Carolyn Kennett - Astronomer, Writer and Researcher

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

This is a really hard one to answer, in my personal life bringing up my son to be the amazing adult he has become. In my working life becoming a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS) and was part of a team that got Dark Skies Status for West Cornwall.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

A love of the outdoors is my main motivation and wanting to share my passion for nature, the sky and ancient history with people. I am particularly blessed to have been able to follow my passions as a job.

3. What do you owe your mother?

Determination and love.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

Historically women who followed their passion in astronomy found themselves in a male-dominated world with lots of barriers and didn't let themselves be discouraged from following their passions. Such as Caroline Herschel who made pioneering contributions to the field in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In addition women such as Mary Proctor who was a writer and populariser of astronomy, wrote many children's books on the subject and made her money by speaking very eloquently often visiting town after town, night after night to earn a living.

5. What are you reading?

I've just started A natural history of the hedgerow by John Wright.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

Astronomy is a field that traditionally is male, there are great strives to attract more women into the field of study and this is thankfully happening, all be it at a slow pace. I think like many women entering a male-dominated field of work there have been moments where things haven't been as equal as one would hope, but I have never felt anything but positivity from being involved in this area of work.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

Removal of any forms of violence against women and equality in pay comes to mind.

8. Describe your perfect day?

Heading out onto the moors with my partner to visit a number of prehistoric sites, ending the day with a sunset and watching the stars and the Milky Way come out under pristine dark skies.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

I'm not a great one for statues, the existing ones should either be removed or evened out with more female ones, If I had to name someone I think they would have to be contemporary - can they be living? I'm not even sure they would like to be immortalised in a statue but I think Cheryl Straffon for all her lifetime of work with ancient monuments in west Cornwall.

10. Give us a tip?

If you are lost a night it is easy to find your way again from the stars, look for the pan shaped object and draw an imaginary line from the end of the pan this will point you to the north star Polaris, and you can get your bearings once again.

“Carolyn Kennett is a writer, researcher and astronomer who lives in Cornwall, she particularly researches how ancient communities related to their skyscapes. She is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and her books include Celestial Stone Circles of West Cornwall (2018) and Neptune: From Grand Discovery to World Revealed (2021). She is a communicator of all things astronomical and runs her own business Archaeoastronomy Cornwall while being a director of Mayes Creative, delivering arts, science and heritage projects throughout Cornwall.”

Cathy Rentzenbrink - Memoirist & Novelist

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Writing my first book, The Last Act of Love, which is about the death of my brother. It was so hard to wrestle all the events and emotions on to the page and I’m still not quite sure how I managed it.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

Writing books rather accidentally led me into teaching and mentoring other writers and I do feel that is my true calling. I love helping other people get to grips with telling their story and I am very motivated by seeing people build their commitment and acquire skills and make progress. It is very beautiful being alongside as someone grows into their abilities.

3. What do you owe your mother?

She taught me to read and write long before I went to school and always spoke to me honestly about life. And she chose a good man to be my father! I think it is a great gift to a woman to have a supportive and empowering dad.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

Maya Angelou, Hilary Mantel, Virginia Woolf. I’m inspired by writers who have known hardship, struggle, and pain and keep writing.

5. What are you reading?

Coward by Tim Clare, a fascinating book about anxiety.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I think publishing is less sexist than most other industries though I still feel constantly aware that as a woman there is often an anxiety about saying anything at all. I always remember making a joke at a man’s expense when I was about 16 and him saying, ‘You should learn to shut your mouth.’ I never have, but often feel the fear of being seen as too vocal, too intelligent, too clever for my own good etc. I think I might have been burnt at the stake if I’d lived a few centuries earlier.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

Services for children also benefit women. I think it is a great shame that Sure Start centres closed down.

8. Describe your perfect day?

I’d wake up with the light and go running around Pendennis Point and then swim in the sea. Perhaps I’d eat a delicious and garlicy lunch with my family and laugh at my son’s jokes. He is twelve and I am loving the way he is growing into his sense of humour. Maybe later on I could read a whole book in the bath, which is one of my big treats and then go to bed early. And I’d have no technology all day and enjoy the clarity and peace I feel when I leave my phone off and focus on nature and the flesh and blood people and animals in my life. Actually, I do mostly do all these things on weekends unless I am working so that feels good.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

I’m not sure I’m that keen on statues of people. I like the rook sculpture for Daphne du Maurier in Fowey.

10. Give us a tip?

Stop expecting it to be easy and slow down and enjoy the process.

“Cathy Rentzenbrink is an acclaimed memoirist whose books include The Last Act of Love and Dear Reader. In 2021 she published her first novel Everyone is Still Alive and she has a book about how to write a memoir called Write It All Down. Cathy regularly chairs literary events, interviews authors, reviews books, runs creative writing courses and speaks and writes on life, death, love, and literature. Despite being shortlisted for various prizes, the only thing Cathy has ever won is the Snaith and District Ladies’ Darts Championship when she was 17. She is now sadly out of practice.”

Karen Taylor - Penzance Novelist & Journalist

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Giving birth to my son Alex in December 1996, and the publication of my debut thriller Fairest Creatures in October 2021. Both achievements didn’t come easily but are all the more special for that. I spent three decades writing a succession of books which gained some attention and plaudits but didn’t find me a publisher. Fairest Creatures was really my last throw of the dice. It was the sequel to a novel I wrote for my MA dissertation in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at the UEA 2017-2019. The first book got me an agent and some promising responses but was ultimately not ‘loud enough in a crowded market’, according to one major publisher.

At the start of 2020 I attended a UEA reunion in Norwich, and we were encouraged to bring along 5,000 words for discussion. This prompted me to write the opening chapters to Fairest Creatures. I made them ‘pretty loud’ and sent them off to the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award on its deadline day, from my hotel room in Norwich. When my entry got longlisted several months later, with the UK and pretty much the world in lockdown, I got my head down and finished the book at my kitchen table.

My 23-year-old son was working upstairs in his first proper jobs. It felt like we had both reached important life stages at the same time.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

Writing is what I do best. I can’t stop myself from writing. Whether in a diary, in emails, letters, short stories, novels, social media. From an early age my writing skills and vivid imagination were remarked upon by my parents and teachers. I loved books and films and wanted to emulate my favourite authors and directors.

3. What do you owe your mother?

So very much. In her unassuming way she introduced me and my sister to all the right things at the right times – for example, pre-school reading and writing, libraries and the best state school in the area. She was a housewife and bookkeeper for the small family building business. Her natural intelligence, organisational skills, perception and sharp wits kept us all in check! Her own mother died when she was fifteen and she gave up the opportunity for higher education to help run the family home and support her widowed father. But her drive and determination saw her leave home soon after and head to London to find work and, as it happens, my father – the love of her life. Between them they raised two independently minded career women. When she passed at 87, Maud Heaven (her maiden name) left my sister and I a small inheritance which we used to buy our place in Penzance – my inspiration for getting on for five years now.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

My sister Yvonne Taylor inspires me. She was head of English at a state comprehensive for 36 years and was a legendary teacher. She helped so many young people achieve good grades and fulfil their potential. Parents vied to get their children into the school because her results were so good.

