Tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved with 2up2down?
I’ve lived in Anfield for 24 years. I was a primary school teacher for seven years but I left that to do a Masters in Creative Writing. After that I did a little bit of lecturing at John Moore’s University. After that I got roped into lecturing community groups and I currently lecture at a women’s college at Blackburn House.
I’ve also recently got my first novel published which is called Disappearing Home. The novel is set in West Everton in Liverpool in 1974, so we’ve got the miners strike, a three-day week and a lot of unrest in the city and nationally which is reflected in the unrest in the book. It’s told from a ten year old girl’s point of view called Robin who is sent out to steal and that’s how the novels opens. The book is really about her journey and where she goes from there. The book is called Disappearing Home because Robin loses her sense of home when her nana moves out and so throughout the book she is looking for a place to call home.
I’m helping create the tour that will present the project for the Biennial festival 2012. I’ve never done anything like it before as I usually work alone but it will be fantastic not to be sitting on my own writing and to get other people’s input and twists on event
What does living well mean to you?
Living well means having a safe place to live, people around me who love me and enough food and money to be able to do the things I like to do. And to actually give something back – to have the time and energy to do that.
