How was your week? I had a chat with artist about a women’s creativity retreat she’s hosting in Bali this August. It’s inspired me to pitch a story on the rise of creative biz retreats - I’m seeing them all over socials.

And if I go, a personal essay on how I came home different. It’s been 25 years since I went to Bali, so how did it feel this time as an empty nester free bird? Reclaiming ME after mum through a creative retreat. How I - AND the island have changed. It was crazy busy back then!

The global wellness tourism industry is booming – set to reach over $1.35 trillion by 2028, according to Statistica. From ’s 1-day London WRITE IN to ’s 5-day creative business reset in the Algarve – there’s a real hunger for experiences that go deeper than a holiday. IRL magic, offline time, sisterhood and spirit.

My mate hosts a yoga retreat in Turkey, which sells out every year - the women rebook when they get back. The friendships forged led to a Peru adventure – three of them just walked the Inca Trail. One works in tourism and lived there so knows how to do it ethically. And great to have someone else plan it all…

“I’m giving her all my money! She can organise it.”

In my 20s, I Wwoofed my way round Australia & NZ, staying on farms and ashrams and met Kathy, a mum who invited me to housesit in Sydney for a month while they went to Italy. Totally transformed my trip – no more bedbugs in overpriced hostels. Furry friends! I saved a fortune and loved living like a local.

If you’ve been on a creative retreat - how did it change you? I’m curating a list for inspo. Especially interested in those for journos and influencers so we can learn from each other and take the best from both worlds.

And forget the painting, I wanna go dancing. Where are the rave wellness retreats!? Ibiza is calling. Want to find some affordable ones too, as wellness seems to be a luxury. I can DIY that in St Leonards - our Writers’ Café is free. Come and meet the Barnaby fam.

I’ll offer to interview the Bali crew when they get back and have had time to reflect - wellness by proxy!

Interview with Ana coming soon. In the meantime, you can check out her art.

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End of Copy | Words of Light

Gutted to read about Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil who was targeted and killed this week in a building where she had taken cover from Israeli airstrikes.

2025 was the deadliest year for journalists with a record 125 press members killed, according to the CPJ.

Congrats to Wolfgang Buttress, who’s been commissioned to create the UK's first memorial for fallen journalists. It includes an online public record chronicling their lives and a new memorial at Staffordshire’s National Memorial Arboretum. Plus, a second sculpture at St Bride’s, the Journalists’ Church.

It is a lasting statement that the truth matters, and we will remember the courage and sacrifice of those who died for it. – Sarah Sands, On the Record.

I love his vision for this – and that you can sit and experience it.

Londoners – on Tue 28th we’re holding a vigil for fallen colleagues at 3.30 pm, St Brides, to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day. All welcome. 🙏

More of Wolfgang’s work… TO BE – made with the help of over 40K bees! To be performed in Nottingham on 6 June :)

Viva! 🍸
Nika xo

It’s day 1 of the International Journalism Festival so I’m following along on YouTube. Loving the ‘Perugia Uncut’ BTS - watching people pile in, waiting for the talk, watching them leave. Makes it more of an experience.

“How can you not be romantic about journalism?”

A question (and manifesto of sorts) from Joshi & Lea (The Mill & Zetland). Building on last year’s session about how companies need to stop thinking about news as ‘info’ and connect with people on an emotional level.

How do you do journalism that people can feel?

For about 100 years, we’ve done journalism that takes storytelling away.

I agree we’ve lost some of the magic of early journalism - gathering scenes to invite readers in, capturing the mood of a city. Writers like Alfred Polgar, Joseph Roth, and Joan Didion - where you see someone thinking out loud. Bringing wisdom with journalism. Writing in cafes. Pop-up newsrooms in town centres.

The Feuilleon ✨ ‘Talk of the town’ - a light-hearted, non-newsy supplement in French papers. Gossip, art and book reviews, fashion chronicles, and short literary pieces.

Some stories they’ve published recently that did this well and readers loved.

• In search of the secret garden

• Why has the Adelphi become Liverpool’s dirty secret?

• A ‘serious’ interview about the quality of the drinking water in Denmark. Lea remembers it because the journo starts cracking up (he has the best laugh). Proves it’s human - one thing AI can’t do.

Voice should seep into everything we do.

Lea’s written a bestselling book on butterflies - on beginnings, endings, and the life in between. She set off to see all 64 of Denmark’s butterflies one summer. 🦋

Here are the 10 principles of romantic journalism they practice daily. Pinned to the door of the Brufani bar so you don’t need your phone to read it. #10: Journalism is best done somewhere rowdy - so join us in the pub for a drink.

And some others I’ll be catching up on this week. Creator journalism now has its own tab!

• Creators and the future of journalism: insights on infrastructure building from the US and South Africa

• Building your own brand: risks and opportunities

• How are publishers responding to the ‘creator wave’?

• The Rebooting: Perugia edition

• Starting up a new media now: absolute folly or absolute necessity?

Also how to survive Perugia (and journalism in general) as an introvert – apparently the biggest response they’ve had to any panel!

It is full on – packed rooms and clashing talks so lots of running around FOMO. Most events have too many panels. Most papers publish too much. We need to do less (#5: publish less!).

Interesting to hear The Times’ strategy of publishing “fewer, better stories” has led to three months of record-breaking audience growth.

Next time, I’ll choose a few sessions per day and leave time for networking and exploring the city of chocolate (realised I was more interested in that than most of the talks).

Irl is where the magic happens - corridor chats, sunset aperitivo, fringe events. It gives you a sense of the mood and how people are feeling.

Shared moments. Having a cappuccino on the Brufani terrace overlooking the Umbrian countryside. Turned round and realised the woman next to me was doing the same thing so I said hello.

Things that have stayed with me:

• Eating hunks of focaccia (studded with rosemary) and people-watching on the piazza. Kept me going all day.

• Watching an Italian woman in a sequin jacket and glittery trainers walk her Chihuahua across the cobblestones to meet her friend for lunch.

• Jumping on the minimetro to explore the burbs - the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!

• Watching a man wave an escort away in the Brufani bar - talk to the hand. On to the next table. The guy next to me said he’d seen her there a few times.

• Saying no to a young Italian on the hill above the sacred convent in Assisi. He wanted to be my “tour guide“ as I was on my own. Very charming and persistent.

