Human interest / Fiona McGowan

Manor Magazine • 12th March 2025

Free Radical

Artist Faye Dobinson lives in West Cornwall, where she produces her eclectic, semi-abstract work: from sculpture to oil paintings, and from figurative to landscape. A self-confessed activist, she talks to Fiona McGowan about what drives her and why she won’t be pigeonholed.

Manor Magazine • 12th March 2025

Creative landscape

In what was once an overgrown valley, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens is now a site blooming with carefully curated flora and some of the country’s most impressive contemporary artworks. Fiona McGowan meets the man behind the vision.

Drift • 5th May 2020

Blood Bikes

The voluntary, out-of-hours motorbike charity that is providing Cornwall with life-saving, medical deliveries. Words by Fiona McGowan

Manor magazine • 23rd April 2019

Viewpoint

Documentary filmmaker and activist Franny Armstrong has been named one of the World’s Top 100 Women, was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from the Open University and pioneered the crowdfunding model. Fiona McGowan visits her super-eco home in Devon to talk life, the universe and climate change.

Manor magazine • 4th April 2019

Life-saver

A Botox nurse in Truro and an aid worker in Lesvos, Anna Norona speaks to Fiona McGowan abour her fight to raise awareness of the suffering of the Yezidi people.

Manor magazine • 4th April 2019

The Language of Laughter

Of vital importance to our wellbeing and a crucial element of human communication, laughter is little understood. Fiona McGowan talks to neuroscientist Sophie Scott to try to unfathom this (generally) happy human reflex.

Manor magazine • 30th March 2019

Riding the Wave

Fiona McGowan meets Tassy Swallow, the golden girl of surfing who dared to diversify beyond competitions to coaching and empowering other young females in the sport.

Manor magazine • 29th March 2019

West of Eden

Carinthia West’s photographs from the 1970s, dug out of a box after many years, give a lens on stardom from a different era. Fiona McGowan meets a woman whose eye on the past keeps her grounded today. Pictures by Carinthia West.

Manor magazine • 29th March 2019

The Philosopher King

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, aka The Black Farmer, takes tea with Fiona McGowan

Manor magazine • 20th February 2019

Super Human

Triple amputee, leadership coach and inspirational speaker – Jon White’s journey from commando to consultant has been marked by resilience and empathy. Words by Fiona McGowan.

Manor Magazine • 18th July 2018

Dishing it out

Keep Cornwall Fed aimed to feed 5,000 people in food poverty by making mouth watering feasts and top-notch nosh for events all over Cornwall. Ex-Eden chef Stuart Millard tells Fiona McGowan how his business works. Photos by Thomas Axon.

Manor Magazine • 10th May 2018

Clothes with Conscience

Fashion Revolution sprang from a desire to drive ethics in the industry. Aiming for greater transparency in manufacturing, its activism is making waves around the world. Fiona McGowan speaks to co-founder Carry Somers.

Manor Magazine • 10th September 2017

Cut from a Different Cloth

A big-bottomed baby and a passion for the environment led Lucy Jewson to turn her back on her high-salary corporate job in 2003 to create Frugi, the organic children’s clothing brand. She reveals to Fiona McGowan the ups and downs along the way.

Manor magazine • 9th September 2016

A History of Adventure

Like the epic Icelandic tales adored by editor and novelist Jane Johnson, her own story winds its way from a rural childhood in Cornwall through to the worlds of publishing, rock-climbing and blockbuster movies. Words by Fiona McGowan.