Ideas in Writing

I'm Philip Holden and this is Ideas in Writing - the podcast where we talk to creative people about words - mostly from books that they have written and recently published... The guests bring along a word and so do I...if only I could rememnber that... In this episode I talk with Robin Ince - Live at the Oast Theatre in Tonbridge after he visited Mr Books Bookshop - about his new book, The Importance of Being Interested [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781786492623]. Robin started out in standup, having done an English degree at Royal Holloway College. He then developed material based on science and on pseudo-science and launched his, now famous “Twelve Lessons and Carols” – originally for atheists (but now open to everyone). Of course Robin is best known for presenting The Infinite Monkey Cage [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w] with Professor Brian Cox but he's a very busy man – a writer and performer and having just completed his 100 bookshop tour. But he does so much more – most of it available through his Cosmic Shambles Network [https://cosmicshambles.com/] and you can check out any gigs (and Robin's blog) on his website [https://www.RobinInce.com]. Robin is also on Twitter @robinince [https://twitter.com/robinince] Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop [http://www.mrbooks.co.uk] in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @mrbooks_ton [https://twitter.com/mrbooks_ton]. But most importantly of all, you can visit them (in the lovely market town of Tonbridge in Kent) for a browse any Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes coming up. Find out more at the Mr Books website [https://open.acast.com/shows/5f10a6c3386d955feeb9025b/episodes/www.mrbooks.co.uk/events]. CREDITS & links You can order Robin's The Importance of Being Interested [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781786492623] just by clicking on the title and you can order his previous book about humour and humanity I'm a Joke and so are You [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781786492616] the same way. Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden on Acast.com The Ideas in Writing theme "Farting Around" is by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog [http://www.besonic.com/dog] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting [http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting]. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm Philip Holden and this is Ideas in Writing - the podcast where we talk to creative people about words - all kinds of word - funny ones, sad ones and strange ones... The guests bring along a word and so do I...it's all downhill from there on... In this episode - the first face to face one of the series - I meet up with the fun David Barry who many of you will know as Frankie Abbott from the TV series (and film) Please Sir! which ran from 1969 to 1972 and led on to the Fenn Street Gang (1971-3) but David is also an accomplished writer. We talked about David's real name and his upbringing in London and how he got to work with the most famous power couple of the day - Laurence livier and Vivien Leigh. David chose the word intuition [https://www.visuwords.com/intuition] whilst I chose comedic [http://www.visuwords.com/comedic](you'll have to make do with a link to the word 'comedy') because I was curious about how David learned to write for TV - at the feet of the masters Esmonde and Larbey no less. As ever, don't forget to check out the visual representation of the network of words emanating from those - by clicking on the links. Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop [http://www.mrbooks.co.uk] in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @mrbooks_ton [https://twitter.com/mrbooks_ton]. But most importantly of all, you can visit them (in the lovely market town of Tonbridge in Kent) for a browse any Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes coming up. Especially the next live event in December. Find out more at the Mr Books website [https://open.acast.com/shows/5f10a6c3386d955feeb9025b/episodes/www.mrbooks.co.uk/events]. CREDITS & links David’s book PleaseSir! The Official History is available from Mr Books bookshop or, you can go straight to this link [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781789824957] to order online. David's crime stories which, as he explained, are between publishers should be available for online order - A Deadly Diversion [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783335817] and Each Man Kills [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783338870] for example. We can probably get copies of all these into Mr Books if you have any problems. His Mr Micawber Down Under is also well worth a read, especially if you're a Dickens fan and you can order it here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780709093121] or, again, just by asking Mr Books. Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden on Acast.com The Ideas in Writing theme "Farting Around" is by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog [http://www.besonic.com/dog] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting [http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting]. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm Philip Holden and this is Ideas in Writing - the podcast where we talk to people about words and books and the shift, sly use of words in untruths and the books that shine a light on shadowy falsehood. The guests bring along a word and so do I...it's all downhill from there on... The guest this time is the journalist Peter Oborn whose book The Assault on Truth – Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism was published this year traces the origins of lying and catalogues the lies of the current Prime Minister. Particularly topical as it drops because of…well…pretty much everything emanating from 10 Downing Street. Peter brought along the work integrity [https://visuwords.com/Integrity] for obvious reasons, whilst I brought the word power [https://visuwords.com/power]. We talked about how Peter got into journalism (after a couple of false starts) and how conservatism has changed – for the worse. As well as what we can do to resist the rise of the liars. Apologies that the sound set up isn’t the best in this episode. I’ll do my best to improve things for next time. Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop [http://www.mrbooks.co.uk] in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @mrbooks_ton [https://twitter.com/mrbooks_ton]. But most importantly of all, eventually you will be able visit them (in the lovely market town of Tonbridge in Kent) for a browse any Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm...from April 21st...hooray! Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes coming up. CREDITS & links Peter’s book The Assault on Truth – Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism is available to order just by clicking on the link here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781398501003] or you can go to www.MrBooks.co.uk [www.MrBooks.co.uk] to order any book you like, or have them search for it! Peter also mentioned Edmund Burke. Emily Jones’ award winning book is Edmund burke and the Invention of Modern Conservatism and you can order it here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780198799429] whilst Jesse Norman’s book on Burke is available here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780007489640]. It’s surprisingly difficult to find writings by Michael Oakshott. His essay Rationalism in Politics and others is currently being considered for reprinting so keep an eye out here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780865970946]. The phrase ‘Gonzo journalism’ crops up in Fear and Loathing in las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson so you can get a flavour of that here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780007204496] and JP Kenyon’s book on the Popish Plot can be found here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781842121689]. All the books you order through these links help support Mr Books and this podcast and, if you can't find exactly what you're looking for, just visit the Mr Books webiste at www.mrbooks.co.uk [https://www.mrbooks.co.uk] and we'll do our best to track it down for you. Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr [http://zencastr.com] and Acast.com The Ideas in Writing theme "Farting Around" is by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog [http://www.besonic.com/dog] See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm Philip Holden and this is Ideas in Writing - the podcast where we talk to people about words and books and the how, why, when and where of writing. The guests bring along a word and so do I...it's all downhill from there on... In this episode I talk to the award-winning writer David Quantick whose TV credits include The Day Today, So Graham Norton, Harry Hill's TV Burp and Veep for which he won an Emmy. he's also written and presented shows on radio and TV and has now written several novels and books about the craft of writing. Given that I was speaking to a comedy writer, there is a spectacularly badly judged and poorly delivered joke at about the 1 hour mark..from me. If you are of a sensitive disposition etc etc... The word David brought along was wednesday [https://visuwords.com/wednesday] not in itself an interesting definition, but it leads on to the curious word 'hebdomad [http://visuwords.com/hebdomad]'. My word, absurdism isn't there, but absurd [https://visuwords.com/absurd] and surrealism [https://visuwords.com/surrealism] are both so you can explore these words at the fun Visuwords dictionary just by clicking them. Take a look at the links below to order David's books or some of the other titles we mentioned. Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop [http://www.mrbooks.co.uk] in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @mrbooks_ton [https://twitter.com/mrbooks_ton]. But most importantly of all, eventually you will be able visit them (in the lovely market town of Tonbridge in Kent) for a browse any Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm...eventually... Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes coming up. CREDITS & links If you're interested, you can check out the words we contributed by clicking these links through to the Visuwords dictionary. Wednesday [https://visuwords.com/wednesday] may not seem very interesting, but it leads on to the word ‘hebdomad [https://visuwords.com/hebdomad]’. Check it out. Absurdism isn’t in the dictionary though absurd [https://visuwords.com/absurd] is so you’ll just have to make do (or you could look up surrealism [https://visuwords.com/surrealism] I guess), You can click on the links here to order any of David’s books (though some are due to be reprinted to keep checking) Night Train [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781785658594] is his latest and David has thoughtfully provided a link to his Night Train playlist on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/62SFZw6GDunbJl1rSCMzfG ]! David's other recent novels are here - All My Colours [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781785658570] and The Mule [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783521005]. For help and inspiration in your writing try David's How to be a Writer [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783199037] or How to Write Everything [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783191031]. David talked about NF Simpson as a forerunner of the Goons and Monty Python. Ian Greaves has edited a recent compilation of some of his work entitled Most of What Follows is a Complete Waste of Time [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783190232]. David was also reading the Elizabeth Jane Howard Cazalet Chronicles. There are five books in the series so you can read them in order... 1. The Light Years [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780330323154] 2. Marking Time [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780330332507] 3. Confusion [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780330339957] 4. Casting Off [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780330344814] 5. All Change [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780330508988] Jonathan Meades Peter Knows what Dick Likes isn’t currently in print (though I’m sure we could track down a copy) but his Pedro and Ricky Come Again : Selected Writing 1988-2020 [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781783529506] is published in March so you can order it now. George Saunders Booker winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo had A Swim in a Pond in the Rain [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781526624284] published in January. And there are lots of memoirs, poetry and collections of writing by Clive James. David recommended Cultural Amnesia : Notes in the Margin of My Time [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780330481755]which can also be ordered just by clicking on the link. All the books you order through these links help support Mr Books and this podcast and, if you can't find exactly what you're looking for, just visit the Mr Books webiste at www.mrbooks.co.uk [https://www.mrbooks.co.uk] and we'll do our best to track it down for you. Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr [http://zencastr.com] and Acast.com The Ideas in Writing theme "Farting Around" is by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog [http://www.besonic.com/dog] See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm Philip Holden and this is Ideas in Writing - the podcast where we talk to people who use words - written, spoken, performed and even sung and, sometimes only uttered in your mind... The guests bring along a word and so do I...it's all downhill from there on... In this episode I talk to the lovely Ian McMillan – he's a poet, of course, and a playwright and a columnist and you've probasbly seen him on TV and listened to him on BBC radio. But have you seen him on a giant toilet in Leicester Square? No? Well, stay tuned. We talked about Darfield in Yorkshire where he was born and lives, escaping and making a living as a poet. We talked briefly about his daily tweeting and how that sharpens his mind. We also talked about him visiting Tonbridge for an event as soon as possible. Ian - without ever having listened to the podcast before - chose the word palimpsest [https://visuwords.com/palimpsestwhilst] (see episode one!) whilst I chose theatre [https://visuwords.com/theatre] - you'll see why if you listen. And don't forget to check out the visual representation of the network of words emanating from those - by clicking on the links. Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop [http://www.mrbooks.co.uk] in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @mrbooks_ton [https://twitter.com/mrbooks_ton]. But most importantly of all, you can visit them (in the lovely market town of Tonbridge in Kent) for a browse any Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes coming up. CREDITS & links Ian’s book To Fold the Evening Star is available from Mr Books bookshop or, you can go straight to this link [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781784101886] to order online - I think it might be due for a reprint! Ian mentioned a couple of books; The Excitement of Writing by Sir Alec Clegg (1963) which is not currently in print – but we may be able to track down secondhand copies. You can find out something of the man at www.alecclegg.com [http://www.alecclegg.com] which reports on a 2017 ‘retrospective’ of his pioneering work. The Richard Matthewman Stories by Ian McMillan and Martyn Whiley (2009. Pomona Press) is £8.99 but again you can get this from Mr Books or order online here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9781904590217]. Ian also briefly mentioned Peter Brook’s The Empty Space (2008, Penguin) which is £9.99 and available from Mr Books here [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4045/9780141189222]. Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr [http://zencastr.com] and Acast.com The Ideas in Writing theme "Farting Around" is by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog [http://www.besonic.com/dog] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting [http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting]. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for privacy and opt-out information.