🌐 The Independent Journalism Atlas

Wikipedia for independents - a directory of 1165 indie journos and creators so you can see who’s doing what, where and how. Mapping the future of news media.

I’m now part of this - under travel, culture and positive news :) Great to see the infrastructure coming together.

It’s not indie vs institution - it’s what we build between the two.

Join the IJA

Ciao for now,
Nika xo

Subscribe now

It’s glorious - 200+ hectares of mostly pine with little trails everywhere. You can walk and bike ride for miles into the wider Sherwood Forest area. DH Lawrence called it the “country of my heart”. I feel very connected to it too - spent most of my childhood out here. Did my dissertation on him, many moons ago.

I went for a wander, watching the butterflies dance and listening to the birds. Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy. So energising, and I loved feeling like a dwarf looking up at these towering trees. Shedding their skins and starting over - a crunchy carpet of pinecones. Inhaling that earthy, woody, herbal smell I can’t get enough of.

Scots Pines can live for up to 700 years - puts life into perspective and makes you realise how small and unimportant you are. We’re just “dust in a lion’s paw,” as Paul Theroux said.

I walked along this main track until it forked off into smaller paths, then turned back—no signs. Didn’t feel unsafe but was conscious of being alone without a whistle or spray.

It is solved by walking

In The Tao of Travel, there’s a chapter called ‘It is solved by walking’. If you have a problem, leave the house and walk it off. Something will shift and you’ll find a solution. Ideas bubble up when you let your brain relax. I felt inspired to do a voice note - love working in motion.

I’m trying to get away from feeling I’m not being productive unless I’m sat at my desk, on the laptop - a habit drummed into me from years of office work. We have the tech to work from anywhere, so why not feel free? Get inspired by nature. Let your voice replace your hands.

I crossed over the road into Thieves Wood, part of a highway linking Nottingham and London called the King’s Great Way. Where wealthy travellers were robbed. More beautiful walks and also a popular dogging spot, mother tells me. I didn’t see any action or outlaws, but I did see loads of litter…

Empty sandwich boxes, vapes, and plastic bags of dog poo stomped into the ground and hung on branches like baubles - why do people do that? No one’s going to clear them up. There aren’t enough bins - no one wants to carry poo for miles.

Also, someone had dumped a massive pile of rubbish—old furniture, clothes, an office chair (we’re all trying to escape it). A few folks standing around staring at it, really dispiriting. I went back the next morning to film it for you and it was all GONE!

Thanks to Archie Ford for starting a crowdfunder to help an 80-year-old farmer facing a £40k fine and prosecution. It’s raised almost £60k and shows the strength of feeling. Things need to change.

Can’t wait to go back and explore some more - I want to walk the Robin Hood Way.

Nika xo

👩🏻‍💻 Body double with me - virtual coworking

This week’s feel good focus session is waiting for you! I’m hosting this for paid members on Wed 15 Apr, 12-3 pm.

I’ll be working on client stuff and my newsletter. Come for all or part of the session – be lovely to see you. Will pop the link in the chat.

I'm testing out Buggyverse - a free social study platform with rooms, timers, and focus tools. Community-first and non-profit. Love the mission and happy to help with beta-testing. 🙏

I bumped into an old school mate the other day (lives in Hastings), and we got chatting about Mansfield. She’s up and down the M1 like a yoyo …

Read more

Happy Solstice! I’m having a clear out—got piles and papers all over the floor. I keep moving them around to feel productive but not taking the time to sit and sort through i.e. read. I have a stack of old journals too. What do you do with yours? Be good to burn them, so I need to find somewhere to do that.

We’re having external works done so it’s all go here. Painting, gutters cleared (my balcony keeps flooding). New tiles and screen. It’s noisy but nice to watch men at work. I thought I’d find it difficult to wfh but it’s been energising. I’ve realised I thrive in chaos. Also love working to live music in coffee shops - it’s childhood stuff.

And early this morning, a vision in overalls sweeping my balcony (like George Clooney but with tattoos) so I popped out to say thanks. Next time I’ll offer him a Nespresso ;)

I’m celebrating with a candlelit sound bath tonight at the Humble Hub—a new wellness / biz collective in St Leonards, which Jo Allen started during the pandemic.

Pic from the unisex loo - good to know who’s got your back!

Spring is my absolute favourite season—sweet, chaotic and breathtakingly beautiful. A time for new beginnings (and cake) ✨

Nika xo

PS St Leonards in the Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live guide as “the acceptable face of seaside gentrification. It’s managed to up-and-come without losing its seaside soul.” Agree but it’s Hastings & St Leonards - we’re a double act and complement each other.

Hit me up if you want a tour!

Copyright & AI progress

The government’s Copyright & AI report is out.

We’ve won a big argument, for now. They’ve dropped the opt-out proposal as their preferred option – just 3% of respondents supported it. (Opt-out would’ve allowed AI developers to scrape creators’ work without permission or pay).

In light of the strong views from the consultation, the gaps in evidence and the rapidly evolving AI sector and international context, a broad copyright exception with opt-out is no longer the government’s preferred way forward.

There’s always a BUT…

Instead, we propose to gather more evidence on how copyright laws are impacting the development and deployment of AI across the economy and the economic benefits of reform.

In other words, they need more time to get their heads round it all.

All our lobbying has paid off - a win to be celebrated. But they’re still planning to reform copyright law, as per Matt Clifford’s 2025 AI Action Plan.

The work programme focuses on AI Labelling, Digital Replicas, Creator Control and Transparency, and a working group for indie creatives.

It’s been a long time coming. I agree with SoA CEO Anna Ganley that “the pace of progress needs to match the excessive speed at which AI is developing and encroaching on creative industries.”

Also appreciate it’s not easy balancing workers’ rights and fair pay for creatives with economic growth and attracting AI companies to the UK. But we don’t want to be in US tech pockets either—we needs our own world class AI companies.

Keep banging the drum—it makes a difference.

Happy reading!

Read the report

Liz Kendall's statement

Really Simple Licensing (RSL)

I wrote about RSL last week. Got a reply from Matt Mullenweg - “On WordPress.com you can install plugins to do this or whatever else you want.” 🙂

From James LePage, Head of AI, Automattic - he’s on the RSL Technical Steering Committee.

