2025 was a year of facing down my demons and finally settling down in Bristol, opening to support and learning to receive more of it, diving deeper into Internal Family Systems (IFS), recommitting to Fooling, continuing to explore where Fooling meets IFS, Fooling in Nature, Fooling and The Body, Fooling and The Voice, running longer, deeper courses and residential retreats, developing my creative facilitation training, beginning to offer training for therapists, councillors and coaches, continuing to offer one-to-one support online and in person, exploring collaboration, co-creation, being an equal member of a group, peer support, becoming visible again in the media, stepping back onto the stage and remembering that I am a performer, musician, singer, Fool and public speaker!

Here follows a breakdown of my 2025 projects with some thoughts around how they might develop in 2026. Scroll down to read about:

• Continuing my online one-to-one therapy, supervision and creative consultancy sessions
• More in person one-to-ones (Assembling Your Inner Cast)
• Coming back to the Well-Held Space; my 3-month Creative Facilitation Training
• Busting out my 5-day Fools School
• Co-creating a new advanced Fools training with Dominique Fester -  The Fools Body
• Creating and delivering a 6-month programme of bespoke training for Bristol Fools, Balm and Tonic
• Co-creating a new training for therapists, councillors and coaches with Sarah Burns
• Co-organising and co-facilitating Clown Congress at Bristol University
• Offering a range of talks and workshops at Clownvergence, the online clown conference
• Co-facilitating Deep Play with Briony Greenhill at Embercombe
• Delivering a seminar for World Childless Week
• Co-creating lots of performance research labs and residencies - Fools In The Forest of Dean (x2), The Clown Teachers Lab at Hawkwood, The IFS / Fool / Clown lab in Yorkshire, Glitter Heart, Mary's play day and Bee's writing retreat
• Undergoing more Internal Family Systems training
• Other nourishment that has sustained me through the year
• Holly in the media!
• Holly-Blogs
• Thank you to everyone who has supported me this year!
• What next for 2026?

Online one-to-ones

Throughout 2025, 34 people made use of my one-to-one online therapy, supervision and creative consultancy sessions. Some people stayed for the whole year, others chose to spend a focussed term with me and a few others popped in for a one-off session. 

The online one-to-ones have become like a beating heart, giving structure and regularity to my once erratic self-employed calendar. For the last 2 1/2 years, for two days a week, during term time, I make a comfy colourful nest of cushions on my living room floor, open my laptop and tune into the various frequencies of a wonderful assortment of artists, performers, musicians, poets, facilitators, directors, therapists and researchers. 

"Working with Holly 1:1 has helped me to develop a sense of how to let my whole self into my creative work more flexibly, resourcing myself from my various parts. It’s had some quite surprising and very cool results in helping me cope with uncertainty and difficulty too. I feel like my insights are changing the dynamics inside me!"

It’s a joy to meet people in their worlds and a delight to discover how best to support each individual. I'll be continuing into 2026 with the online one-to-ones and potentially expanding to running an online supervision group at some point...

Assembling Your Inner Cast

2025 gave me two beautiful opportunities to offer some more in-person one-to-one studio days with two different artists. Using my 'Assembling Your Inner Cast' (AYIC) process, I got to guide two artists through deep explorations of their inner worlds and how that relates to their outer work.

“It’s like an MOT for the psyche.” - Charlie Hammond.

AYIC is a process I’ve been developing since 2017, inspired by a process that my Fooling teacher Franki Anderson led me through, as part of my ‘Work In Progress’ project. I’ve since mixed in elements of dramatherapy, Internal Family Systems, and ritual to help artists dream into new directions for their work and explore what is standing in their way. 

You can read about one of those processes in this guest blog from Charlie Hammond. I plan to offer more 2-day AYIC processes to artists who have completed my 5-day Fools School later in 2026...

