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.

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 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 and you can check out any gigs (and Robin's blog) on his website. Robin is also on Twitter @robinince

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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.

CREDITS & links

You can order Robin's The Importance of Being Interested 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 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/

 The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting.

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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 whilst I chose 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 in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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.

CREDITS & links

David’s book PleaseSir! The Official History is available from Mr Books bookshop or, you can go straight to this link to order online. David's crime stories which, as he explained, are between publishers should be available for online order - A Deadly Diversion and Each Man Kills 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 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/

 The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 for obvious reasons, whilst I brought the word 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 in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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 or you can go to 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 whilst Jesse Norman’s book on Burke is available here.

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.

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 and JP Kenyon’s book on the Popish Plot can be found here.

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 and we'll do our best to track it down for you.

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 not in itself an interesting definition, but it leads on to the curious word 'hebdomad'. My word, absurdism isn't there, but absurd and 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 in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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 may not seem very interesting, but it leads on to the word ‘hebdomad’. Check it out.

Absurdism isn’t in the dictionary though absurd is so you’ll just have to make do (or you could look up 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 is his latest and David has thoughtfully provided a link to his Night Train playlist on Spotify!

David's other recent novels are here - All My Colours and The Mule.

For help and inspiration in your writing try David's How to be a Writer or How to Write Everything.

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.

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 
2. Marking Time 
3. Confusion 
4. Casting Off 
5. All Change

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 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 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 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 and we'll do our best to track it down for you.

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I spoke with the journalist, LBC broadcaster and author, James O’Brien about his latest book How Not to be Wrong, the art of changing your mind.

James brought along the word footballification which screws up the dictionary link I usually put here so I've linked to tribalism instead. Maybe we can start a campaign to get footballification into the OED. My word was lies. You can probably see the connection.

James and I chatted about the events in Washington and how and why liars prosper and how we got to this sorry state. We also talked about his approach to writing his books, his upbringing in a loving adopted family and, what he calls, the 'golden ticket' of an expensive, private education. We also talked about his experience of therapy, and how you go about challenging long-held views

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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...assuming there isn't a lockdown...

CREDITS & links

You can click here to order a copy of James’ How to be Right, in a world gone wrong and click here for a copy of How Not to be Wrong, the art of changing your mind (though it’s briefly out of stock).

If you’d like a signed copy for £9.99, please email us or use the enquiry form on the Mr Books website.

We briefly mentioned Dorothy Rowe’s book Why We Lie which you can order at Mr Books and James also mentioned John Rawls in passing who wrote A Theory of Justice and about whom there are lots of books written just go here and search.

Don't forget to subscribe for new episodes coming up.

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 (see episode one!) whilst I chose 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 in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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 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 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.

Ian also briefly mentioned Peter Brook’s The Empty Space (2008, Penguin) which is £9.99 and available from Mr Books here.

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/ideasinwriting.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I talk to the brilliant Sophie and Scarlett Rickard creators of a graphic novel version of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – the hugely influential book by Robert Tressell is long and sometimes difficult to read but this version ISN'T!, This is a really emotional and moving story (that happens to explain capitalism) and which tells the story of the people who suffer most.

We talk about how the Rickard Sisters started writing and drawing in Whalley in Lancashire, just up the road from where I was born, the difficulties of adapting a huge book, how they work remotely, their admiration for TV and film adaptations and a bit about politics and bookshops.

The word Sophie and Scarlett brought along was philanthropy and we discuss that a little, whilst mine was sketch. You can explore these words at the fun Visuwords dictionary by clicking them.

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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

Sophie and Scarlett’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Self Made Hero, £14.39) and Mann's Best Friend (Gluepot Books, £14.95) can be ordered from Mr Books.

Sophie mentioned – Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani (verso, £9.00) which you can also order from Mr Books.

We all raved about Allan and Janet Ahlberg – you can see more of their books at our list of essential children’s books.

You can contribute to the Rickard Sisters Ragged Education Project – buying a book for a school, a prison or a pupil referral unit by visiting their website here.

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I talk to the brilliant Arthur Smith who has been at the top of the tree of comedy for many many years and is often cited by other comedians as a hero. Arthur is one of the few performers who can genuinely claim to be a national treasure having become a fixture on Radio 4 on shows like Loose Ends and the One Show for BBC TV. He is also practically the headline act of every Edinburgh Fringe and frequently persuades visitors in summer that Arthur's Seat is named after him.

Above all Arthur is a wordsmith (dammit, why didn't I say THAT during the podcast?) and apart from obviously writing his own material (and giving comedy masterclasses) he writes movingly about his upbringing, his parents, his love of walking, friendship and just getting on with life. Many of his pieces are collected in his new book 100 Things I Meant to Tell You.