WordPress.com continually reviews emerging standards to ensure it remains a strong platform for creators as the open web evolves, including efforts like the Really Simple Licensing standard. We’re evaluating what platform-level support for RSL could look like over time.

Today, WordPress.com site owners already have several relevant customization paths available depending on plan, including installing plugins, adding code to site headers or footers, and modifying robots directives to support this, and other emerging web standards relevant to AI.

For creators interested in experimenting with RSL-style approaches today, plugin-based implementations are already possible. We see initiatives like RSL as part of a broader effort to give publishers clearer control over how automated systems access and license their content.

DONE. Installed and active so let’s see - asserting my legal rights :)

I’m taking myself off to Rye for the day. 🌹

I read Brave New World? – the must-read report by five creator orgs calling for urgent action on GenAI and creators’ rights. Thanks to Dr Rachael Drury, Deborah Annetts and Ed Phelan for their work on this.

Love Baroness Kidron OBE – doesn’t mince her words:

While ministers speak publicly of ‘balance’ and ‘patience’, they have failed to explain why global AI corporations worth billions should be granted privileged access to the cultural assets of this country – without permission, payment, or accountability – while individual UK creators are being asked by their own government to sacrifice their futures.

They’re urging the Govt to adopt the CLEAR framework for regulation of AI:

Consent first
Licensing not scraping
Ethical use of training data
Accountability and transparency
Renumeration and rights

I’ve emailed it to my MP ahead of the Govt’s report on the impact of AI on the ‘creative industries’ on 18 Mar. #JusticeForCreators

Read Brave New World?

Really Simple Licensing (RSL)

Really Simple Licensing – one of the most interesting things I’ve seen lately. An open, collaborative initiative for AI content licensing and compensation provided the AI companies get on board (they’ll have to if the lawsuits keep coming!).

Great to see so many early supporters including Quora, Reddit and Yahoo. Bit disappointed Substack isn’t a featured supporter (publicly, at least). I’ve emailed them and WordPress.com to ask if they’ll implement RSL at platform level as a centralised way to collect royalties.

All I can do here (and on LinkedIn) is block AI training as a suggestion to crawler bots.

Worth joining the RSL Collective to receive fair royalties - it gives you collective bargaining power even if your platform doesn’t (yet!) support it.

Ask them about it too - strength in numbers matters. We’re asserting our rights.

Join the RSL Collective

The future isn’t paywalls or scraping. It’s a structured value exchange. RSL is part of the solution - Cosmin Ene, CEO, Supertab –

Meanwhile, in AI Land… 🤖

• Anthropic launched 13 free certified courses and started a Substack: Claude’s Corner. A retired Claude 3 Opus sends greetings from the other side (of the AI frontier).

• Steven Bartlett on Anthropic’s new research report (always worth reading their stuff - practice over theory).

• Sophia v AI slop. Journo Sophia Smith Galer took on Amazon after finding an AI-generated biography of herself for sale on the site.

• 10k authors published an empty book to protest against the theft of books by tech companies to train AI models.

• Julia Angwin is suing Grammarly (Superhuman) over its paid AI feature that allegedly presented editing suggestions as if they came from her – and other writers – without consent. Appreciate Superhuman’s apology and decision to disable it.

• SoA launched the Human Authored scheme in partnership with the US Authors Guild.

Have a fabulous week.

Nika x

Happy Women’s Day. We need a day of activism followed by an official public holiday, right? Berlin has done this - c’mon London.

I’m off to see Rose Wylie’s new exhibition: The Picture Comes First – our 91-year-old rebel artist and the first female British painter to have a solo exhibition at the RA in London. Why has it taken so long!? And why are paintings by men still more expensive than those by women? I agree it’s “obscene”.

90 works and her biggest exhibition to date. Love the ambition - she has so many stories to tell.

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Celebrating Lyse Doucet, BBC International Correspondent, for her outstanding coverage of the Middle East crisis. She’s been reporting on Iran for decades and has built trust and deep connections with locals. “We need change” is what I remember from her latest video - post January protests.

She’s also been reporting on Afghanistan for 40 years and calls it her ‘second home’. She lived in the Inter-Con in Kabul for a year. Can’t wait to read her first book The Finest Hotel in Kabul. Brilliant idea to tell the story of a country through the hotel and its staff. Civil war, US invasion, the rise-fall-rise of the Taliban - it’s never closed its doors!

Both bold, inspiring women, who’ve dedicated their lives to their art. A reminder to keep on putting yourself out there - and be present and enjoy the little things in life. Sitting in a cafe without worrying about air strikes. Watching Pete the cat potter about her studio, at home in the chaos (he’s in a few of Rose’s paintings).

I read an interview with Lyse in Saga - she hates the word ‘retirement’ and thinks we should banish it. Agree - it makes people feel redundant. I call it ‘Unretirement’. Can’t stand ‘midlife’ or ‘empty nester’ either so FREE BIRD I AM! Everyone should feel free.

Language matters - it shapes our identity. Why would we pigeon-hole ourselves?

Guitar solo at 4:55!! How I want all women to be feeling today and everyday.

Bold Types

I’m also celebrating ME - proud of myself for raising a sassy young woman who’s making her way in the world. Hopefully I’ve given her a good work ethic - with everyday adventure.

Been thinking about what I want to do now and my second life, as Tracey Emin calls it (also want to see). More travel and solo adventures - it’s when I feel most alive and free.

Blending journalism and travel. Travel inspires empathy – tiny steps towards world peace :) Connecting other second act entrepreneurs.

I have a new name and logo. Bold Types was the name of my interview series and I prefer it - more fun. Been down a rabbit hole - Bold Talks, Bold Books, Bold Tours lol. Thanks to Sophie Parsons for bringing my vision to life.

It’s my 6th anniversary on Substack this month. Still enjoying it here - the community, the conversations. Appreciate how they’ve gone all in creating a full tech stack for us - video, livestreaming, podcasts, audio, socials, blog. A flywheel, which makes repurposing content and doing collabs easier.

Lives are a great addition - an experience - done in an hour and you both get clips to share on socials. I’ve been enjoying ’ Substack Writers Salon - she asks what I want to know.

It’s much noisier now - more gurus and playbooks, but you do you. The main focus is still writing & connection.

Hamish has a new book out in October: How to Save The Media. Love the bold title. On putting people above platforms, and his personal journey from scrabbling freelancer to co-founder of Substack.