The Well-Held Space

From January - March 2025, I was thrilled to bring back The Well-Held Space, my 3-month creative facilitation course, which I last offered in 2021. I really enjoyed the process of revamping the course, bringing in some of the training and wisdom I'd received through the Relight Creative Supervision training (2021-2022), as well as some of the experience and insights gained from my year of volunteering at a meditation retreat centre (2022-2023), plus all the juicy tools and techniques I've picked up in my IFS and Somatic IFS training (2023-present).

I soooo enjoyed holding space for holders of space to develop their skills in holding space, that I further developed The Well-Held Space for a new group and ran it again from October-December. 

This is a group poem, collectively created at the end of the final weekend of The Well-Held Space, December 2025

How Was Your Time at The Well-Held Space?

All over the place
and deep into space
This is a wave
and I am the ocean
We found the fire
and tasted the delicious
Group soup
I bask in your glory
and my own
Deep, deep, deep connection
Human scale winged revolution
Hell yes!
Falling apart and rediscovering
Together we can trust
That I am enough
We’re all butterflies
Crumbling of the collective cookie
Uncovering deep essence
of our natural elements
I am undone by your kindness

The Well-Held Space will be back in 2026 - I'm currently waiting on an Arts Council application which will support me to take the course oooop North to Leeds, from May-July. But if that is unsuccessful, I'll run the course in Bristol instead, I shall hear at the end of February...

5-day Fools School

2025 was a big year for Fooling (solo improvisation where the performer embodies their inner voices on stage). I offered my 5-day Fools School, once in Sheffield (in May) and three times in Bristol (June, August and October). That’s 32 new Fools released into the world! 

Here's some of the Sheffield Fools describing their experience:

Here's how one of the Bristol Fools described their experience:

"Five gorgeous days of singing, moving, watching, sharing, and simply being together. The course helped me understand and know myself better, through reflecting and embodying different parts of myself, but also through seeing parts of myself reflected in my fellow fools. We laughed, we cried, we laughed and cried at the same time. It was an incredibly intense, beautifully held, empowering, and softening experience all at once.”

I will definitely be running more 5-day Fools Schools again in 2026, definitely in Bristol and maybe elsewhere (Hey, I love to travel! Do you want to be the local host and bring me to your local community to teach this workshop? Get in touch!). 

In the meantime, I've designed a new entry-level weekend called Play, Presence and Parts to allow people to get a taste of my work before signing up for the 5-day Fools School - 5-days can feel like a big commitment if you don't really know what you're letting yourself in for! I'll be offering those intro weekends in Bristol, Norwich and Sheffield in Spring 2026.

The Fools Body

In August I teamed up with fellow fool, therapist and movement practicioner Dominique Fester to offer a brand new advanced Fooling summer school called 'The Fools Body.'

Here's how some of the gang described their experience:

"Profound and beautiful."

"It's a deep immersion, beautifully and safely held week in which to deepen fooling practice for a range of purposes, whether that's building performance or for using these techniques to explore the parts within for therapeutic benefit. The focus on the body deepens the fooling by using embodied practice to open up new modes of expression and deeper modes of personal exploration."

"We were offered so many gems - singing, free and lead movement practice, meditation, drawing, writing, sharing and more - as foundations to our enquiry as well as lots of time to Fool with a kind-eyed audience who supported us to take risks. I learnt so much about the stories my body brings onto the Stage, consciously and unconsciously. I learnt that grounding my performance more in my body helps me feel fluid and connected to myself and my audience. I learnt that Fooling with less reliance on the need to explain with words opens up unexpected insights and gives my audience a broader way of connecting to their own experience."

I absolutely loved co-creating and delivering this course with Dominique. Right now, I'm not sure yet which advanced Fooling courses I'll run in 2026 - I'll be offering an exploration of Fooling and Somatic IFS in February, but after that, I don't know yet - I'd like to offer one or two more weeks of advanced Fooling training - I'm open to suggestion about what those weeks will focus on...