My first journalism boss, Cassandra Jardine. I worked for her in the Corporate Communications Department of Unilever and she gave me my first writing breaks. Her charismatic leadership and mentoring got me into journalism. We both went our separate ways, with Cass (as we called her) becoming Features Editor of The Telegraph and mother of five children, as well as writing several non-fiction books! Sadly, she died young – at 57 – of lung cancer. But she was still positive and encouraging others until the end – campaigning for Lung Cancer Awareness and sharing her experiences in a Telegraph column.

Oxford University professor of vaccinology Dame Sarah Gilbert who started designing a vaccine just two weeks after reading about a mysterious type of pneumonia emerging in China. To have her finger on the pulse like that and achieve such an incredible result for mankind is incredible.

Serena and Venus Williams – both phenomenal tennis players that came from nothing to achieve greatness and sustain it for decades.

And looking back over the years and in our own locality – the artist Dame Laura Knight. From the first glimmers of her early talent, she built a career that spanned a lifetime and many different artistic styles and disciplines. I was so impressed with the recent exhibition of her work at the Penlee Gallery in Penzance. She was the first woman to be made a Royal Academician, the only woman to be given War Commissions in both World Wars. And, in 1946, aged 69, she was the only British artist to be commissioned to cover the Nuremberg Trials.

5. What are you reading?

Beautiful World, Where Are You? By Sally Rooney, the poems of Charlotte Mew (for my Morrab Library Poetry Group) and listening to Apples Never Fall, by Liane Moriarty.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

There are few gender barriers in my line of work – writing and journalism. However, when I was starting out, I spent several years as a commodities reporter. One of my more challenging roles as an editor and senior reporter was to price minor metals – like cobalt, cadmium and mercury. This brought me into contact with a very macho group of traders who took no prisoners and would in turns try to beguile you and then bamboozle you to get their POV across. I remember one industry event when I was representing my publication and making a stand for our pricing, which the traders always took issue with. I stood alone against a barrage of criticism. After these verbal assaults, the traders were usually friendly – it was a game to them – and one of them said to me and his audience of men. ‘The thing with Karen is, you can knock her to the ground time and time and again and she will always get up, bloody but unbowed.’ I took this as a compliment! When I left the job I ‘immortalised’ this crew in a novel called The Trade, which was published by the leading UK digital publisher of its time Endeavour Press.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

Championing equal rights and education for women throughout the world. When I was that young commodities journalist I travelled the world, and I was interviewed by a female reporter on Zambian Radio. Her angle was, ‘What’s it like to be a woman working in a man’s world?’ So, they were pushing for change back then. The Zambians also had a simple but strong slogan ‘Teach The Mother To Teach the Child.’ Those women were right, but more, much more needs to be done and that’s where western aid should be targeted.

8. Describe your perfect day?

Waking early to a beautiful sunrise and jogging along the coastal path from Penzance Harbour towards Marazion. Then spending some time researching and writing at The Morrab Library before having a light lunch at Mackerel Sky with a good friend and catching a movie at Newlyn Filmhouse. We’d walk back along the promenade to my apartment, and I’d cook a fish or seafood supper from the catch of the day at Newlyn Harbour. We would then stroll out for a night cap at one of the pubs in Penzance and listen to a local band, before walking back home under a full moon and star-studded sky.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Dame Laura Knight

10. Give us a tip?

Paraphrasing Rudyard Kipling: ‘Dream, but don’t let dreams be your mistress.’ It is fantastic to realise an ambition, but it can take years and lots of hard work and disappointment along the way. Keep that dream alive but take joy in the everyday and the smaller achievements, which can mean so much to not only you, but also to others.

Karen is a UEA alumni crime writer whose latest novel Fairest Creatures was longlisted for the 2020 Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger. The book features DI Brandon Hammett, a Texan detective with Cornish roots. Based in Penzance, Fairest Creatures covers the reappearance after 23 years of the Sleeping Beauty serial killer, a murderer who macabrely 'immortalises' his beautiful victims.

Before turning to crime, Karen wrote a series of children’s books and short stories. Her middle grade Sci-Fi novel Turbulence was shortlisted at the Winchester Writers Festival, alongside a novella and a short story. Her YA thriller Off The Rails won her a place in the Dragon’s Den at the London Book Fair in 2016.

Born in London, Karen is also a journalist and editor with wide ranging experience, covering anything from business to lifestyle. She's worked on trade, corporate and association publications, run international news teams, and contributed to newspapers and magazines including The Financial Times, The London Evening Standard, The London Magazine, The Independent, and The Far Eastern Economic Review. Her first novel The Trade, published by Endeavour Press, was inspired by her globe-trotting years as a commodity markets reporter.

An avid reader and film goer, Karen is loving the chance to create stories in the dramatic cinematic setting of Cornwall. She spends her time between Penzance and London.

Hayley Stanton - Coach, Social Entrepreneur & Podcast Host

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is undoubtably Quiet Connections. It’s blossomed into a beautiful collaboration of coaches and facilitators with lived experience from across Cornwall, some of which started out as clients. And the impact that we have together makes my heart sing; supporting hundreds of people through coaching and courses, and offering other entrepreneurs opportunities to grow their confidence too.

It amazes me that it started out as a secret little acorn of an idea that I thought ‘somebody else should do’, sitting on my shoulder for years until I decided to try. I thought that I wasn’t the right person, doubting my ability to succeed as a quieter, female entrepreneur, so it’s meant overcoming a lot of self-doubt and challenging leadership stereotypes for me personally. Public speaking and leadership is a long way from the shy girl hiding at the back of the class!

Gratefully, I have had some wonderful coaches and mentors who have helped me to see that I am exactly the right kind of person for this particular venture and my introversion and sensitivity is in fact a real gift in business.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

As a child and a young woman, I was painfully socially anxious and avoidant. I was afraid to be seen and heard, so I missed out on an enormous amount of learning experiences and all the good things in life -fun, hobbies, connection, education, career opportunities... I just kept myself hidden away fearing that I was defective in some way; rejecting myself before other people got the chance to. It took me a long time to realise that I’m not broken, I’m not alone and, shockingly, I could actually make changes in how I feel and show up in the world!

Looking back, what saddens me the most is how misunderstood my behaviour was. People can make lots of assumptions about what someone’s quietness and withdrawal means, often landing on being ‘awkward’ or ‘rude’ or ‘not liking’ someone. The intense distress that we feel inside and the silent freeze response we’re having often goes unnoticed so we don’t get the help and reassurance that we need.

I wish that I had someone who could tell me that I’m not alone, I’m not weird or broken; to help me see that I could do more than I thought I could and support me to gently stretch my comfort zone and pick up healthier coping strategies.

That’s why I’m passionate about starting conversations to raise awareness and helping those experiencing social anxiety today, whether they are unable to leave the house, or seemingly doing ‘okay’ in life but feeling stuck and unfulfilled because change is so scary.

3. What do you owe your mother?

Let’s change the question here because the concept of ‘owing’ a parent (or anyone really!) doesn’t sit well with me; those invisible ties can pave the path to poor boundaries, people pleasing and resentment.