He’s also in his second act and building his legacy. A book is your business card – more founders should write one.

Raising a glass to all the bold women who’ve inspired and supported me: , , , Aida @ , , , , , , , , Rebecca Dunphy, Pennie Quinton, and many more.

Have a gorgeous week! ✨

Nika x

PS Below for paid subscribers an invite to this month’s Unoffice Hours. Connect - chat - collaborate. Bit of book talk. An hour to yourself, mostly. Planned serendipity :)

Our March read is The New Tourist by Paige McClanahan.

Happy new month!

Hastings’ bid to be the first UK Town of Culture kicked off this week. I went to a packed public meeting to share ideas and give feedback.

They asked us to work in groups and respond to questions like “What are you most proud of about Hastings?” and “What makes Hastings’ culture and creative identity special—and exceptional?” to help shape our story.

Great idea - small towns rock! Full of charm and characters and they connect the country (check out the Slow Ways Map). It’s time they were celebrated.

Hastings has lots of creative energy and a strong DIY/community spirit, but we’re a bit too reliant on volunteers and people’s generosity. The money would help us build on what we already have and grow existing events, without devaluing creatives’ time and energy.

What locals love: our indie spirit (America Ground, Trinity Triangle), green spaces (Alexandra Park, Hastings Country Park), modernist architecture (Pier, Bottle Alley – a ½ mile deco delight, Marine Court, Carlisle Parade Car Park) – the first underground car park in the UK. Very long and colour coded so you can remember where you parked.

We’re the UK’s spiritual home of mini golf – crazy golfers welcome! And the birthplace of TV. Logie Baird came up with the idea while walking in the Hastings hills and transmitted the first pictures in his workshop here. There’s a commemorative plaque in Queen’s Arcade and a Spoons named after him. I’d love to see an exhibition about the history & future of TV. 📺

We also have world champion cheerleaders - all three teams of the Dynasty Reign Allstars won medals in Orlando last year.

Hastings is music

Music is our edge and where we need to put our energy. Hastings Pier has a fantastically rich musical heritage and needs to be brought back into community ownership – the People’s Pier. Bring the ballroom back!

Here’s what Hastings sounds like – a playlist put together by music historians to reflect the last five decades of Hastings Pier.

Fat Tuesday has just finished – a five-day festival of 350+ free gigs and gatherings alongside ticketed events. Brilliant fun, but the artists need more financial support.

The standard of musicianship is second to none. Musicians who were born here, made music here, and have come back again.

We need a world class musical resource centre and more rehearsal rooms and maker spaces.

I’m writing this in Hanuskha coffee house listening to Jason Mcniff who plays with his band here every Saturday and is working on his 10th album - Folk & Americana. New song about ChatGPT…

“Oh ChatGPT, why aren’t you answering me?...”

Lots of interesting, adventurous ideas – great to see the energy and hunger for it. We need to create a powerful story that inspires and entertains the judges – with a focus on legacy.

Create a legacy of investing in creativity, in children, because it’s been sucked out of schools.

Youth education is the only thing that will transform Hastings. The future of the town is children.

It feels timely too. The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Battle of Hastings, is back in UK after 900 years – you can see it at the British Museum in September.

Best of luck to Arts Hastings CIC. 🤞 The council has found 4K in the end-of-year budget so it’s all being done on a shoestring. “No money is going to fat consultants at this time.”

Help Hastings win! If you’ve got a connection to the town or want to support our bid take this wee survey (closes 2 Mar). If we make it to the next stage we’ll get £60K to deliver a full bid.

Share your views

Beside the Sea with JJ Waller at Hastings Museum

Come warm your cockles at Beside the Sea, JJ Waller’s new photo exhibition at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery.

JJ Waller has been documenting seaside towns from Brighton to Benidorm forever. A regular visitor to St Leonards since 2008 – he’s been providing Hastings Online Times with photo stories since it began.

Lovely idea to ask local artists to share the space with him – you can see their sculptures alongside the pics. Not to be missed!

Beside the Sea runs till 5 Apr at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, John’s Place, Bohemia Road, TN34 1ET. Free entry.

From 22 Apr it will be displayed on bus shelter roofs across Brighton – travel to the top deck to see it.

Nika x

PS This month’s Bold Book Club read is The New Tourist: Waking up to the power and perils of travel by Paige McClanahan. How we can be better tourists wherever we go. TBD on our next call.

If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Leave a comment

I worked at Studio Bacchus this week - a creative co-working space in Bradford on Avon run by Ruth (art therapist, artist) and Klas (an architect).

Great set up in a beautiful building with carved stone heads of Greek gods. One guy working in the front office when I got there. Four others around a big table out back.

All very stylish and minimal - prints, plants and Ikea furniture. Tidy kitchen with a Melitta coffee machine and a wee library of design journals and interiors mags - instant calm :) I had a quick chat with the guy opposite, a software designer.

Did some emails and admin but I wasn’t in the mood for working - curious about my coworkers (❤️‍🔥Hottie Alert!) and felt like chatting. The girl next to me had a giant fruit on the table - dying to know what it was but she had her headphones on and I didn’t want to disturb her.

Bit too quiet for me - I can’t work in silence, it reminds me of exams. I’m used to working in cafes with music and libraries with writers’ groups and kids running around. I was relieved when Klas came back and started chatting in the hall before popping over to make sure I was ok.

“Is it ok if I make a coffee?”

”Of course. There might be some left in the machine. There’s no dairy, but you might find some oat milk in the fridge.”

I was just getting into it as everyone else was starting to pack up at five. She did tell me what the fruit was but I’ve forgotten sorry (menopause brain). Love that she’s commuting from her houseboat!

I’m curious to know how Klas ended up in Bradford - he’s travelled a lot. “I didn’t intend to move here, but this place chose me”. The studio was a lockdown project and has “been done on a shoestring.” Three architects in the front office (separate businesses), which keeps costs down and they can support each other.

The coworking space is another income stream and he keeps it admin light. He said BoA is a good place to do business. “There are lots of interesting people here I could introduce you to.”

Bradford Talks are starting again - ‘a monthly event with local speakers who share original ideas and provoke new ways of thinking through stories.’ Held at The Hall on Holt Road (gorgeous Jacobean mansion you can visit).