Balm and Tonic - creating and delivering a 6 month programme of bespoke training

Balm and Tonic is a Bristol-based company of Fools who received funding from WECCA to bring me in to run a series of weekend workshops over six months, from January to June. Throughout our time we explored peer facilitation, ensemble support and the power of the veto, to help them bring more safety and stability into their peer-led fooling sessions and public performances. The project ended in a public performance on summer solstice, which I hosted, stepping back onto the stage for the first time in years!

I loved creating this bespoke training and I am open to offers from other groups to design something just for you in 2026!

Training for therapists, councillors and coaches

2025 was the year when I began developing specific trainings for therapists, councillors and coaches in collaboration with my friend and fellow IFS-trained dramatherapist, Sarah Burns. Drawing on what we’d been discovering for the last few years in our labs and play-days with our IFS / Fool / Clown research gang (our gang also includes two other IFS-trained clowns and Fools, Angela Hayes and Saskia Solomons), Sarah and I designed a new workshop called 'Playful Embodied Creative Approaches to IFS' (PEC-IFS).

In March we offered a one-day version of our PEC-IFS training for Sheffield NHS arts therapists, then we extended it to a two day workshop in Bristol at the end of March. There was so much demand for the workshop, that we decided to offer it again in Bristol in November. Here's how participants described the PEC-IFS weekend:

"Incredible. A beautifully welcoming space created with respect, love and care so that all parts can come out to play if they choose to. "

"I loved it. I especially appreciated the mix of things: lecture, journaling, drawing, listening, dancing, humming, singing. I am inspired by how well made and well held the container for learning was. "

"A brilliant experience. Do it, if you can!"

I loved creating and delivering this training with Sarah. I am keen to continue offering more training for therapists, councillors and coaches later in 2026. I'm not sure when. In the meantime, I am offering a new entry-level weekend workshop called Play, Presence and Parts, which is not strictly for therapists, but it will draw on some of the same ideas as PEC-IFS.

Clown Congress 

In April, I joined forces again with Robyn Hambrook (activist clown) and Jan Wozniak (clown academic) to offer a space for 52 Clowns to gather, play, explore and discuss The Future Of Clowning In Turbulent Times at Bristol University. 

Here's a short video by Dan Green, documenting the two days:

It was a wonderful explosion of deep chat and frivolous stupidity. Here's a blog which captures elements of Clown Congress 2025 and here's another documenting the UK press' veritable frenzy over capturing us clowns in print, on the telly and on the radio.

There will be another Clown Congress at Bristol University on the 29th and 30th March 2026. More info here.

Clownvergence

Just after Clown Congress, Robyn and I offered a taste of what had happened at Clown Congress, over at Clownvergence, the online clown conference, organised by Clown Spirit. We also offered a taste of what had happened at our Clown Teachers Lab earlier on in the year (I haven’t written about this yet in this blog, hold your hoses and all will be revealed!) We also spoke on a panel about clowning, activism and spirituality AND we got co-opted by the Earthrise collective, to be part of a full-moon clown ritual for their community.

I'll be appearing at Clownvergence with the IFS / Clown / Fool research gang in April 2026. More info here.

Deep Play at Embercombe

At the end of July, I joined forces with Briony Greenhill again to offer 'Deep Play,' our co-facilitated retreat, combining body-based play with Collaborative Vocal Improvisation (CVI). This was the second time we’d facilitated this retreat together on the gloriously green land of Embercombe in Devon, and this time we decided, instead of splitting the group and working in separate spaces, we would find a way to keep the group together so that a.) they could have a more cohesive experience and b.) so we could do each others workshops and learn from each other! 

OMG! I LOVE Collaborative Vocal Improvisation! Such simple structures, creating such exquisite joy! I am really excited about bringing CVI, Fooling and IFS together more in 2026. We won't be doing another Deep Play retreat next summer, but I will be offering a 5-day workshop called ‘Performance and Parts’ for experienced CVI practitioners in collaboration with Briony in April. I may also offer an exploration of Fooling + Voice for people who have completed my Fools 5-day later on in the year…

World Childless Week

In September, I presented an online session for World Childless Week called 'Exploring Childlessness Through Creative Approaches To Internal Family Systems (IFS).' This was the first time I’d told my babyloss story in the public realm (apart from my blogs). It felt great to share it with other childless people who understand the unique pains of baby loss and/or involuntary childlessness. There is such incredible medicine in being heard by ears and hearts that really get it. You can see the video here. 