So, reflecting on what I am most grateful for, I realise that it’s all the times my mum stepped way beyond her comfort zone to facilitate me connecting with others, and also stand up for me and seek fairness when I couldn’t. When we feel socially anxious, we often struggle with making phone calls, talking to people in authority, being in groups, meeting people, disagreeing etc. and so it can feel extremely hard to raise children at the same time. I think of how much courage it must have taken to arrange to speak with teachers about bullying; seek out second opinions on medical issues; attend and host birthday parties; and even drop my sister and I off at school. In general, mothers are under-recognised for the work that they do and should be celebrated more, but I really want to honour the bravery and compassion of mothers experiencing social anxiety and showing up when their instinct is to hide.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

The first person that comes to mind is my friend, coach and trainer, Lizzi Larbalestier, who leads with her heart and contributes far more to help people and the planet than anyone else I know. From rescuing and rehabilitating seals in her garage as a BDMLR Marine Mammal Medic, and now voluntarily project managing the build of Cornwall's new seal hospital and training new medics; to inspiring the community to come together in efforts to protect the local environment, promoting compassion for the planet in school children and organising big beach cleans; and supporting people to become the best version of themselves, seeing the light within them when they can’t and compassionately challenging them to recognise their own potential.

So I’d say that I’m inspired by women who are heart-led and act on their empathy, speaking out in positive ways about what’s important to them; creating change that starts from where they are and inspiring others to discover what’s important to them and see the difference that they can make too. Women who empower others in gentle ways.

5. What are you reading?

I’ve recently got a very anxious rescue dog called Robin, so I’ve been reading "Getting in Touch with Your Dog” by Linda Tellington-Jones to find ways I can help him feel calm and confident.

I’m also reading ‘Burnout: Solve Your Stress Cycle’ by Emily and Amelia Nagoski, which is a fascinating book that examines the gap between expectations and reality for women, and helps us to deal with the overwhelm that we can feel as we try (and fail!) to bridge that gap. I recommend it!

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

Interesting question! We often don’t see that the playing field isn’t quite level for us as women, so initially my mind went blank, but this question is eye opening to reflect on. There’s a real ‘not good enough’ message that can come from gender bias and expectations.

From the nursery worker who called me ‘bossy in an organising way’, which even as a youngster felt like a very bad thing to be (and I’m sure a boy would have been labelled a ‘leader’); to the police officer who asked me as a teenager “where are your bruises if you didn’t want it?” discounting my verbal resistance and the strength it took to even speak up against a far more powerful man; and then the boyfriend’s mother who told me “I’ve given up on you giving me grandkids” when I was in my 20s without so much as asking if I want or can have a child.

Like a lot of us growing up, I learnt that to be a ‘good girl’ meant to be small and quiet; convenient and still; to give and think about other people’s wants and needs before my own. So the biggest challenge has been (and still is at times) unlearning all that people pleasing and reconnecting with who I really am; saying no, setting boundaries, using my voice, standing up for myself and even giving myself permission to be disliked. The funny thing is that in letting go of efforts to meet expectations, please and fit in, I feel like I truly belong far more today than I ever have before.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

Language matters, right? Let’s ditch the words ‘bossy’ and ‘shy’ when we’re talking to little girls. Let’s ask ourselves, ‘would I be using the same words to describe a man?’ when we’re talking to and about women. If the answer is ‘no’, then you know you need pick a more empowering word.

8. Describe your perfect day?

Oh, a dose of ‘blue mind’ on a warm day with a Cornish walk and a sea view; splashing in the water with my niece and nephews; settling down with my dog and a book for a while, and finishing the day with a glass of wine under the stars.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Ahhh there are so many wonderful women in Cornwall who are creating a ripple effect of positive change, and they all deserve to be celebrated! Cornwall is home to hundreds of female-led social enterprises, like Quiet Connections, and there’s one person that lots of us have in common: Sally Heard.

Being a fierce advocate of social entrepreneurship, Sally has been stepping out of her own comfort zone to champion social and environmental change in Cornwall for many years; fighting for funding and support and bringing the School for Social Entrepreneurs to Cornwall.

It’s Sally’s compassionate nature and the belief that she has in people that really makes a difference. I remember her being a gentle cheerleader throughout the SSE Start Up Programme application process, encouraging me with a nod and a smile when I was pitching my idea ‘dragon’s den’ style and my voice and knees were shaking. Ultimately, Sally’s work is empowering female leaders to create their own unique ripple effects and Cornwall is lucky to have her.

10. Give us a tip?

“True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” Brene Brown talks about belonging to yourself so deeply that you can be a part of something and stand alone in the wilderness. For many of us, this ’coming home’ to ourselves is our work in the world and it begins with a letting go of expectations. So I’m sharing a poem that resonated with me early in my journey:

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,

And you are not in this world to live up to mine.

You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.

If not, it can't be helped.”

― Fritz Perls

About Hayley Stanton - Coach, Social Entrepreneur & Podcast Host:

Hayley Stanton is an NLP Practitioner, mBIT Coach and Blue Health Coach. She is the founder of Quiet Connections CIC and co-hosts the Quiet Connections Podcast. Hayley lives near Redruth, Cornwall and is mum to an anxious rescue cat and dog, Little Bug and Robin. Hayley grew up in Falmouth experiencing social anxiety, leading to fearfully avoiding the good -and the necessary- things in life and attempting suicide aged 19. She is passionate about using her personal and professional experiences for starting conversations, raising awareness and helping others walk the path from social anxiety to quiet confidence too.

Find out more at QuietConnections.co.uk

Dr Melissa Hardie-Budden MBE - Social Historian, Publisher & Founder of The Hypatia Trust

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

For 25 years the Hypatia Trust has focussed my attention (quite obsessionally) on the cares, works and woes of women in their daily lives and in world-wide communities and cultures. Newspapers, magazines, books and the social media upload an enormous rainfall of sociological and personal content about sex, gender identity, women’s rights, domestic abuse, child development and deviation from various historical and repetitive norms of behaviour and classification. Though not necessarily having satisfactory answers to the multiple questions often addressed to me personally as a researcher and author, I take at least some comfort from the bringing together of a kinship circle and network of persons – feminine, masculine and gender-fluid – who both process these topics in the arts, crafts and sciences, and who are prepared to give a voice to the many who attempt the interpretation of the issues within their own lives. To have founded and developed the Hypatia Trust with the help and collaboration of my family partners, friends and colleagues is perhaps my fondest achievement, but it has not been mine alone – rather, a group achievement which continues to flourish.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

The desire to make a difference in a positive way motivates me strongly. Inevitably this desire has not always met with success and I regret some of my poor choices and mistakes with genuine sorrow. From an early age I was an avid reader, as was my mother (an only child) and my grandfather (a journalist and book collector), both of whom were strongly influenced by Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens). My German family came from near his on the Mississippi River at Hannibal, Missouri and it was always mooted that we had a kinship relationship with him (not proven). I loved his humour, wisdom and story-telling and perhaps some of his motivations became my own. I have shared his love of cats: “While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats.” And, of course, I used to be a redhead – before the greys snuck in.

