Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

My scriptwriting partner and I have chosen the delightful Luton Hoo as our office. Once a week, we take up position in the corner of the lounge and write. We're now welcomed by staff as returning and familiar guests. The food and drink is excellent and service impeccable. All in all, a great location for creativity. We're fortunate in being able to spend the time and the money. And it's especially good to have found a friend to write with.

A gorgeous lunch with clients. That's how to do business, albeit with slightly overcast views.

A nice award this week for Dawn-Louise Kerr (a rose between two thorns!) of SM2Communicate. See my #HertsHour blog for more.

When a client booked me in to this hotel in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, I was disappointed. It wasn't the luxurious spa hotel I knew was close to their offices, but this one was cheaper. In fact, the staff were friendly and helpful, the room was large, clean and comfortable, the night was quiet and I awoke to this view from my window. A delight!

Metaphorically, you can't do both. If you focus on the detail too closely and lose sight of the bigger picture, you'll run the risk of moving in the wrong direction. I'm loving the Toodledo app, which allows me to assign each task an end goal. If I can't do that, then the task is probably not helping me get where I want to be.

In terms of poor working conditions, I'm reminded that I experience nothing even close to what women in 1912 put up with (as evidenced in the Suffragette film I saw this week). However, being herded on to the Northern Line by Transport for London is ridiculous in this day and age. If they're not running enough trains to take the number of passengers - regularly - then perhaps they should consider running more trains at rush hour. Or is that too radical a thought?

There are many elements of the new film Suffragette that make it a must-watch. The directing is just beautiful. Whatever the content or themes, it's rare to find a film which is sometimes difficult to sit through but keeps you absolutely gripped. Which brings me to the next reason to watch - Suffragette is a film about London people, based and filmed in London. The setting is stunning, including a scene in the Houses of Parliament which adds a frisson. Those actors are playing real people who were actually there, just over a century ago. The acting is, of course, exemplary. Carey Mulligan plays Maud Watts with little make-up and a growing passion for equality for women. At the beginning, she almost doesn't realise how unfair it is. There's a slight disappointment as she hands her pay check to her husband but it takes meetings with other women - led by Helena Bonham-Carter in one of her best roles - to spark her awareness. It's half-way through the film before she...

On arriving at a meeting, I discovered I had no cash. With a client who provides endless cups of green tea and a hearty lunch, it was fine, but I felt surprisingly liberated. Perhaps it was the realisation that I couldn't be tempted to buy anything and luckily I had a tank full of petrol. Made me feel good, rather than cross that I'd forgotten my purse.

Life is a path. I prefer that to a road, which implies a vehicle. Some people help by clearing the weeds out of the way. Others hinder by strewing rubbish everywhere, which you have to learn to ignore. Sometimes, especially when it starts pouring with rain, you have to turn around and go back the way you came.

I probably shouldn't say it, but this is probably the best lasagne I've ever cooked. You wouldn't know from looking at it. Which is my point, really. It certainly didn't look like this in the recipe. If I had judged it by look alone, this lasagne might have simply gone in the bin. In fact, it was delicious. So I shall be less quick to judge by appearance in future. I might end up enjoying a great dish.

I drink far too much green tea. I may even be a little addicted. But there are almost certainly worse substances I could have selected. And when I'm near the bottom of the cup, I simply enjoy those last mouthfuls even more. Perhaps I'm actually addicted to positive thinking.