I would like to offer more workshops / events for people who are childless-not-by-choice in 2026...

Co-created labs

Collaboration and co-creation were big themes for 2025. After years of chronic Lone Wolfism, I decided to take myself in hand, setting up and seeking out opportunities to co-create exploratory creative space with other artists and facilitators. Over the year, I got to do four co-created residential retreats (Fools in The Forest of Dean x 2, The Clown Teacher Lab at Hawkwood in Stroud and The IFS/Clown/Fool lab in Yorkshire), one Bristol-based writers retreat (Bee's at-home writing retreat), one Bristol-based performance lab (Glitter Heart) and one play-day (Mary's play day).

Fools In The Forest of Dean

In February, I got to co-create a Fools In The Forest retreat with three members of Beyond The Ridiculous. We explored Fooling in nature, body as source and the power of the compassionate witness. You can read about what we got up to here.

Clown Teachers Lab at Hawkwood

Also in February, I got to co-create a Clown Teachers Lab at Hawkwood in Stroud. This one was co-organised with Robyn Hambrook and funded by The Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust. Six clown teachers (including Robyn and me) from diverse backgrounds came together to explore new paradigms for teaching clowning in response to the pressing challenges of our times. You can read about what we got up to here.

IFS / Fool / Clown lab in Yorkshire

 In April, I got to do a three day co-created lab with the IFS / Fool / Clown research gang at a retreat centre in Yorkshire. The four of us explored where IFS meets Clowning and Fooling through a series of performance experiments. We've been exploring this rich territory since the pandemic, firstly on Zoom, then in person. This was our second immersive retreat and gosh, it was very, very deep and profound. We haven't published anything yet about our findings, but we will be presenting a session at Clownvergence in April 2026...

Gospel of Mary play day in Bristol

In May, I got to co-create a play-day, with two fascinating facilitators, exploring where the lost Gospel of Mary meets IFS and the Buddhist practice of 'Feeding Your Demons.' It was a deep and fascinating inquiry, exploring where the three philosophies overlap, through ritual, play, embodiment and discussion.

Glitter Heart in Bristol

In July and August , I took part in 'Glitter Heart,' a performance lab for older women and nonbinary performance artists. Lovingly held by Liz Clarke and Company and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Glitter Heart was a space for older female and non-binary body-based performance artists to explore how their creative practices are impacted by living in these aging bodies. Our group consisted of six performers, two facilitator-producers, a photographer, a film maker and a pastoral care / evaluation person. We met at SPARKS community space in Bristol for 6 sessions throughout July and August 2025. You can read about what I got up to in a series of 3 blogs, starting here.

Bee's at-home writing retreat in Bristol

In August, I got to attend Bee’s at-home writing retreat. For the last five summers, my dear friend and long-time collaborator, Bee Golding has opened up her home and garden for a week in August, inviting in a bunch of writers to connect, write and feast together. This year, Bee collaborated with Lucy Heard to co-produce the week. You can read about what I got up to here.

Fools in the forest retreat, Nov 

In November, I got to co-create yet another Fools In The Forest Retreat. This time, five of us explored Fooling in nature and body as source in the Forest of Dean. You can read about what we did here.

All these experiences have allowed me to observe myself in groups and notice my habitual patterns around automatically taking as much responsibility as I possibly can. With curiosity, compassion, creativity and support, I've been able to meet and soothe the parts in me that get activated in groups, before I end up automatically ditching my needs and grabbing at the role of leader. This has been a hugely significant part of my journey of recovering from chronic Lone Wolfism and the inevitable regular bouts of burn out associated with over-giving and over-holding. 

I'd love to do more co-created projects in 2026.