Arthur and I talked about his love of walking which started as a boy hiking around the Lakes and along the Pennine Way. We talk about nearly killing his audience, his worst gig and how he's managing to get through lock down without performing and without his beloved Edinburgh Festival.

Arthur's word for this episode should have been Pagoda whilst mine was Play but for reasons I explain...kind of...we didn't even mention them. Nevertheless, it was a lovely chat with a lovely bloke.

You can order Arthur's books from Mr Books Bookshop here and you can find out about Arthur's gigs (when they do eventually happen) and his Patreon page at his website, here.

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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

You can order the books mentioned via Mr Books and get 20% off for August and September 2020, if you mention 'Ideas in Writing'

Arthur’s 100 Things I Meant to Tell You. (AA) is £14.39.(RRP £17.99).

Arthur also mentioned a couple of other books -

The Lives And Extraordinary Adventures Of Fifteen Tramp Writers From The Golden Age Of Vagabondage by Ian Cutler (Feral House) is £10.39 (RRP £12.99) and The Complete Short Stories by Saki (Penguin) is £8.79 (RRP £10.99)

Alfred Wainwright’s A Pennine Journey: The Story of a Long Walk in 1938 (1986) is not currently available unfortunately.

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I talk to the science writer Liam Drew, author of I-Mammal, a great book about what it means to be a mammal.

Liam's word for this episode was Connection whilst mine was auto-correct (I can't link to my usual Visuwords as it's not there; the Oxford English Dictionary only listed it in 2011 here..so here's the word 'correct' instead).

We talked about Liam's book and his writing for Nature, New Scientist and the Guardian amongst others. We talked about what makes science-writing good and how Liam made the transition from being a neuroscientist - studying the senses and epilepsy - to a freelance writer. We discussed evolution, brain implants, the need for a human perspective on science stories, scientists, pandemics, Twitter antivaxxers and his forthcoming book for children...but we didn't talk about the Tapir.

You can order Liam's book from Mr Books Bookshop here (and find out about the tapir yourself). You can find Liam's other writing by going to Nature and searching for his name. Likewise at the New Scientist website and The Guardian.

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. They're on Twitter too @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

Liam also mentioned a few writers that he admires so here they are...

Gay Talese - http://www.gaytalese.com (takes you to his page at his publishers Random House)

Rebecca Solnit http://rebeccasolnit.net/ and at the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rebeccasolnit

Ed Yong https://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencastr 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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom's word of the episode is quodlibet (no, me neither) while mine is craft, which I think suits the skill and talent Tom brings to the podcast.

In this this chat Tom talks about his experience in the pit of West End musicals and as a piano entertainer - preserving and sharing great songs from over a century ago right up to the present day(ish). We discuss what makes a funny and engaging song - and how come we all know the chorus.

You can find lots of Tom's work at - www.tomcarradine.com and www.carradinescockneysingalong.co.uk. Look for his singalong on Facebook and/or tomcarradinepianist and follow him on Twitter @tomcarradine

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. You can find it at mrbooks.co.uk and on Twitter @mrbooks_ton to order all kinds of books new and second hand – or you can visit them – at least when they reopen after the Covid lockdown.

CREDITS & links

Tom also mentioned Champagne Charlie and the Bubbly Boys http://champagnecharliemusic.co.uk and Michael Roulston and Sarah Louise Young http://www.roulstonandyoung.co.uk/

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencaster and Anchor.fm

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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the vein of Ready Steady Cook, Ian brings along his ingredient - the word journey whilst I offer mine; the pretentious palimpsest. So the conversation reflects how our own experiences inevitably shine through in writing and performance and how, even though you might want to escape it, sometimes you just have to embrace it. We also talk about forthcoming projects and plans.

You can see and hear Ian’s work online via the Viral Theatre Festival website www.ViralFestival.net and at the OrangeWorks and on SoundCloud.

Ideas in Writing is produced with the support of Mr Books Bookshop in Tonbridge - the home of inspiring, imaginative and intelligent books, gifts and conversation. You can find it at mrbooks.co.uk and on Twitter @mrbooks_ton to order all kinds of books new and second hand – or you can visit them – at least when they reopen after the Covid lockdown.

CREDITS & links

Ideas in Writing is recorded and produced by Philip Holden using Zencaster and Anchor.fm

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/

The "Light Easy March" sting is by ...dog http://www.besonic.com/dog

"You Came" © Ian Tucker-Bell 2020 

The First Tree, mentioned in the podcast, is a game by David Wehle and is available at https://www.thefirsttree.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This first event was recorded at the Old Fire Station with a live audience. 

In it James Graham (Brexit: The Uncivil War, Labour of Love, Quiz, Ink) talks about his life, his writing and how he made Rupert Murdoch into a sympathetic character. He also talks about the Coughing Major and what's coming up next.

It was recorded in October 2017

Theme music (C) Sid Stafford

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