Also found on Substack - a great way to revive a stagnant Chamber of Commerce! Invite everyone to contribute.

Anyway, it’s a lovely space if you’re in town and need to do some work. Just being grumpy as I arrived late and felt out of sync with the group. I need my home comforts (headphones, blanket). I felt better once I’d had a cuppa and chat - and played with the pooch!

Talking about Ikea - free tea and coffee in the cafe if you join their loyalty scheme or the HejWorkshop, which includes two hours’ free supervised childcare. Smart move as you’ll end up going shopping!

Studio Bacchus @ The Vaults. 24 Silver Street, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1JZ (opposite the Bunch of Grapes, in the Michelin Guide).

Spiritual tourism

I went to check out the Holy Trinity, an award-winning eco church opposite the Saxon church of St Lawrence. Wow. Huge, modern and warm!

Community noticeboard, books, flyers and big tables - a portable seating area. I could hear someone sawing wood and it smelled all incense-y. I felt my shoulders drop. Sat by the rads for a bit (hot!), got my journal out, and lit a candle for my mum.

Klas said: “I’ve always been really interested in that mixture between historic buildings and contemporary architecture within it.” I agree. Man-made stone and all the hard labour that built this town. Regular events, a cafe and I can even learn the bell ropes! Our ancestors would be proud 🙏

Made me feel really safe and held and it puts your problems into perspective. It’s a big world out there.

National Churches Trust: Explore Churches

Got my church fix again in Frome - two boys ran in behind me. “You’ve found your new bestie!” Yeah! Must tell the comms team.

Had a chat with the pastor - mostly about politicians and property prices. Best place to start when you’re new to town as they know everybody and everything. She can’t believe her cottage is now worth half a mill.

Nearby Bruton aka the new Notting Hill is home to George Osborne, art dealers, celebs and internet billionaires. Celebrating the finer things in life (I had the best croissant from Bruton bakery at Timbrell’s Yard pop-up). Lots of good schools but they dominate the town…

At least the kids appreciate the new Greggs ;) “A fat-making factory” as one man called it on Facebook.

Nika x

Hiya 🤗

Quick update from this week’s Office Hours call - I’m doing these monthly for paid subscribers so I can see your faces and hear what you’ve been up to :)

As always, lovely to chat with , our former branch treasurer. A lifetime in music journalism and 56 years NUJ membership so knows his onions. He co-created a course on Negotiation & how to get paid more for your work and has so many rock ‘n’ roll stories to tell…

Like the time he interviewed Sting in a New York hotel room and heard his new song (Sting’s accountant popped in for a chat - there’s a story about that).

How Led Zeppelin tried to use a Shakespearian theatre charity to avoid paying tax – and other creative business lessons from Peter Grant [LedZepNews].

Control your art, control your money… Taylor Swift is a fan!

In November, we heard from Eric Longley, ‘accountant to the stars’ (he did the books for Eric Clapton & Paul McCartney) and financial advisor Ion Tsakalis - tips on how to hang onto whatever you earn as much as possible. [Freelance].

I loved Eric’s perspective on paying tax:

“It's a privilege to pay tax. It means you're earning money. It also means you're helping other people.”

Ion is down the road in Hove and taking on new clients apparently so I might give him a ring and see what I can do. I have two pensions (need to get them both in my Nest egg), but I’m not saving enough to fund my Unretirement. Learn more about low risk investing (I’m avoiding crypto).

I’m helping Julieta through uni (hope they bring the grants back) so how to minimise student debt and save more. In Sept, she’ll be paying £800/mo for a room in a houseshare with five mates - and they can’t even view the property. Someone’s raking it in.

🎪 Making Freelancing Pay

We’re planning a ‘Making Freelancing Pay’ day in May – part-careers fest / part networking and have invited Eric back to run a surgery. In London and open to all. Working on programming and will share more deets soon.

Phil also said he’d be happy to do a session for us on the art of negotiation. Leave a comment or email me if you’re interested and I’ll sort a date. Be useful. I’m launching a signature service this year (trying to AI proof myself), so deciding what to charge for this.

Let’s start the year strong - set some ambitious money goals and get ahead for Making Tax Digital (a load more admin for us all).

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📚 99 problems but a book ain’t one

I’m enjoying ’s: Write for Money and Power: The Anti Starving Artist’s Guide to Becoming a Seven-Figure Writer. Fully on board with the trifecta – paid newsletter, self-published books and luxury ghostwriting for a well-paid creative career. Whole chapter on mindset – agree there’s no ceiling only the one you set for yourself.

I love that she’s got the balls to charge $750/hour for freelance work and six figures for memoir ghostwriting. I’ve also enjoyed watching evolve and grow - they now have a team and pay writers.

Nika

PS Next Office Hours is on 26 February, 1-2 pm BST on Zoom and in the comments. If you have something to share - published work, a win, upcoming event - send me the link. You can register here.

Almost there… longest 31 days ever.

Monthly Office Hours (live and in the thread below) if you fancy joining us. I’m hosting this on the last Thursday / month for paid subscribers.

So I can see your faces and hear what you’ve been up to :)

• Live today, 29/1, from 1-1.30pm BST - register here. Zoom link (save this link)
  OR

• In the comments below all …

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Greetings from Bradford on Avon! I’m housesitting for a couple of weeks. I’d planned to use BoA as a base for day trips to Bath and Bristol, but have fallen in love with its charms. Been really happy pottering about here all week.

The first person I spoke to said “it’s a rabbit warren” and it is. Hillside houses, footpaths and snickets (Rosemary Walk to Tory – you’d be fit living here!). It’s a ‘working historic town’ with a busy canal, 13c bridge & chapel, a Saxon church, converted mills, and creamy cottages.

There’s a tiny Co-op/Post Office/cashpoint in the centre (very useful - no banks), but otherwise it’s all independent shops and eateries. No vape shops either - hurrah!

An architectural feast in Church Street - medieval, Georgian and Victorian buildings. Team Eleven ad agency are in the old Lloyds bank - big neon sign on the wall with their tagline: ‘The Bank of Brilliant Ideas’. Busy earlier this week but all in darkness today (it’s Friday) so looks like they do a four-day week.

Good energy too – dunno about ley lines but it’s not far from the Mary & Michael Pilgrims’ Way, which runs from Cornwall to Norfolk. I feel like I’m wrapped in a cosy blanket – 600 years of wool and weaving before it became a rubber town.

