaging with churches who are seeking to be more inclusive and affirming in relation to the LGBTQ+ community. Severn Church in Bristol (formerly Severn Vineyard) have made some courageous steps in seeking to ensure their church is a safe and affirming space, and as someone who was previously excluded from any form of leadership or meaningful participation in a Vineyard church due to my sexuality, it’s been a particular joy to watch their journey unfold! I recently visited the church on a Sunday to share my story and encourage the church as they continue to move towards inclusion and love.
Here’s what I originally wrote on Facebook to accompany the above image: “Well I’ll be honest people – speaking at a Vineyard church was definitely not on my 2025 bingo card. But you know what? Things change, people change, churches change, and sometimes that change is a courageous move towards goodness, inclusion and love. Posting this for the heartbroken younger version of me who was told they couldn’t lead, couldn’t speak or preach in a church because they were gay. Just look at us now kid.”
I recently had the privilege of being selected to attend the Raise the Bar Emerging Writers retreat at the beautiful Barley Wood House in North Somerset. The retreat was facilitated by poets Rachel Long and Nikita Gill (who is one of my heroes!) who delivered one to one feedback sessions with each poet as well as incredible group writing workshops. We also heard one another perform through an open mic evening, and we had plenty of time to get to know each other, write and enjoy the grounds.
It was also brilliant to have Raise the Bar team members offering their own workshops and I particularly enjoyed Kat Lyons’ skills workshop, which really helped me identify my goals as a poet, and develop confidence in my voice and things I want to say.
In Nikita’s workshop she asked us to really think about what kind of work we wanted to make, what we wanted our poetry to do. I wrote that I wanted my poetry to “tell the truth about how shit things can be, while leaving the reader/listener with an unshakable feeling of hope that they won’t stay that way”.
As we shared our thoughts in the debrief session my word of the weekend was ‘seeds’. I felt I had been given so many seeds, so many beginnings of things. New dreams, poems, ideas, possibilities and potential. Now its time to water them and watch them grow!
A huge thank you to everyone at Raise the Bar for such an incredible opportunity, and to Rachel Long and Nikita Gill for being such brilliant facilitators. This was a weekend I will remember forever.
As part of my role for Oasis Bath as Community Director, I work a few hours a week for the wider group of Oasis Churches, primarily supporting Oasis Church Reading and also by engaging with groups and churches who are either interested in starting an Oasis Church, or becoming one if they’re already a church.
Growing up in Nottingham, I was very excited to hear from a group there who were asking questions about what church could look like in their city, keen to reimagine what church could be and build links with us having been inspired by the Oasis approach. To gage interest and gather others who are asking the same questions, they held an event in the city centre of Nottingham that I was honoured to attend and speak at. Nath Jones, Senior Minister of Oasis Church Waterloo, and I spoke on the Oasis Church four distinctives, which are the four things that we believe, when combined, make Oasis churches unique. They are…full inclusion, an open progressive theology, an informal church service style and a commitment to social justice. The event was absolutely packed out, and it was so encouraging to see so many people (in my home city!) asking these big questions and wrestling with what the church should and could be.
Nath and I spoke on each of the four distinctives, with me speaking on an open progressive theology and an informal church service style. You can listen to those short talks below.
Since the event the Church Reimagined team are continuing to gather regularly, digging deeper into what the distinctives might mean for them. If you’re in or near to the area and interested in being part of the conversation you can find out more by visiting their website at https://reimaginechurch.uk/
I was very excited to see this book out in the wild as I browsed the bookshops of Bath recently! Chimes is a brilliant monthly poetry event that runs in the back bar at The Bell on Walcot Street in Bath. Lots of incredible poets headline and there is always the opportunity to sign up for an open mic slot. It’s a wonderful mix of people and I love that it provides a supportive and encouraging environment for new poets, as well as an established platform for more experienced poets to perform.
It was the first ever place I drummed up the courage to perform one of my poems, so I’m really pleased to have recently joined the team, and to have a poem in their recently published anthology which is pictured below. You can buy a copy at Chimes events, from Mr B’s Bookshop in Bath and in store and online at Magalleria. Follow Chimes on Instagram here.
Three of my poems were featured in the 2025 Fringe Arts Bath festival, which consisted of several exhibitions spread over venues in the city centre of Bath between 23rd May and 7th of June. Fringe Arts Bath describe themselves as “Bath Fringe Festival’s cheeky little sister”, and provide a platform for early career curators and emerging artists.