3. What do you owe your mother?

All of the sense and sensibilities that I have had are due to her – and none of the faults. Her creativity was always to the fore, with her strong adherence to the arts of design and home-making (interior domestic arts) as well as the life-long admiration and service to learning and academic achievement (gaining her university degree in philosophy & history after five children and two marriages in her early 50s.) It has been a privilege to be her eldest daughter and to gain so much from her resilience.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

In history, Florence Nightingale, for her leadership and good intentions, Elizabeth C T Carne of Penzance, for her intelligence and support to the town and its public institutions, and L Norna Jamieson, late of Shetland, my sister-tutor at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, for her love and example. In the present there are too many to name amongst my friends whom I love and admire, but on the national stage I would include the thinker Mary Beard of Cambridge, the Bronte scholar Patsy Stoneman of Hull, and the outstanding publisher Nicola Beauman of Persephone Books, of Bath (younger sister of my late friend, Jessica Mann Thomas, novelist, of Truro).

5. What are you reading?

I tend to read in themes – criss-crossing between non-fiction and fiction. Right now I have just completed All That I Am, a novel by Anna Funder about the 1930s and the rise of Hitlerism, after finishing Colm Toibin’s new novel The Magician, about the Nobel author, Thomas Mann (1875-1955), who wrote his magnificent works over the World Wars and the interim between. This set of interests for me has been inspired by the important historical studies of Germany in the political and social world of the 20th century by our friend and colleague, Frederick Taylor, a prodigious researcher and thinker in his own right – who lives here in Cornwall.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I really don’t know, because when inspected close up, they seem to disappear.

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

By kindness, understanding and education. We are all people with varying capacities – and our only hope is to work with this set of facts.

8. Describe your perfect day?

A few happy minutes with a friend, a cup of tea and a brownie, some pleasing messages on the e-mail, a cuddle with my cats, a gripping book to read: these in any mix and time make for perfection. But one cannot have this every day – lots of work to do.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Statuary is not of special interest to me, and at present would be an unwise investment for public monies (I believe); better to invest in safe housing and community care initiatives. This is a better legacy of one age to another.

10. Give us a tip?

Speak louder. Be brave. To be too quiet is evidence of disinterest.

Melissa introducing her new book

2019, Hypatia Trust at the Regent, Chapel Street

Kirstie Edwards - Community Leader & Ocean Activist

I’m Kirstie, I'm 43, I’ve got six children, 4 biological, 2 nonbiological, ages ranging between 8 and 22. I've lived in Cornwall for 30 plus years and I just love it here. It’s my home, my heart, my favourite place to be. I feel quite claustrophobic and landlocked from away from the sea!

I'm chronically ill, I've got a rare condition called Still's Disease which is a rare type of rheumatoid arthritis that affects my organs as well as my joints. I used to be a university lecturer but had to give up 10 years ago because of my health. I’m a community leader for Plastic-Free Falmouth and I run a small business called Plastic Oceanic which makes jewellery out of non-recyclable plastics. Most recently, I was elected to be deputy mayor of Falmouth!

I’ve given my life over, since becoming too poorly to work full time in a traditional sense, to try to make a positive change and a difference to my community and people’s lives as I can.

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

It's got to be my kids. My kids just blow my mind with how compassionate and empathetic and kind and resilient and incredible they are. We've had a tricky journey as a family, it's been me on my own with them for a long time, and although I have a wonderful partner now, I've been the one constant that’s always there for them. Despite all the challenges they are turning into remarkable human beings, against the odds, and I'm very grateful for that.

2. What motivates you to do what you do?

Being chronically ill is really tricky. There are the obvious things of being unwell, the constant appointments, struggling for money and all those things, but it's also the loss of self and the idea of what we're ‘worth’ as individuals.

When I wasn't able to leave the house and I hadn't yet found my place again it was really difficult when people asked ‘What do you do?’ ‘Oh I'm a single mother on benefits’ and that societal shift in how people perceive you is really quite profound, and I found it really difficult. I had been an academic, and I wasn't suddenly a different person just because I was chronically ill through no fault of my own; so that was really challenging.

I started writing a blog about how it feels to be chronically ill and the challenges of societal perceptions. My mental health wasn’t great and I started just going for short walks and picking up litter and listening to motivational podcasts. That just grew and gave me the confidence to keep taking that one step further, and fast-forward five years and I’m a leader in my community, I've written articles for all sorts of different publications, I’ve co-written a book with my Dad, and I've still got a book in me about my story.

It’s all about bringing balance, as I wanted to give something back. I felt like I was taking a lot from the NHS in terms of benefits, even though actually it's not very much to live on, but I wanted to balance those scales and give back. I just want to make a bloody difference! I just care!

3. What do you owe your mother?

She taught me to be incredibly strong and resilient and adaptable and versatile. She's also chronically ill and has had a lot of challenges within her life, and she showed me how to be strong and how to never bloody quit. Never give up no matter what, even when you're scrapping at the bottom of the heap and you feel like you never gonna get out, just to keep pushing. She’s been a wonderful teacher in that.

4. Which women inspire you and why?

I’m so lucky to be surrounded by strong, incredible women. My Mum, and my Nan, she was a constant source of inspiration to me. Also stand-out people like Michelle Obama and the journey that she came on is so admirable. Local people: there's Lizzi Larbalestier who has dedicated her life to making positive environmental impacts. Rachel Yates down in Penzance, Claire Wallerstein and her team working on climate change. Cornwall is full of incredibly inspiring women but I’m also very lucky to be inspired by my close friends.

5. What are you reading?

I always have two or three books on the go but am really enjoying Matt Haig at the moment, and I’m reading Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’. It’s nice to have factual alongside escapism.

6. What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I’m deputy mayor, and it really annoys me when people call me ‘mayoress’ and people assume that I’m the other mayor’s sidekick! The old boys network is alive and kicking, let’s make no bones about that!

7. How can the world be made a better place for women?

Equality – in everything! Including for the LBGTQ community. I don’t think our work is done until love is love. I have to have faith that I will see seismic changes, so much has changed already, and we mustn’t forget that, but there is still a long way to go.

8. Describe your perfect day?

A moment to be left alone in peace and quiet!!

Waking up having slept under the stars on the coast, having breakfast on the fire, then a paddleboard adventure, stopping to explore as I go. Later in the day meeting up with good friends and good people. Finishing off with shooting stars! Simple pleasures.

9. We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

The bal maidens always jump out at me as a Cornish icon that we should probably pay more attention to! Women in the fishing and mining industries. Unsung heroes who really make quite big changes in their communities by being very ‘normal’ and humble and cracking on. Maybe a lovely group statue of women working the land? Picking up litter?!

10. Give us a tip?

Something I've tried to live by as I've got older is the ‘Rule of Five’. When you're finding something really difficult and upsetting and you don't know if you're gonna get through it, ask: Will it matter in five minutes? Will it matter in five hours? 5 days? 5 weeks? 5 months? 5 years? Try and get some perspective on the hard things in life, because life is bloody difficult and very few people have an easy path. I’ve decided to share my story more because I think that it's important that we all see how tough life is even if it looks like everything's okay, and maybe that will teach people a little bit more empathy and to be a bit kinder. Be kind and remember the rule of five!

Sarah Jane Humphrey - Botanical Illustrator

Botanical Illustrator and Business Owner, Sarah Jane Humphrey

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Navigating my way through some difficult times and emerging with my own business, a published book and 3 RHS medals for my Botanical Illustrations.

What motivates you to do what you do?

Passion; I love my work as a Botanical Illustrator and there is never a day goes by where I don't feel inspired to create. Whether that be for the love of drawing and painting or with a with a greater picture to make bigger changes, such as addressing subjects such as climate change or connecting with nature through my art.

