"There are two secrets to creativity:
1. Understand that there's no gene for it. No cultural or family history required. Creativity isn't a gift from above, it's something that everyone is capable of.
2. The only thing that prevents your creativity from showing up is fear. Fear of being laughed at, fear of being wrong, fear of seeming uninformed. So many creative exercises and habits revolve around overcoming that fear.

For me, the single best thing you can do to become more creative is to be wrong more often. Creative people are wrong all the time (look at Apple's long string of failures). The goal is to create a safe place to be wrong, a way to be wrong without destroying yourself. [Along these lines, I remind myself to Enjoy the fun of failure.] The more wrong I am, the more often, the better I seem to get at being creative."

More here

image from here

May Miles Thomas wrote and directed a short film called The Beauty of the Common Tool about a man who goes into a hardware store just to admire a spanner. I was reminded of this film as this morning after walking on the beach with a friend (new year resolution to get fit ) we wandered along the high street beside the beach and went into a hardware store. A joy to behold, every kind of tape, seedpacket, endless tools, and useful whatnots. I succumed to wooden clothes pegs (99p) which are not only good for hanging up clothes but closing packets of food and pinning photographs up on string. I also bought a tea strainer (49p) as I'm now drinking more loose green jasmine tea. Sometimes the smallest most ordinary thing is perfect and right - needs no jazzing up - but we so rarely recongnise this.

There is a link here to the film scroll down to film productions

Flowers outside Liberty's - Holga

I'm slowly getting myself together after a wondeful evening with a group of friends around for dinner. Its been simply months since I did this. I'm so glad that I made the effort. Tried out new recipies. We had hours of lively discussion and talk.

It was partly a celebration of Scotland's Other National Bard so one of my friends made a Dundee Cake in this particular bard's honour - which I am happily eating for brunch this morning.

A friend sent me this fun link.