On fire

At the start of the year I joined a group of female writers here in Cologne. We meet twice a month to spur each other on with our creative endeavours and to provide constructive criticism. It's been fantastic as it has prompted me to write some short pieces, having merely talked about doing so for several years.

We meet in a very inspiring space - an old fire station which has been converted into a lively centre for the arts and community groups. The fire station dates back to the 1890s, but thanks to local graffiti artists it has a very modern feel: they have been given the opportunity to make their mark on several of the walls. You can see a couple of examples here.

I feel that with the help of the writing group, I am also now making my mark, albeit on the page rather than the wall. Simon always said that he thought moving here would help us to be more creative. I hate to admit it, but he was right.