What do you owe your mother?

My Mum taught me so much about the natural world from a very early age, encouraging my curiosity for looking closely and enjoying and observing. She also has a beautiful and quiet resilience and incredible strength, which I never really saw until I was older, it's inspiring.

Which women inspire you and why?

Marianne North, the way she was driven through her passion to discover new plants to paint. Her tenacity to travel alone to previously unknown destinations and achieving such a body of paintings and research from these trips that she became a pioneer of her time.

Sylvia Earle, driven by her love of the ocean and strong desire to observe and protect it. I think she has shown amazing strength and courage to pursue her dreams in what was formerly a man’s world, pushing boundaries, breaking records and being a formidable role model.

What are you reading?

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I studied Technical Illustration for 2 years before my degree, this was historically a men's career to go into at the time, just myself and one other woman finished the course, I was awarded a distinction for this qualification. I have also lost count of how many times I have been told by men in powerful positions that I can't do something or made to feel that my voice is meaningless, my knowledge has been my power. In many of these situations I have used my brain and grit to find a way around these hurdles to get what is fair and should be an equal right.

How can the world be made a better place for women?

I think there needs to be a lot more done to make women feel safe and heard. I also think we need to bring up our sons to respecting women and allowing them a balanced equality.

Describe your perfect day.

Dipping in and out of the sea, a sketchbook close to hand and long sunshiny days.

We’ve noticed there really aren’t many statues of Women around Cornwall – who would you like to see remembered?

I would love to see Dame Barbara Hepworth, who I have tenuous family artistic links to or Rowena Cade, Daphne Du Maurier there are so many!

Give us a tip?

Be yourself, don't let a lifetime pass you by before you discover who you really are.

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About Sarah

Inspired by nature and fascinated by hyper-realism in art, Sarah has published books, won medals for her artwork and regularly takes on commissions from high-profile and local brands. Her bricks and mortar shop ‘Botanical Atelier’ is a gem of Falmouth high street, and she also hosts botanical illustration workshops to share her skills.

Elizabeth Dale - writer, researcher & Cornish Bird Blogger

Elizabeth Dale, of the Cornish Bird history blog

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

If you had asked me this ten years ago I would have probably said crossing the Sahara desert or climbing a volcano in flip-flops but these days my life is far more focused on Cornish horizons. It has been a dream of mine for a long time to make a living from writing and I am (very) slowly working my way towards that, which is amazing and very satisfying. But to be honest, completing my degree and getting a First at age 40 was an incredibly proud moment for me.

What motivates you to do what you do?

I grew up feeling deeply connected to where I was from, to the farm where my family have lived for generations but also to Cornwall as a whole. However I realised how little I really knew about my own history, my own Cornish culture. We were never taught about any of it at school and I thought that I couldn’t be the only one missing that knowledge, that connection to our shared past, so I set out to try and change that. My writing and my blog is about bringing together the lesser known stories of Cornish history and Cornish folk and sharing that with anyone who is interested, because if we don’t record those stories they will be lost forever and a little piece of ourselves will be lost too.

What do you owe your mother?

Simply put I probably owe my mother everything, she is the silent support that holds everything together. She taught me the importance of kindness from an early age but also the importance of hard work and standing on your own two feet.

Which women inspire you and why?

I am very fortunate to have some truly amazing female friends who make my life better in every way. We are all very different, we all bring something different to the table but they have taught me to have faith in myself, to be who I want to be with no apologies, and that you really can choose your family.

I also love history, for anyone who reads my writing you will know that that is my main focus, but what I am really obsessed with is the lives of ordinary people from the past. I spend much of my time trawling through newspaper archives hunting down some strange story or other, and I find that as a general rule women from the past are mostly completely invisible, just secondary to the main action. Very often women only come into focus because they have done something shocking or criminal! But I love discovering the stories of these women, the rare ones that step out from the shadows, and the window their lives give us into the past. For example, I have been researching prostitution in 19th century Cornwall for a number of years now, gathering as much information as I can about certain individuals’ lives because they are just as worthy of being remembered as any queen or duchess.

Oh and Mary Beard is a bit of a hero of mine!

What are you reading?

I am always reading about ten books at the same time! I was recently sent a copy of Strange Waters by Jackie Taylor, which is a collection of short stories set in Cornwall. And beside my bed I have the new book by Alice Roberts which is about prehistoric burials, and also Des Hannigan’s latest – The Shoal Ground, I just love his writing and he has been very supportive of me.

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I am very lucky that I can’t really think of many occasions where my gender has been an issue. I am pretty stubborn and very little will stop me from doing what I want to do once I set my mind to something. I grew up in a house where everyone mucked in together, although having said that I wasn’t really allowed to drive a tractor!

Earlier in my life I worked and travelled a great deal in countries where women’s status in society is quite different from our own here in Europe, where I was treated very differently from how my partner was as a man, where expectations of what I should or should not being doing or saying or how I should behave were fairly frustrating for me, and that made me incredibly grateful for the progress we have made. But that’s not to say that we don’t have further to go of course.

How can the world be made a better place for women?

By looking out for each other, supporting each other and not allowing misogyny to go unchallenged. By building stronger communities, and putting more women in authority positions, that would be a start.

Describe your perfect day.

Probably walking alone on Bodmin Moor, I just love it up there, the space, the peace and those wide horizons. I find myself walking along with a stupid grin on my face. I’d need a flask of tea in the winter and a cheese sandwich of course.

We’ve noticed there really aren’t many statues of Women around Cornwall – who would you like to see remembered?

Emily Hobhouse comes to mind straight away, for her humanitarian work during the Boar War and amongst Cornish miners. She is fondly remembered in South Africa but the newspapers here didn’t even report her death.

And alternatively I have always loved the story of Mary Kelynack who famously walked from Penzance to London to see the Great Exhibition in 1851. She was rather elderly at the time, her real age is hotly debated, and she caused a bit of a stir, even having tea with the Lord Mayor. I know she may not seem like she deserves the same recognition as Emily Hobhouse but I just think she embodies a certain Cornish spirit of single-mindedness, curiosity and adventure.

Give us a tip?

I’m not very good at those fun comedy tips so I’ll just say: Regret nothing. Everything that happens, good or bad, teaches us something, I know it is easily said but I really believe we should never regret the choices we make, however its turns out, because we made that decision for the right reasons at the time.

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About Elizabeth

Elizabeth was born on a farm near Falmouth and, not really knowing what she wanted to do with her life, she left home in 2000 and spent roughly ten years travelling to more than 50 countries with her partner, doing all kinds of crazy jobs to get by. When she returned to Cornwall she worked for a while with an antique dealer, learning to restore old furniture, and then, after a few years as a community care worker, she finally indulging her passion for writing and local history. She completed her degree in Journalism and Creative Writing in 2018 and is now a freelance writer, researcher and blogger.

Lynne Jones - Writer, Researcher, Relief Worker and Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

Lynne Jones.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Giving children a voice. I think in one way or another this is what I have been doing most of my professional life, whether it is listening to them in the privacy of the clinic, or interviewing and recording their stories to put in the public domain. Through books, the  migrant child story telling website or my TED talk. Most of them have been children whom no one has ever talked to before, or sought their opinions.