Went to the Chapel of St Mary Tory this morning and said a prayer for my mum who’s struggling with multiple health issues. It’s on the Pilgrim’s route to Glasto so I wasn’t alone for long. Fabulous views up here - a slice of Wiltshire!

Canal living

I’ve also been inspired by the canal life. Didn’t expect to see so much action on the marina in winter - from vintage narrowboats to stylish submarines. The petrol-smoky smell is intoxicating - I can’t get enough of it, even on drizzly days.

Gongoozler - an idle spectator aka canalspotting - my new hobby!

Mostly leisure cruisers but there’s a shifting community of people who love the lifestyle. Every other boat has some kind of Buddha captain at the helm.

Had a chat with the owner of ‘Juggernaut’- his home. I could hear a kid running around inside.

“It’s a great lifestyle. But it’s hard work - there’s a lot to do.”

“How do you work? What do you do?”

“I’m a lorry driver. With difficulty!”

What the locals say

I’ve had chats with:

• A woman outside an interiors shop who was eyeing up a Cannes lamp for her new home. They’ve just moved here from Bath and love it. Had a Georgian house in the centre of the city, but found it too hectic and busy. 6M visitors a year and getting closer to a tourist tax.

• Mark Selway - a carpenter who’s restoring a cottage in Newtown (just found a spring in the basement!). “Everybody knows my green van.” Very chatty and passionate about BoA - told him he should be a tour guide. “He’s always talking to someone,” his mate chuckled.
  
  “Bath’s a bit up itself. Bristol has a buzz about it (recommends Bedminster for indie vibes - lots of Londoners moving there). Best pub in BoA? “The Shoes!! You must go to the Shoes.” (Three Horseshoes – people travel for miles to hear the bands).

• Lauren / @rocketandhummus (she used to write a food blog). Met her in Timbrell’s Yard hotel on a date night with her little man, Archie the dog. Works in finance and travels solo a lot.
  
  “Dig a bit deeper and you’ll find lots of subcultures here, which keeps it interesting.” Second person to recommend The Shoes!

What’s next?

I’ve been working in the library/museum - they have a ton of titles. Must be one of the most-published about places in the country!

BoA: an introduction:

Today, Bradford is a small town of 10k inhabitants that is somewhat overshadowed by its larger neighbours and looking for a new role in its post-industrial age.

Undersells it a bit I reckon. It’s a stunning place. The only issue is the volume of traffic over the bridge - starts around 5am. They need to sort it out as you can’t cross the road.

From Roger Jones’ book: Bradford on Avon - a town like no other:

“Bradford is home to commuters to Bath and Bristol but also to a growing army of homeworkers, as well as artists and craftspeople.” There’s still some industry - Moulton Bikes are made locally. Illegal activity was stamped out pretty quickly.

Figuring it out like the rest of us!

Bradford on Heaven or Boredom of Avon depending on your age ;)

Huge thanks to for your hospitality. And to the BoA Preservation Society aka ‘Guardian Angel’ (name of their newsletter) for their hard work restoring run-down buildings.

Nika x

🎪 Bold Types Community Calendar

I’m building a community calendar – key media & journalism dates for a creator’s diary. Some inspo to help you plan content and get out of the house / off the laptop!

Feel free to add your events – I’d like it to be a useful, collaborative resource.

The Shift Community Calendar

HNY from the Chapel House, Southwell Minster - beautiful carvings and “the finest example of naturalistic carving in the UK” – maple, oak and hawthorn. Took some pics.

Lit a candle and said a prayer for my mum who’s been in hospital and struggling with he…

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Got my coffee and cinnamon cookies (why they only wheel these out at Christmas is beyond me).

I’ve been to two events in churches this week. NUJ Party at St Anne’s Soho and crowdfunded WRITE UP at St Andrews Fulham (a brilliant night and stunning church - appreciate the underfloor heating!).

Many chats about what a tough year it’s been across in…

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What an ice breaker - our LinkedIn for journos training session this week:

I’m really lazy with LinkedIn. Do you have a routine you’d suggest for managing your account? I’m terrible at it. I just forget about it.

She said it’s more effective to pick up the phone when she needs something rather than posting online and hoping folks will see it. “If…

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• Keep your About section (your elevator pitch) to a couple of paras max – talk about what you’re focused on and what motivates you

• Add a link to your newsletter / services to the custom button on your profile

• Ask people for a recommendation

Finding sources:

• Click the subscribe bell on someone’s profile to see all their posts

• Use InM…

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I went to an event this week on creator mental health & AI at FiveTwoNine Creator Club.

Walked from Charing Cross to Clerkenwell - needed it after a hellish train ride. Had a shouting match with the man behind me who was 🤬 at the poor guard (no ticket and a serial offender, apparently). But at least there are witnesses and CCTV whereas onli…

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Hiya, hope all ok.

I went to an event the other day - really enjoyed it and had some interesting chats about where media is moving. I was full of beans when I got back, so posted an update on Notes and tagged one of the speakers.

I checked the following day and no response to my post, but they’d taken my photo and posted it in their own note without crediting me. I downloaded both pics to compare them, and they were the same image, just slightly cropped.

Totally unexpected and it took me by surprise. I was pissed off so left it for a bit and then sent a polite email saying thanks – really lovely event and nice to chat afterwards. I’d posted about it here and would do a little recap for TS. I asked a couple of questions and whether they’d used my pic. That’s fine, but I’d appreciate a credit.

Not had a reply, but the next day, I noticed they’d switched my photo for someone else’s, along with an image credit (you can edit notes).

All a bit weird – why not just credit me? I got a good pic as I was in the front row. It feels off to me, especially since I’ve been supportive of their work. Gone to the event, asked a question, shared it online, been a paid subscriber. The lack of engagement has bothered me the most tbh (it’s just a pic not a Katie Jgln situation, thankfully).

I don’t expect people to engage with me online all the time – we’re all busy (but I notice when they don’t). It’s nice to be acknowledged and valued when you’ve made an effort, and it makes people want to support you all the more. I wrote a note about that.

Did a bit of Googling and found this article by photographer and filmmaker Paul David Smith on UK laws for sharing photos online. I asked him how we can protect our pics - do we need to start watermarking stuff? Feels a bit OTT for socials. I would for slides though (was talking to about it before her Media Magnet webinar).

