Squatting Toad Mel Byron

In this last podcast of 2016, recorded in Ukraine, Mel reflects on the year and hopes to inspire us all to greater creativity in 2017. There'll be more comedy, for sure.

In this unmissable episode, Mel meets published author, Angela Thirlwell, for insights into her writing career and gets brilliantly helpful advice for aspiring writers.

Mel discusses amateur theatre with Angharad Ellis Jones of the Crouch End Players. Should we even call it 'amateur'? What inspires people to join an amateur theatre group? Is acting good for you? (Answer: Of course it is!)

Mel meets Barbara de Biasi, inspirational head of Fireworks Music School. Barbara explains what happens inside our heads when we play music and why it's important to learn an instrument. It seems that music is the most beneficial creative thing we can do.

This time, Mel Byron reviews and recommends some great books for creatives, by David Quantick, Grayson Perry and Fergus O'Connell. Entertaining, yes, but you'll also learn a lot (from this episode AND from the books!).

When is your creative work 'bad'? Who decides? And does it matter? Actually, it doesn't. Painter, Alex Vassiliades, talks about the fun she gets from the process and itself. A helpful reminder for all creatives.