What motivates you to do what you do?

At a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Newlyn, 2020.

I confess that a lot of the time it is anger at the state of things. I see a bad situation, feel it is unbearable and want to act. Action can take many forms and I have been involved in various non-violent protests beginning with anti-apartheid at university. I was so angry about nuclear weapons in Britain in the eighties, that I resigned my job as a young doctor in Casualty and went to live at the Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham, where I met so many inspiring amazing women. The nuclear threat hasn’t gone away and now we face another existential threat: the climate and ecological crises. Just this weekend I have been protesting with Doctors for Extinction Rebellion. We held an inquest on Harbour Beach in St Ives, along from the G7 meeting. Take a look. That’s my Ethiopian husband in the picture protesting about the impact of these crises in the Global South. He is another inspiration in my life.

What do you owe your mother?

Both her and my grandmother were working women all their lives. My grandmother did not go to grammar school when offered a place because she wanted to work to support her family and became a messenger girl in a big office, put herself through night school and started her own business. My mother became a doctor. I owe them the belief that women can do anything they set their minds to.

Which women inspire you and why?

Sophie Scholl of the White Rose. I cannot imagine having her courage but her determination to resist the Nazi regime and her choice of nonviolence to do it is inspiring.

And Emma Goldman for life lived according to her principles and for redefining what it meant to be an anarchist.

What are you reading?

Humankind by Rutger Bregman.

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I think going to a girls only school and then a women’s college was protective, in that the assumptions by all those who taught us, as in my family, was that we could do whatever we set our minds to. The first place I really encountered sexism was at medical school and then as a junior doctor, where the choice was remaining silent and feeling miserable, or calling it out and becoming unpopular for being one of those ‘stroppy women’.

How can the world be made a better place for women?

Education, education, education.

Describe your perfect day?

To be out in the natural world with my husband. We both love walking, birdwatching, kayaking…I am so lucky to call this county my home.

We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Dora Russell, I was lucky enough to know her in the last decade of her life. She never gave up working for what she believed in: Peace, women’s education and freedom.  She wrote the forward to my first book Keeping the Peace, a Women’s Peace Handbook and her memoir The Tamarisk Tree was inspirational.

Give us a tip?

Believe in yourself, and don’t let anyone tell you that it can’t be done or that it’s not your place to do it.

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About Lynne

Dr. Lynne Jones is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, writer, researcher, and relief worker. Jones has been engaged in assessing mental health needs and establishing and running mental health services in disaster, conflict, and post-conflict settings around the world since 1990. Her latest book is The Migrant Diaries, published by the Refuge Press in 2021. This draws on reflections, which the FXB Center has been publishing on its website, about her work with migrants in Europe and Central America and includes drawings and stories by migrant children themselves. More of these stories can be found on Migrant Child Storytelling, a website co-created by Jones with her colleague in international development, Luke Pye. They are also the subject of her 2019 TEDx talk.

The Migrant Diaries is available here with a 30% discount, and all proceeds go to Choose Love.

Kirsty Cotton - Talent Development Manager at Hall for Cornwall

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

There was a time when becoming a parent felt like a mountain to climb where it was impossible to reach the summit, we had to do a lot of personal work and a lot of learning to get ourselves in the best place to adopt, and I am still learning every day what it means to be a parent. Getting to this place and overcoming everything that came before it is definitely my greatest achievement so far.

What I want for my child, I also want for every young person and as an ex-teacher I still keep in touch with some of the young people I taught between 2001 and 2014. It is a huge privilege to see what they are achieving as adults, especially when I see how kind and thoughtful they are within their chosen professions and recall conversations we had when they were children, struggling with figuring out the world and how to deal with injustice. All I want for my child is that they are happy, thoughtful and kind and give something back to the community and if we can get there, that will be the greatest achievement of my lifetime!   

What motivates you to do what you do?

I always wanted to teach and I think the motivation within that comes from wanting to help others to achieve their goals. I left teaching because I was tired, ill and disillusioned with the system and I wanted to find other ways to make a difference. I was fortunate that my role at Hall for Cornwall came along at the right time and that the team there recognised that my skills would translate well in to working with Theatre and Dance artists. I am motivated by seeing progress for myself and others. I know there are opportunities for artists to create personal, artistic or political progress in every interaction with a member of the public - it’s thrilling to see.

What do you owe your mother?

My Mum has an incredible work ethic, she always worked, yet she was always present. She and my Dad have passed that ‘work hard, be nice’ attitude on to both myself and my brother and we like to think we are doing it justice! My Mum is gentle, thoughtful and generous, she’s a wonderful Mother and Grandmother. I grew up during the 80’s and I was encouraged to push myself to achieve academically and creatively. I come from a working class background but my parents made sacrifices to help me financially at University through both my BA and a Masters degree. Through circumstance, I never actually attended a graduation ceremony – so realistically I probably owe her one of those Graduation photos with the cap, gown & scroll. Sorry Mum, maybe next time!   

Which women inspire you and why?

Anyone who is spinning the plates of a paid job, caring responsibilities and activism. I think inspirational women are all around us, quietly doing the work it takes to move things forward. At Hall for Cornwall, we work with a group of mid-career Associate Artists for whom we provide bespoke artistic support. Of the 18 individual artists we work with in this context (some of them are in companies), 12 of them are women and they are all completely inspirational, making work with social capital and has tangible impact coupled with high production values – and they are full of kindness and empathy, I am really fortunate to work with them.

What are you reading?

I’ve always got a few books on the go, I’d like to say I read one book and then move on to the next, but alas I have different reading for different moods and I never finish one thing before starting another. Currently I am reading The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn, I adored The Salt Path and I’m enjoying the next installment of Raynor’s memoir and listening to her perspective once again. The second book I have open at the moment is Hag, which is a collection of short stories, forgotten folktales retold with a feminist perspective - I bought this because one of the stories is written by Cornish writer, Natasha Carthew and I’m enjoying them in short bursts. The other book I’m dipping in and out of is Performance in an Age of Precarity by Maddie Costa and Andy Field, which is a series of mini essays about the writers’ experiences of and commentary on theatre over the last 15 years or so – all the writing is complete personal reflection, and really highlights that incredible live link between the artist and an audience member.

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

As a younger woman working in leadership in the Education sector, I found that some male colleagues attitudes towards my leadership were obstructive and I don’t think that, at the time, I was really aware of the reasons why that was. I also remember a School Governor questioning my use of ‘Ms’ as a title, he said that he didn’t know ‘what I was’ and I wasn’t equipped in knowing how to challenge him. At the time these attitudes felt personal rather than political, and now with wider reading, education and experience, I see it for what it was and I would certainly address it differently with hindsight.  I work with a lot of artists at the beginning of their careers through our work with the New Artist Network, and I would encourage them to call out this discriminatory behaviour, and support them in doing so – there’s no place for it in our industry or wider society.

How can the world be made a better place for women?

People could just consider women’s individual perspectives more readily, there is a huge plurality of experience and consequently a need, both globally and locally for there to be more women in the rooms where decisions are being made on every level. Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women is a real eye-opener, we are living in a world built for white men with money – it isn’t OK.

