I’m on The One Show tonight talking about volunteering as it’s the Big Help Out this weekend! Lots of opportunities to get stuck in with your local charity or community. You’ll make new friends, feel useful, it’s a no-brainer. This was me aged 20. I was working in Hong Kong as a newsreader, thousands of miles from home. I was lonely and I started to volunteer in refugee camps where boat people from Vietnam were arriving, utterly destitute. I also found a community in the local children’s home! I used to take the kids on outings – all had disabilities and had been abandoned at birth. Ah John with one-leg was my favourite! He was pushed around by the other kids in a rough box on wheels. I found solace and friendship working in these different teams.. Volunteering is a two-way thing. You are hugely helping people but the benefits for you are also immense. Humans are hard-wired to be altruistic and the power of the collective is a thing of beauty! I never looked back. So go on the Big Help Out app and it will match you with a local project to snuggle in with this weekend, even if just for an hour. I promise you it will move your life along. #thebighelpout @bbctheoneshow
Got a new sideline. Can we help Gov? Could back up today if you want to crack on ….#election
I seem to be in Porto today! As soon as I arrived I rushed to the Sao Bento train station in Porto to marvel at the stunning tiles. The whole entrance hall is a blue azulejo masterpiece. Extraordinary. On a very fun work adventure ….#Portugal #porto #azulejos #blue #tiles #saobento
I seem to be in Porto today! As soon as I arrived I rushed to the Sao Bento train station in Porto to marvel at the stunning tiles. The whole entrance hall is a blue azulejo masterpiece. Extraordinary. On a very fun work adventure ….#Portugal #porto #azulejos #blue #tiles #saobento
Well that was fun. A day at the races with sleek racehorses @alicearnold1 and @clarebalding . We lost every bet on every race so got the bus home. Joke! Ms Balding picked me up and delivered me back, after delicious and impeccable hospitality. Good friending. @epsomdownsracecourse #oaksday #racing
A date for your diary. Next Thursday 3pm Radio 4, an Open Country special. About my mentor and teacher Maggi Hambling. We travel around the Suffolk countryside, to explore the landscape that has inspired her phenomenal body of work. We sit on the beach where she sketches, and talk about how the crashing of a wave is like the moment of orgasm.. And how The Scallop, reviled when it was first erected, has now become a beloved symbol of Aldeburgh. It’s tender and majestic, rather like Maggi to be honest…#maggihambling #thescallop #sea #painter #suffolk @bbcradio4
This might give you more of a clue as to what I was doing in Porto! What a joy to work with Brian Cox and @robinince1969 @bbcradio4 on The Infinite Monkey Cage, with a gang of explorers from The Explorers’ Club. Even as I write this I’m thinking, ‘Did that happen?’ Best gig ever! It goes out in August so more info then …..#explorers #porto #expeditions #discovery
A lovely date for your diary this afternoon at 3pm @bbcradio4 . My mentor Maggi Hambling, our greatest living painter, takes me on a journey around the Suffolk countryside that has inspired her. We start in a ditch and end up at The Scallop… #maggihambling #painter #scallop #suffolk #sea #northsea #beach #aldeburgh #radio4 #bbc
About to be on this … 7pm @bbc @bbctheoneshow
So lovely to catch up with Dr Olivia Chapple and all the Horatio’s Garden team at Chelsea yesterday. Olivia was awarded the prestigious Elizabeth Medal of Honour by the RHS to recognise her extraordinary Horatio’s Garden charity, which transforms the lives of people with spinal injuries. Olivia started the charity 12 years ago to honour her son Horatio’s vision of beautiful outdoor spaces in spinal injury hospitals and now there are seven groundbreaking gardens with four more to come 💚💚💚💚 . She is an utter inspiration @horatiosgarden @the_rhs #chelseaflowershow #chelsea
Big Skies. #watercoloursketch #beach #painting #isleofwight
OMG the river today. At Hammersmith. There’s even a heart shape there in the foliage. I thought I’d explode with sap green lusciousness….
Are you free on Sunday 9th June to take part in a Wonder Walk to raise money for Chickenshed?This wonderful charity (which literally started life in a Chickenshed) creates ground-breaking, inclusive theatre for children of all ages so that whatever difficulties they are facing, they can be enveloped by a wonderful team of helpers and experts. I’ve been involved with the charity for 40 years and seen numerous productions. Mind blowing frankly. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary so join in and help raise money so they can keep their doors open for another 50 years. Kick off at Chickenshed, 290 Chase Side, London N14 4PE. www.chickenshed.org.uk to register and get this lovely T-shirt which is now my nighty…..(well not mine, you’ll get your own …) #chickenshed #theatre #charity #fundraising #wonderwalk @chickenshed_uk
Off to my pal @kevinkittycat (Philippa Perry) studio to see her STUNNING abstract paintings…they’re gorgeously tactile and juicy. Have a look on her website.. Grayson told me about his new mystery project but if I tell you he may have to kill me so I’ll just say the Perrys are on fire with creativity, as per… #abstract #painting #studio
Strength. #lifedrawing #2minuteposes #studio
I found an astronaut at the weekend! Mike Massimino has spent hundreds of hours in space, done four space walks, an altogether inspiring human being – but he landed on earth to be on a panel in Porto, alongside a volcanologist, a physicist, an astro biologist, a comedian & an adventurer. I was billed as one of that list which was slightly ludicrous. Yes, I’m the astro biologist obviously. More details to follow…but it was INCREDIBLE! @astromikemassimino #porto #explorers #mysteryproject #bbc
BANKSY ALERT!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Was chuffed to interview James Peak, the producer of Radio 4’s The Banksy Story and … huge drum role …. Steph Warren, the extraordinary woman who worked with Banksy for years and who has a staggering story to tell about what went on behind-the-scenes. The series is like going on a heart-stopping treasure hunt and I am a huge fan – so I was thrilled to be asked to host this session at The Podcast Show. Dan Clarke who commissioned the programme was also on the panel so it was a real glimpse into how the show came together. When he pressed the green light he had no idea whether it was just a one-off, and James had no idea if Steph would open up to him. But – wow – Steph’s story is so mesmerising it ended up being a ten-part series with bonus episodes. We get to hear Banksy’s voice by the end after lost tapes are unearthed. The whole thing is worth a listen if you want to go on a mad journey into the very strange art world. @bbcsounds #thebanksystorypodcast #banksy @bbcradio4 #podshowldn