My love affair with Birmingham’s arts scene started back in 1997, when I landed myself a receptionist job at The Custard Factory. At the time, the Custard Factory had been open for about four years and was right in the middle of its hedonistic heyday. The pool, pretentiously referred to as ‘The Lake’', still had water in it. The Med Bar was the place to be, and Bennie and Lucan Grey still owned it.. The Custard Factory was defining Digbeth. It was a great time to work in such

One of the biggest obstacles to decluttering is surprisingly simple - we don't want to throw things away. Often, it's not because we're emotionally attached to an item. It's because we hate the thought of it ending up in landfill. We know it still has life left in it, and we'd much rather see it reused, recycled or passed on to someone who can make use of it. Recently, Ruth from Ruth Bagnall - Organised Living and I have been experimenting with different ways to responsibly r

What do the words jumble sale make you think of? For me, they instantly transport me back to childhood weekends in church halls with my mum. I can picture it perfectly - parquet floors, green cups and saucers, white plastic cups filled with squash, and plates piled high with biscuits. While mum browsed rails of clothing and tables of bric-a-brac, I’d make a beeline for the book table. Recently, Ruth (Ruth Bagnall - Organised Living) and I decided to run our own jumble sale at