I believe #metoo is having a huge impact and will continue to do so, as women grow in confidence in calling out sexual harassment, abuse and violence. When I was still teaching I asked a room full of 15 year old girls whether any of them had been spoken to inappropriately on the street walking to or from school in their school uniforms. Of 30 young women, 29 of them had experienced harassment by older men whilst still in their school uniform, they had just believed it was part of everyday life and had never told anyone about it. Young women shouldn’t grow up thinking this is normal, and we have to continue to call out harassment on every level, however frustrating and repetitive it might feel.

I’m only just beginning to experience what it’s like to be a working parent, something most of my peers have been doing for a while and I’ve yet to formulate my thoughts on it – but they are incoming!  

Describe your perfect day?

It would be a dry day in the Autumn, my favourite time of year. It would start off with a dip in the Geothermal pool at the Jubilee Pool in Penzance, and then a stroll round both the Exchange and Newlyn galleries. I would then walk on the coastal path with my partner on pretty much any stretch between Mousehole and St Ives. We’d have a long lunch at The Gurnard’s Head in front of the fireplace and then we’d drive home along the best bit of road in the UK, the B3306. All of this is totally achievable so I must make some time to do it this year! 

We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

She would thoroughly deserve this & also probably hate it, but I think Anna Maria Murphy has made an incredible contribution to the theatre scene in Cornwall and across the UK over a lifetime of work. She is incredibly generous with her time in supporting other artists and she is a virtuoso storyteller, listening intently to people’s stories and then weaving them into a beautiful tapestry of words. I’d love to see a statue of Anna, notebook in hand with a plaque saying ‘Anna Maria Murphy, Bard of Penwith’.

Give us a tip?

Did you know that Potato Waffles were invented to be cooked in the toaster? Mind. Blown.

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About Kirsty

Kirsty Cotton is the Talent Development Manager at Hall for Cornwall, working with Dance & Theatre Artists & Practitioners across Cornwall, developing opportunities for audiences to see their new, exciting and inspiring work. She is an ex Drama & Theatre Studies teacher and Pastoral leader specialising in restorative practices, working in Secondary schools across the South West after training at Cambridge University. Kirsty recently trained as a Relational Dynamic Coach and is interested in the use of coaching in arts producing to motivate artists in reaching their potential. Following a long journey with recurrent cancer, Kirsty is now more than 5 years in remission and she & her partner Olly are adoptive parents to one brilliant, resilient, young person.

Find her on Twitter: @kirstycotton

Rebecca Cobb - Author and Illustrator

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Aside from getting through the recent lockdowns where we were balancing work, childcare, home schooling, and missing our friends and family all at the same time as feeling very frightened and worried about the world, then I think that my greatest achievement is making a career out of drawing - one of my favourite things to do. I spent many years after graduating from university when I was getting little or no illustration income but I used that time to push myself and to keep developing my work and not giving up. I feel so lucky that I knew what I wanted to do with my life and had the stubbornness to persevere for so long!

Illustration ©Rebecca Cobb from ‘Aunt Amelia’s House’ published by Macmillan Children’s Books 2021.

Illustration ©Rebecca Cobb from ‘Lunchtime’ published by Macmillan Children’s Books 2012.

What motivates you to do what you do?

I love drawing and I also love reading picture books and poring over the beautiful illustrations. I keep illustrating because I wish I could do something as good as the illustrators whose work I love and admire. It is also the most rewarding experience to hear from children who read my books and a very good reason to keep making more.

What do you owe your mother?

Everything! But perhaps one of the main things is my passion for drawing. My mum is really good at it and some of my fondest childhood memories are of us drawing and painting together. I remember a primary school trip where she was a parent helper and as part of the day we all had to choose a portrait to sketch from. My mum’s drawing was so incredible that everyone was admiring it and then the next day my teacher put it up on the wall in our classroom where it stayed for the rest of the year and I was so proud that she was my mum!

Illustration © Rebecca Cobb from ‘The Paper Dolls’ written Julia Donaldson and published by Macmillan Children’s Books 2012.

Illustration ©Rebecca Cobb from ‘Hello, Friend!’ published by Macmillan Children’s Books 2019.

Which women inspire you and why?

My mum because, as I mentioned, I owe her everything. Also, my two daughters who amaze me every day with how kind, funny and clever they are. And lots of my friends and women I work with who manage to juggle so much in their lives and I don’t understand how they do it! I am trying to learn to be more like all of these people, especially my 6 year old who is effortlessly brilliant in social situations - something that does not come naturally to me!

What are you reading?

My mum has just lent me ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell - I have only read the first couple of pages so far but I love the way she writes. I really struggle to find the time to read much at the moment and keep telling myself that I will make more effort because I really miss it. I always think about Thomas Hardy because I read that he used to get up at 5am every day to give himself an hour or two of reading time before the day started but I have tried to do this and I am so tired that I can’t keep my eyes open!

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

I feel very lucky that I don’t feel that I have come across any. I am freelance so happily get to be my own boss. I work with my agent and small teams of people at different children’s publishers, most of whom are women. I get to choose things like when I work and when I spend time with the children, how long I took for my maternity leave each time, and while we share the childcare, my husband took on a larger portion of it so that I would have more time to concentrate on my work.

Illustration ©Rebecca Cobb from ‘There’s An Owl In My Towel’ written by Julia Donaldson, published by Macmillan Children’s Books 2016.

www.globalgoals.org

How can the world be made a better place for women?

There is a long way to go but I am feeling hopeful after learning about the Global Goals, (not just because they have a beautiful logo!) but because they set out the 17 sustainable development goals that the UN has been working towards since 2015. If we can all work together to achieve these goals then I think they have the power to create a better world for everyone.

Describe your perfect day?

Well I would love the chance to do more reading, so perhaps a day of lying in a hammock alongside my husband, somewhere sunny and warm and surrounded by trees and birdsong, reading books and eating chocolate while our children play happily nearby without shouting at each other too much.

We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

I am a big fan of Daphne Du Maurier’s writing and because she spent a lot of her life here and set many of her books in Cornwall then I think I would choose her. Inspired by her famous short story ‘The Birds’ there is a rook sculpture in Fowey to celebrate her work but perhaps a statue of the writer herself would also be good.

Illustration ©Rebecca Cobb from ‘The Ferry Birds’ written by Helen Dunmore, published by Mabecron Books 2010.

Give us a tip?

Don’t give up!

About Rebecca

Rebecca Cobb grew up surrounded by coloured pencils, felt pens, wax crayons, poster paints and pieces of paper. She studied illustration at Falmouth College of Arts and has been living in Falmouth and working as an author and illustrator ever since.

As well as illustrating her own picture books, published by Macmillan, she has also illustrated works by authors including Helen Dunmore, Julia Donaldson, Richard Curtis and Nicola Davies.

In 2013, Rebecca won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Picture Books, and she has been shortlisted for the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal three times.

Rebecca lives with her husband and two young daughters.

www.rebeccacobb.co.uk

Instagram: @rebecca_a_cobb

Twitter: @rebecca_cobb

Glyn Wright Winchester - Falmouth and Penryn Welcome Refugee Families

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

 Co-raising my three children to adulthood. They are bright, engaged, creative and have sharp senses of humour.