More Internal Family Systems training

2025 was a big year for taking further training in Internal Family Systems (IFS).

From March to June, I trained as an IFS couples therapist. The training is called Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO) and helps couples track how their inner parts trigger each others inner parts in a continuous back-and-forth dance. The therapist holds an incredibly structured and boundaried space, to help each individual explore and express their inner experience in a way that both the individual and their partner might be able to hear with compassion. It is through this compassionate witnessing that deep healing can happen.

The IFIO course gave me hope for the possibility of repair after rupture and connection after conflict. Its highly unlikely that I'll ever actually work as a couples therapist, my goodness, what incredible work! Hats off to all those who do it! But no amount of money would be enough money to make me want to sit with warring couples! I took the training to help me in my work with groups, collectives, companies and organisations and I can already feel the benefits of learning the IFIO structures, both in my work and life.

In April, I went to Portugal to attend Susan McConnell's Somatic IFS 'Step One' immersive retreat. I was so relieved to finally find the branch of IFS that most suits me! As a body-based practitioner and a kinaesthetic learner, I have found traditional IFS to be largely devoid of body awareness, so to find a branch of IFS that incorporates somatic awareness, conscious breath, embodied resonance, mindful movement and attuned touch has been a breath of fresh air for me!

I got so much out of Step 1, I signed up for Susan's online 'Step 2: Somatic IFS' training which started in November and continues into January 2026. I am getting so much benefit from watching Susan at work during the demos, she offers so much space and presence, really trusting the clients to guide their own healing, with gentle outer holding from her. I get to practice my new Somatic IFS skills every week in a small group and my, is it ever tricky for me to slow down and leave space, but when I do, magic happens!

Other Nourishment

This year, I finally settled down, after 2 1/2 years of travelling about in search of home! It took a lot of work and support to break the cycle of perpetual movement, but thanks to my friends, my therapist, my peers and my meditation teachers, I managed to stop moving! In June, I moved all my stuff out of my storage container and into a sweet little flat with a big wide view, in South Bristol. I've given myself a year to live here and feel into whether I want to stay in the city or head back to the countryside in summer 2026...

Since stopping, space has opened up in my schedule, which has meant I've been able to see my friends more, get involved in some lovely Bristol stuff and engage in regular personal therapy and clinical supervision. I'm so grateful for the support of familiarity and consistency, I've really noticed the difference it's made on my nervous system. Phewee!

My nervous system has also really benefitted from regularly attending guided meditation sessions on weekday mornings via Sangha Live and guided yoga sessions with Cole Chance and Echo on youtube, throughout the year. 

I started the year with an intention to dance more! I joined Joy In Dance's 'Get Up and Dance' online morning classes, signed up for regular 5 Rhythms classes with Bernadette Ryder and giggled my way through Zumba classes at the local gym.

I also attended a series of 'Slow Movement' sessions with dance artist, Eeva Maria Mutka. These were beautiful experimental labs with different dancers and movers showing up each week. We moved alone and together, we moved with baskets, with text, with music and with silence. The sessions were a ray of light in the dark midwinter.

In the middle part of the year, I reconnected with my oldest childhood friends. We used to be in a punk/klezma/dub/pop/show band in our 20's called Fuckknuckle and The Bastards. In March, the dad of the guitarist and the pianist died and we all attended the funeral, a befittingly sad and somber occasion, which felt somehow incomplete for a man who was a notorious party animal. The family had similar thoughts and decided to organise a wake / party / celebration of his life in October. Who better to headline, but Fuckknuckle and The Bastards! I never thought we'd ever get the band back together, but it was a beautiful way to reconnect with the old gang and we have vowed to keep playing music together!

This autumn, I started a 6-month course in Contact Improvisation (CI) with Asher Levin. CI is an improvised dance / movement form where you move in and out of physical contact with each other, giving and receiving weight, rolling, lifting, flying, giggling (if you're me). It's great to go back to basics and have a well-held space to consciously explore contact in its many forms.