He replied straightaway and said, as a pro photographer, he’s had many similar situations over the years where people had used his images without credit.

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Hiya 🤗

Thought it was time for a (re)introduction so I’ve written this post - the story behind Bold Types and what I’m building online.

On the Wild West of freelancing, my 25+ year career, the rise of creator journalism—and choosing yourself.

Also: See my About page for Club Bold info!

Just reading ’s post on why Labour MPs are still craving a compelling story from Starmer. Feeling frustrated that he’s not found a way to land his message.

Remarkably for a politician who’s been a party leader for a long time he’s still not defined for a lot of the public.

People also ask on Google: What does Keir Starmer actually believe in? Has Keir Starmer written any books?

A personal newsletter would help and be a home for all his writing.

I had an email the other day from a charity asking if I’d like to be a guest writer on their new Substack. “Sadly, we don’t have the funds to pay for submissions—but writers can promote their other work or organisations.”

Perhaps writing about the ups and downs of being a freelance journalist and promoting your own Substack (why you decided to launch it, how it’s going etc). What do you think?

Nice to be asked, and I’m keen to work with them—I like what they’re doing for media issues, but at the same time, my heart sank. Someone else asking me to work for free. I’m already doing quite a bit of pro bono work. If I printed out similar requests I’ve had over the last 25+ yrs, I could start my own stationery line. Make a paper Christmas tree or three!

Median pay for freelance journos in the UK is piss poor: just £17.5K/yr—less than the minimum wage—for a typical 35-hr work week (ALCS/NUJ). Payment rates have been stagnant for YEARS. There are no pay rises or promotions. “As freelancers we just get paid the same rate. I think most freelancers are afraid to ask for more in case they aren’t commissioned anymore.” Plus: kills fees, payment on publication, implicit contracts etc, which are hard to challenge solo.

The next day, I read ’s post on the slow death of journalism - and the fast death of my career, which struck a chord with me. “Asking us to write for free is like asking an electrician to rewire your house in exchange for a smile.” I restacked it on Notes and mentioned the email.

I think it’s a huge cheek for anyone to ask anyone who isn’t a friend to do anything for free. I am trying to learn to say no, unless I’m pretty sure there’s something in it that will make it worth my while. We can spend our entire lives doing unpaid work and meanwhile the bills have to be paid.

My first unpaid gig was on X-Campus, my uni mag, to get some clippings—arts & culture stuff, which I loved (clue #1). After graduating, I moved back home for a bit to figure out my next move—wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do broadcast or print journalism. I joined the startup Radio Mansfield as ‘community news editor’ and got some radio skills while the MD applied for a permanent licence. By night, I was waitressing at Center Parcs to make ends meet.

That year, I wrote to 100 production companies looking for work as a runner and eventually got offered a gig on Art Attack! at the Maidstone Studios. £80/wk (my bedsit was £40/wk), so a low-key lifestyle, but I was learning the ropes and meeting people. It led to other work—a kids’ show called WOW! (met the Spice Girls, just coming up), Endurance, Masterchef (didn’t see anything dodgy). Then I got offered a FT role at Wizja TV, a new Polish station, as a programming assistant at £13K/yr.

Got my head down, but I was bored to tears working in Acquisitions. Lots of admin, chasing and nothing creative—but it gave me stability and a routine, while I was studying journalism on the side. I kept writing and saving so I could quit and go travelling—figured I’d Wwoof my way round the world, live/work on farms and look for media opps in the cities.

I worked at Foxtel in Sydney for a few months (more programming!) and got some freelance work in Perth with Travel Maps Australia, a budget travel mag. A road trip to the Pinnacles and some market research, interviewing backpackers in hostels. My first foray into magazine journalism and travel writing for niche communities and it sparked something in me (clue #2).

When I got back to the UK, I applied for a scholarship in magazine journalism with Emap in Peterborough and got it! (the work/travel adventure paid off). I was so excited, I didn’t care it was only £12K/yr—I’d manage somehow. Six months with Country Walking, so I’d be learning on the job, and it might lead to something permanent.

This was 2000/1 so digital revolution pre-social media and most of the mags were launching websites. CW were fully staffed and didn’t really need me, so I went to work on the website launch with the ex-editor who’d moved over to digital. I liked the tiny team start-up vibe. She was open to ideas, didn’t micro-manage and let me get on with it (clue #3 - I’m not good with authority).

There was no job on CW at the end of it, but I could move to another title at Emap Active. I was a bit restless though and really wanted to work on women’s mags or The Face so that meant moving to London – Media City, where everything was happening. Mad really - Peterborough is no distance and much cheaper to live, but I wanted to be IN IT meeting people. They weren’t thrilled I was buggering off but helped me get some work on Here’s Health.

A shoutout to my friend Natasha from Wizja TV for letting me stay in her box room in Waterloo while I found my feet and did work experience. It gave me the confidence to take the leap, and I couldn’t have done it otherwise.

I spent the next five years in London working myself into dust—freelance journalism, copywriting, comms/PR, ghostwriting. I found the women’s mags competitive and a bit snooty, but liked the culture & health stuff so did more of that. Spent 18 months at a corporate fraud agency doing pre-employment checks, creating resources, and rifling through bin bags! Still journalism but better paid and more stable—I even had a pension. Not sure why I left… well, that’s another story.

A mate was trying to launch a sex mag for women and asked me to write a piece on orgasms. I had amenorrhoea and was struggling with vaginismus, which was getting me down. So, an opportunity to go deeper and figure out what was going on. I guess my niche found me. Writing about it all was my way of healing myself.

I joined the NUJ, Women Writers’ Network and Women in Journalism and started helping out. Ran events in nice hotels for WIJ freelancers to bring women together—I needed that. Freelancing is lonely so it’s crucial to have a support network (clue #4). I’m still working with the NUJ and am grateful for their financial support during Covid when I fell through the cracks.

I left London in 2006 when I pregnant with Julieta. This was peak mamasphere, as blogging was evolving and social media taking off. Women started the creator movement - Heather Armstrong, Dooce. Catherine Connors, Her Bad Mother. Motherhood warts n all. They paved the way and talked about taboo topics - yet were vilified for it by the media.