Most recently, coming up with the Jumble in a Box concept as an accessible fundraiser for refugee aid and Community Sponsorship. It is so easy! Clear out your unwanted things, books, clothing, etc., stick it all in a fruit box. (Or, contact me, I have plenty of donations to share out across the county!) Put it outside your door with a sign explaining the refugee cause you are collecting for, leave some envelopes and ask for donations. Let folks know they can take what they want and donate cash later through your letter box or print out website and donation links which they can access digitally. It really works! I envision Jumble in a Box all over the place raising money for good causes and promoting the re-use ethos.

What motivates you to do what you do?

To counteract the feeling of dread a few years back, with the rise of the right wing in my birth country of America and in my adopted country of the United Kingdom, I luckily joined forces with some like-minded friends who wanted to communicate that Falmouth and Cornwall are welcoming places for all sorts of people. Jude Munden came across UK government scheme Community Sponsorship, which was slowly taking shape around the country. A group in Bude had welcomed two Syrian refugee families through the scheme and we thought that Falmouth and Penryn would be a great environment in which to welcome a family fleeing war and wanting support to start a new life.

We launched the process in 2018. We welcomed our first lovely, amazing and delightful family in early December 2019. The pandemic added challenges with helping them settle in, but thanks to their resilience and positivity and our Falmouth and Penryn Welcome Refugee Families team, the family is flourishing. As volunteers we have gained an incredible amount as well, which we all had not figured on. Giving is a two-way journey. We will be welcoming our second family this coming summer. I am motivated by the joining together of a community for a common humanitarian goal and the staying power of an organisation which is making a tangible difference for a lot of people.

What do you owe your mother?

A heck of a lot. My openness and friendliness. I think I was strongly influenced by her membership of the New Neighbors League in the early 60s when I was a little girl. Welcoming new folks to the neighbourhood is part of my Texan culture, and Southern hospitality, I guess.

My Mom was an incredibly fair person and taught me an enormous amount about accepting people for who they are. She died when I was eleven years old, but as I age I realise how much she did bestow on me in a short time. She also had an eclectic taste in music, loved the blues and had a fabulous singing voice, which I sadly did not inherit, but I do love all music and the continuous discovery of new types of music.

Which women inspire you and why?

My daughter inspires me. She and her friends, most of who she’s had since primary school, are an incredible force for good in our world. I love their insatiable curiosity in politics, the environment, people, equality, creativity, fashion, nutrition and skincare, combined with their activism. They all work so diligently in their chosen fields. I feel competition for everything is much tougher now than it was when I was in my 20s, but they are so positive in all of their pursuits and in their bond of friendship. The pandemic, I feel, is taking a serious toll on the younger generation, yet I see so much positivity from young people despite the obstacles facing them.

I also have a group of women friends who I sea swim with. Each one of them inspire me, mostly to dive into the cold sea and laugh together. They are The Swannies and our sunrise swims have enhanced my life immensely.

Additionally, my friend who is the mother of the family we welcomed to Falmouth, daily inspires me with her tenacity to learn English and forge a positive life for her family. I will always remember after not seeing her for quite a spell in person due to the first lockdown, when we met, she said, “Long time no see!” She had been diligently studying online with our dedicated team of ESOL teachers and was picking up idioms within months of arriving in Falmouth. My Arabic has not advanced at such a pace, or at all.

And, I can’t not mention every one of my gal pals, near and far, each one inspires hope and fun for me.

What are you reading?

Against a Peacock Sky by my friend and neighbour Monica Connell. This beautifully written story takes me far away and places me in the heart of a tiny village in Nepal, where Monica spent two years for her PhD in social anthropology. And, I am revisiting as a slow read, Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. Our sixth grade teacher read this to us in the early 70s. It made a huge impression on me then. I can’t believe how difficult a read it is for me now.

What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?

This is a tricky question for me as I have always plunged ahead with whatever I wanted to do. I was fortunate to be able to be a stay-at-home mother for ten years, doing voluntary work until I could work part time. My husband, though, would have baked a lot more cakes than I did if he had stayed home to raise them. I never had a burning career ambition, but I don’t blame that on my gender. I have become much less tolerant of mansplaining, which I can come up against with some men my age or older.

Luckily, with the power of age I now stand up to counteract the baloney or decipher if life is too short to waste the time. I believe younger women who have barriers but recognise them more clearly than I did, are able to knock them down more efficiently. I am concerned and disturbed the danger that being a woman encompasses, and though people are joining forces to counteract this vileness, it will be a continuous battle.

How can the world be made a better place for women?

I think that the question should be how can the world be made a better place for everybody.

Equal pay would be a huge step. Women increasingly in positions of leadership in all levels of society and who actively mentor younger women. Misogyny dying out. Mothers, grandmothers, aunties, fathers, grandfathers and uncles together teaching children and living by the value and strength of equality. Everybody sticking up for one another, no matter their differences. Embracing, accepting and celebrating the differences of people and cultures. Encouraging creativity. More teamwork and community-based projects. The obliteration of war. The fight for environmental common sense and practice. Knowing we each need to actively, strive to make the world a better place for everybody every day.

Describe your perfect day?

Getting to the beach for a sunrise swim, seeing some wildlife as a bonus. Laughing with my Swannies. A warm-up walk home. A bowl of porridge and a mug of tea. A potter in the garden. A long dog walk along the Helford River and another swim! A gin and tonic and a delicious dinner made by my husband, or one of the adult kids if they are home, they are all excellent cooks. Another dog walk under the stars to the beach. Tucking up in bed and planning a perfect day in the future when we can hit the road in our camper van and venture someplace, like Dartmoor, with a river to swim in, deserted moors to hike for miles to a pub with an orchard to relax in with a local gin and tonic.

We’ve noticed there really aren’t many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you like to see remembered?

Realistically, I would want the funding to go into an ongoing series of art workshops for all ages and needs throughout Cornwall. I would, though, like to see the artist Winifred Freeman (1866-1961) celebrated with a large-scale automata, placed on the Moor in Falmouth. Winnie was a strong character and a symbol of independence during her time, causing scandal by cycling in pantaloons around Falmouth with her easel on her back at the turn of the 20th century. Falmouth Art Gallery has a fabulous automata made by Fi Henshall in the collection. You can see it when the gallery reopens soon.

Give us a tip?

Smile at strangers. You never know when you just may make that person’s day. Or, make a new friend.

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About Glyn

Glyn Wright Winchester was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1962. After University she travelled in Europe where she worked on a hotel barge on the Canal du Midi. There she met many Brits and came to work in London. She moved to Washington, DC where she worked for a Democratic congressman plus odd jobs waitressing until she fell into a freelance research job. That led her to Ireland. On her way to Ireland via London she met up with an old friend and they started a courtship. They travelled together across America on a Greyhound bus, plus bus and train travel throughout Mexico. They married in her hometown.  Eventually the happy trails led to Falmouth in 1990 where she and her husband, Martin, have lived ever since.

Glyn currently works freelance for Falmouth Art Gallery doing social media. She is on the Board of Trustees of Falmouth and Penryn Welcome Refugee Families and can't wait to get back to France to do volunteer work in Calais and Dunkirk.

Helpful links:

https://falmouthandpenrynwelcome.org/
https://www.mobilerefugeesupport.org/
https://www.falmouthartgallery.com/Gallery/Home