The Arts / Fiona McGowan

Drift • 24th March 2022

A Love for the Craft

Leach Pottery in St Ives

Manor Magazine • 29th October 2021

Lilac-tinted Spectacles

With a back catalogue spanning four decades, it’s hard to escape the influence of singer-songwriter-producer Stephen Duffy on an ever- changing musical scene. Fiona McGowan enjoys the adventure.

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 • 10th April 2019

Sounding Board

Experimental landscape painter Anthony Garratt is making waves as well as the sound of music with his ground-breaking installation out at sea. Fiona McGowan uncovers the story.

Manor magazine • 29th March 2019

Pit Stop Panache

Hawksfield started life as a collection of dilapidated garage buildings and warehouses. It’s now a buzzy contemporary scene with more than a nod to the cool surf vibe of the North Cornwall coast. Founder Richard Eldridge tells Fiona McGowan about the building of a dream.

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 • 15th March 2017

Fay Weldon

Fay Weldon, CBE, has been producing fiction for 50 years. Her works include 34 novels, numerous dramas for TV and radio, and five stage plays. One of her early books, The Life and Loves of a She Devil, about a woman’s revenge on her philandering husband, instantly became a feminist classic. She has been a judge for the Booker Prize, and is a Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. She lives in Dorset with her husband, Nick Fox. Interview by Fiona McGowan.

Manor magazine • 10th October 2016

Strings of Desire

As The Cornish Banjo Company, luthier Louis Bauress and banjoist John Dowling produce exceptional instruments – and it’s music to Fiona McGowan’s ears. Photos by Martin Yelland.

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.

Manor magazine • 3rd February 2016

Colour and Corners

From his Cornish studio, painter Alasdair Lindsay plays with geometry and shadow to create his striking works of art. Words by Fiona McGowan.

Manor magazine • 6th July 2015

Acts of Magic

Specializing in wildly inventive outdoor performance, Rogue Theatre prides itself on putting the audience right at the heart of its shows. Fiona McGowan finds herself immersed in the magic.

Manor magazine • 13th September 2015

Politics of Waste

Taking plastic as his subject – in both a metaphorical and literal sense – photographer Andy Hughes is documenting the impact our throw-away society is having on the natural world. Words by Fiona McGowan.