Last week, I attended a gorgeous week-long meditation retreat on the Sharpham Estate in Devon. I spent the week walking through the soft rolling hills, along the banks of the wide river Dart and through the wintery forest. I meditated, wrote, feasted, chatted and laughed with a gang of fellow odd bod Christmas avoiders. Just what the doctor ordered!

Holly in the Media!

2025 was a big year for visibility! 

In January, I was offered a free photoshoot by photographer Cairo Sealey, in return for agreeing to be filmed for her headshot promotion. It was a very fun afternoon, trying out different outfits and hairstyles and facial expressions. I found Cairo's opening question really interesting: "What do you want these shots to open up for you?". Over the course of the shoot, we distilled it down to "Hey, I'm a fun, playful, highly experienced therapist and facilitator and I'd love to get paid to speak or run a workshop at your event!"

Whether it was the shots themselves or the afternoon of acting "as if" in Cairo's studio, a lot of doors seemed to open for me in 2025! Check out Cairo's work here.

In the early part of the year, I was interviewed by The Guardian three times!

• In January, Amelia Hill interviewed me for an article about the therapeutic benefit of clown skills training.
• In February, Linda Geddes interviewed me about clowning's contribution to "Lemonading," the ability to turn lemons into lemonade.
• Then in April, I was interviewed by Steven Morris about the Clown Congress.

I wasn't courting any of these articles, by the way, they came to me! As I wrote on my blog: "I always think it’s a bit suspicious when the mainstream media are chasing down clowns for interviews. Makes me wonder what terrible atrocities must be happening that require the services of us expert distractors. It’s a major part of circus clowning, to have something up your sleeve to help deal with the unexpected. When the trapeze artiste falls from the sky, they send in the clowns to cover up the real chaos behind the scenes."

The media coverage for Clown Congress was bonkers! We really weren't expecting so much interest, between Robyn, Jan and myself, we did numerous radio, telly and newspaper interviews, whilst trying to organise and run a clown conference. I was nominated to go on BBC Breakfast and BBC News, which felt particularly nerve wracking, but I think I just about held it together! 

It was kind of interesting to have so much interest in the clowning side of my work when my work has really evolved beyond clowning in recent years. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the interest and exposure, but I was also thankful to get to chat about a much broader range of my work and experience on two different podcasts later on in the year:

• Movement Is My Constant with Ana Maia Marques: Clowning, Fooling and IFS: Embodied tools for neurodiversity, trauma, healing and burnout prevention
• The Creative Engagement Podcast with Daniel Mandel: Holly Stoppit facilitator, educator, dramatherapist, IFS therapist, clinical supervisor, creative consultant, clown, fool, idiot

I was really nervous before both of these interviews, but both interviewers are very highly skilled and set me at my ease and once I settled in, I really enjoyed chatting about my work and life. 

All this public exposure has shown me that I can speak fluently and engagingly when I am calm and centred. Preparation is key: taking time to ground myself and dialogue with my inner voices before each interview really helps! Plus having a clear agenda of what I want to talk about in front of me, helps me steer the conversation into areas where I can shine. Having had a fair few goes at it in 2025, I feel like I've accumulated enough positive experiences to be up for more podcast and media interviews in 2026!

Holly-Blogs

2025 was another bumper crop for Holly-blogs!

I documented several of the co-created projects I was involved with: 

• FOOLS IN THE FOREST IN FEBRUARY
• CLOWN TEACHERS LAB AT HAWKWOOD
• GLITTER HEART #1: LIVE ART + COLLABORATION
• GLITTER HEART #2: WHO IS THIS PERFORMER?
• GLITTER HEART #3: I FELL IN A SHAME HOLE
• FOOLS IN THE FOREST RETREAT, NOVEMBER

I pulled together all the documentation for Clown Congress:

• WHAT HAPPENED AT CLOWN CONGRESS 2025?
• CLOWN CONGRESS 2025 IN THE MEDIA

I shared some thoughts about beginnings and endings:

• BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

I wrote a long article about settling down after 2 1/2 years of travelling:

• CONFESSIONS OF A COMPULSIVE TRAVELLER AND HOW I MANAGED TO STOP

I wrote about the power of ritual and suggested a few creative rituals to promote change:

• RITUALS FOR CHANGE

I wrote an obituary to one of my favourite cats:

• FAREWELL NIMBUS, YOU RIDICULOUS BEAST

Thank You!