I started my own sex & culture blog, Rude and threw myself into that. Got lots of energy back from it, but struggled to monetise it on WordPress. I wasn’t running paid subs or paywalling—just Google Adsense and sponsorships, which were sporadic. I had sex toys coming out of my ears, but I didn’t have a sustainable business model to keep paying writers.

I had a knowledge gap and a lack of biz skills (not part of J-school, uni or talked about on the job) so I was learning from my peers. When I did start paywalling much later, I got backlash from a male writer who said, “I think you’re making a big mistake.”

The blogging paid off in other ways though and helped me land publishing deals. I wrote more letters to agents (I swear by the LOI – it works!), found one and got commissioned to write a book on orgasms for Hamlyn. This was Belle de Jour, Scarlet, Amora Museum, Shades of Grey era so something in the air…

They commissioned me to write two more. All the book deals were flat fee contracts minus the agent’s 15% so pretty modest. I got a wee advance but carried on working while I wrote them. They did a bit of publicity, but I was expected to do most of the work—research, writing, marketing, socials, events, organising book signings.

I wrote a few more books for different publishers including Vibe, a Norwegian outfit who then went bust so my Kama Sutra guide never got published, and I didn’t see a penny. My debt collector couldn’t do much as the contract was outside the UK (will never do that again).

Median earnings for UK authors was £7K/yr in 2022 (ALCS), so it’s part of your portfolio career—if you’re a non-famous, non-fiction writer, anyway. I get a small amount of royalties for secondary uses from ALCS and PLR every year so worth signing up with them.

By my late 30s/40s, I was feeling burned out with creating content online and a bit trapped in my niche, as I was writing under my name. I didn’t want to be a sex & relationship therapist like Sarah Berry or a presenter like Tracey Cox. I thought about becoming a dominatrix (great money!) and writing a book about that, but I’d need to be in London—couldn’t turn my flat into a dungeon and I didn’t want to work locally.

I’d outgrown it, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. I remember a journo from The Telegraph calling me for a quote and saying, “what’s left to say about sex in your 40s?” She needed a new angle lol. So did I.

I found it hard to let go though—Rude was my second baby. I’d put my heart and soul into it, built a digital mag I was proud of, and paid writers. Giving up felt like failure so I kept going, juggling love and money work. What I needed was a mentor/coach to talk to - to get a plan together so I could pivot slowly and expand into new things.

In the end, my body made the decision for me. I got ill and was diagnosed with RA aka Wayne the Pain so had to stop everything. I’ve never known pain like it—childbirth doesn’t compare. Horrible condition. Fat fingers so I couldn’t write properly, and it made me feel so tired.

These things don’t happen overnight so it’s long-term stress: precarious work, doing too much, money worries (I had 20K debt in London and eventually did an IVA to consolidate). I was solo parenting and miles away from my family so all a bit much. Body says NO. I’m not doing this anymore.

I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had—graft, timing and luck—but journalism and publishing has never felt secure as a career, or like I had someone invested in me long-term. I’ve done all this good work but I don’t have a lot to show for it materially ie a home to pass on to Julieta.

I’ve had three agents—the first one left and I didn’t gel with her replacement (I wasn’t high-brow or famous enough). Then they restructured and let a few of us go (including me) so she left to do her own thing. I got an email thanks & bye but no advice on what to do now or offer to connect me with the other writers. I found them on my own.

So here we are. 2025. A bit older and greyer, still plugging away, having another go (the tech is better!). Writing Bold Types, enjoying the Substack Motel.

Choosing myself and reinventing myself, which is the lesson I’ve learned from all of this. Choose life and building your career around that not the other way around.

Exploring and helping to shape the new media revolution. Creator journalism is the most exciting area of journalism imo. Intimate and collaborative. People are paying for news! I’m here for it.

An opportunity to tell untold stories and go deeper into a niche that the mainstream media can’t cover. And so many great women in this space Kaya Yurieff, Jasmine Enberg

Substack isn’t perfect (what platform is?). I don’t love the closed API/walled garden—the future of the web is decentralised. I don’t want to be too dependent on a platform - use them for discoverability. But I like their mission to be a home for culture and they have changed the culture around paying for writing online. I’ve also met some brilliant people here.

The good thing is we have options now. The creator space is growing and platforms have to stay competitive. I see Beehiiv has a big reveal coming up in Nov that “will completely change how creators and publishers build online”.

Creative freedom is important—my main driver. But this time, it has to be sustainable and a proper living. More collaborative, less lone wolf - the route to burnout. The cult of founder (whose bright idea was it to name ad agencies after people?) puts all the pressure on the individual to succeed. We’re not content machines and we can’t be productive all the time. I need to work in seasons, with my energy and human design.

Build something bigger than myself and bridge the online and offline worlds, which takes time - you have to commit to it and be consistent. In time, I’ll host affordable writing retreats - the House of Letters - because the magic happens in person. And life is better with the sun on your face, a bowl of olives and a Negroni in hand.

Julieta has just started at U of York so new beginnings for both of us. I miss her little face and it’s quiet in the flat, but I don’t miss the unpaid, undervalued, and invisible labour.

It’s ME SEASON—a great feeling.

Not sure where I want to base myself next so I need to do some mini trips while I figure it out. A week in Bristol. A smart village in Italy. I was talking to about that earlier—a reminder to renew my YHA membership. If they’re well run and have private rooms, I can hack it!

Feels good to bang this out. I can see the patterns and clues about how I like to live and work. The stories I’ve been telling myself for last 25+ yrs (‘there’s no money in writing or being creative’…‘journalism is a middle-class industry’). And what I’ll be telling myself for the next chapter—my unretirement and a happy, healthy 100-year life, I hope.

Christina just replied to my comment about sending something I’ve already written. “If at all. I sometimes ask people if they would ask a plumber to mend their boiler for free. What’s the difference?”

I know. I’d like to be involved though, think it’ll lead on to other things. I’m a giver and believer in karma—do it for the beauty of it. Life is so transactional, and I don’t want to live like that.

My mate : “Send him something you’ve already written. Doesn’t cost you anything and you get the exposure/free visibility. Just look through your newsletters.”

A reminder to sort my archive out!

Or I could just send him this.

Nika x

Thanks for reading! If you’ve written your story, I’d love to read it.

Gold star for reading this far! 🤩