My work featured in an exhibition called ‘Gentle Words Fall upon Loving Ears’, designed to be “an open love letter presenting work that captures the true beauty found within the domestic everyday life of queer relationships”. I really liked the idea of being part of an exhibition that celebrated the joy and everyday normality of queer relationships, rather than something necessarily focused on discrimination, prejudice or LGBTQ+ rights (although that type of work is really important). I chose three poems that I felt best fitted the theme, and whilst they were just for this exhibition (and my wife!) you can read or hear me perform one of them here.
The exhibition was curated by Ashley Cerrino, who chose to set the exhibition up like a living room, with artist’s work posted on the wall, a fridge, a TV screen, and performed through a queer poetry night. Ashley also included fridge magnets showing pictures of some of the artists and their partners, which was a lovely touch!
It was a privilege to be a part of, and a new experience for me to see my work displayed in this form. I’ve only ever showcased my poetry on a page, social media post or through performance, so to see several pieces printed large, framed and hung was really new for me! I helped out with invigilating one day, and it was wonderful to see people interacting with the exhibition and the work that was part of it. It inspired me to think more about how I merge some of the art forms I practice in, having had a desire to do this for a while now. I have tended to keep photography, film and poetry separate, but I hope over the next year I’ll get chance to play with mix these up a little more. A huge thank you to Ashley and Fringe Arts Bath for the opportunity!
One of my favourite things about Spring, is that moment when you first notice things starting to change – the beginning of the shift in seasons. Those moments are fuel for hope, proof that brighter days are coming, signs that point to a future where things blossom and bloom. This poem is about that. The words are typed out below the image if you need them.
Is there anything more beautiful? Than the first bit of bud on branch. The fleck of green in the dark damp soil. The crack of a seed that will be a tree.
Is there anything more comforting? Than the curtain of light as the closed door creeks open. The silhouette of promise as sun peers out from cloud. The slow fade from darkness to light.
Is there anything more joyful? Than the first saying of your name by the child you made. Or first baby steps. Hands that hover but go unheld. The learning that becomes relearning or unlearning.
Is there anything more amazing? Than the size of the seed that becomes the mustard tree. The yeast that makes the whole thing rise. The spark that starts the flame.
I really wanted to write a poem for World Suicide Prevention Day. I wanted to write something that might speak to someone who is struggling (if that’s you, there’s some helpful stuff here) with suicidal thoughts, without saying anything really heavy or depressing. You could read this poem and not know what it’s about – I deliberately don’t mention any words related strongly to suicide or suicidal ideation. But, if you need to know what it’s about, you will.
My experience has shown me that sometimes, someone in that situation is way beyond reasons to stay alive, cliches or intellectual arguments about why it’s better to stick around. They’re numb to how it will impact others or they believe it’s actually better for others if they’re not around anymore. They’re exhausted. All you can do is slow everything down and try to get them to think about the next day, the next hour, the next ten minutes even, and hope that something distracts or comforts long enough for those feelings to pass. Something like a book, a flower, looking at the sky, a meal you know they love. Sometimes, it just works.
This poem also takes on way more meaning when you’ve tried my chunky beef chilli. Honestly I don’t usually like to brag, but it is amazing.
I recently visited the old Toneworks factory in Wellington, Somerset, which has been decaying beautifully for over 20 years now. Somerset Council acquired the site in 2020 and since then have been doing essential repair and stabilisation works to make the site safe. As part of this they are offering guided tours for small groups at several points in the year, which always sell out. I was lucky enough to get a place on a tour so I could visit, and the results were well worth it as I’m really pleased with the images I’ve captured.
I would have loved longer in there to take more photos (sorry to the nice council lady who kept having to say “STAY WITH THE GROUP PLEASE” to me), and there are parts of the site that are too dangerous to access. In some ways limitations like this are often helpful to creativity. You have to prioritise what you want to capture, not overthink things, and be realistic about what you can do in the time you have.
Huge respect to Somerset Council and Wellington Town Council for putting the tours on! My top tip to get a place on the tour is to sign-up for their newsletter (it’s as thrilling as it sounds) as tours are announced there first. Click here to do that.
I hope you enjoy the images. Some of my favourites are below but you can see the full set on my Flickr page here.