None of this work would have been possible without the incredible amount of support I have received this year. If I've missed anyone, I'm sorry! Let me know and I'll add you in!

Massive thanks to all my workshop assistants: Bec, Charlie, Saskia, Cat, Chez, Jenny, Angela, El, Claire and the Clown Congress support team: Lucy, Alice, Beth, Sky, Anna, Jessi, Holly, Holly and Dan and the Deep Play chefs Bini and Kathryn.

A deep bow to all my workshop co-facilitators: Sarah Burns, Robyn Hambrook, Jan Wozniak, Dominique Fester and Briony Greenhill. 

A nod and a wink to all my fellow collaborators on all the various co-created labs: Dominique, Naomi, Chez, Steph (Fools in the Forest) Robyn, Clare, Sophie, Amy, Katharine (Clown Teachers Lab), Angela, Saskia, Sarah (IFS / Fool / Clown lab), David and Jo (Mary's Play-day), Liz, Amy, Anita, Kamina, Bee, Emily, Cathy, Jasmine, Von and Esmée (Glitter Heart), Bee, Lucy, Angela, Anita, Robyn, Clare, Nina, Alice and everyone else who popped into Bee's writing retreat.

A huge hurrah to all the venues and staff who have housed and supported my work and play this year: St Werburghs Primary School, Subud Hall, Bristol University, Embercombe, Chez's dad's house and Pillowell Village Hall, Hawkwood, Fell Edge Farm, Bricks, Bee's house and garden, Fishponds Quaker House, Bedminster Quaker House, Desperate Men Studio, The Elephant House, The Crucible Theatre. 

A big whoop to all the people who showed up to my workshops, one-to-ones and performances and an especially large holla to everyone who has been reading these blogs. Your engagement spurs me on to keep on walking down this endlessly unfolding, constantly surprising, sometimes rocky, sometimes smooth, but always just right path.

Oceans of gratitude to my dear friends, my therapist, my supervisor, my favourite thinking partner, Beccy Golding, my IFS teachers and IFS peers, my meditation teachers and fellow friends on the dharma path, my dance teachers and fellow movers. I feel so lucky to be held in such incredible creative, loving community.

What's going to happen in 2026?

I already planted a few seeds throughout this blog, but here's what's on offer in the first few months of 2026: There'll be more online one-to-ones, more advanced Fooling, a brand new entry-level weekend workshop called Play, Presence and Parts and another Clown Congress. 

Oh and 2025 appears to have re-awoken my taste for the stage! So I'll be kicking off 2026 with a performance-lecture at the British Association of Dramatherapists conference on January 10th!

Then, if all goes to plan, there'll be more creative facilitation training, more Fooling, more advanced Fooling, more in-person one-to-one studio days, more specialised training for therapists, councillors and coaches, a supervision group and more workshops geared towards people who are childless-not-by-choice.

Well, while we're at it, I may as well state a few more intentions in writing... 

Dear Universe, in 2026:

I'd like a good balance of work, play and rest.

I'd like more support with the admin and logistical parts of my work.

I'd like to have time and energy to do nice things with nice people outside of work.

I'd like to get more involved in my local community.

I'd like to find time to write more and find support to publish something in an actual real book...

I'd like to co-create more creative research labs, preferably in beautiful places with beautiful people...

I'd like to travel more. I'm open to invitations to teach / facilitate / offer performance lectures in exotic locations...

If there's something you wish I could do for or with you in 2026, get in touch!

Wishing you play, connection, joy and nourishment for 2026.

If you're interested in finding out more about my workshops and offers for 2026, sign up to my newsletter at the bottom of this page.