Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

When I returned home from a jaunt into London yesterday, I discovered this: It was as if the car bodywork fairies had visited my poorly car. In fact, a friend had spoken to Florence and Freddie during the day and come to bash out the dent. You can see it's not right, but it is a HUGE improvement. I nearly cried.

Hang on, I'm not advocating that we (women) should all try to be more like them (men), but there are definitely some things we could learn from them. Confidence is one of them. This article yesterday was interesting in provoking us to think about why we don't push ourselves forward. Some argue that women are generally paid less than men because they don't ask for pay rises. We don't apply for senior management roles because we think we're not good enough. I write award submissions and often hear that "I won't win. It's just for the experience." That's from women. Men almost never use language that puts themselves down. It's not in their vocabulary. While self-deprecation can be endearing, it doesn't win you awards. What do you have to lose by pretending to be more confident? You're unlikely to reach the scales of arrogance where it's a problem. If you do, I promise to tell you. I used to teach clarinet to a very talented young...

Definitely too few to mention, but one of them is that I wish I'd not listened to my parents. Only on one issue - they wanted me to get a degree and I wanted to go to music college. In 1981, getting a degree was a big deal and becoming a professional sax player was not an option. I'd achieved Grade 8 with distinction on clarinet and played baritone sax in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. All I wanted was to go to one of the music colleges in London and learn how to do it better. Getting an English and Music BA Hons definitely helped me in some ways, but I'd probably still be a writer without it and might be a better sax player. However, having a regret doesn't really make any sense. I can't do anything about it. I won't have any more regrets, though. I'll listen to my self when it tells me to do (or not do) something.

Inspirational art on Bankside near Borough Market. It's a building made entirely from candle wax to commemorate the candle manufacturers who were based there. In a piece of very slow, deliberate performance art, the building is being manually melted over a period of weeks. Possibly showing our immortality.

Someone built this wall decades ago and it's largely hidden, but beautiful brickwork. I hope I leave something as lasting behind.

Giuseppe Verdi, like William Shakespeare before him, created beautiful roles for strong female characters. Lady Macbeth's descent into madness following the acquisition of great power is intense and difficult to watch or listen to. Verdi's Macbeth is an extraordinary opera which I have heard several times but never seen performed. It was an amazing experience to see it beamed live from New York's Metropolitan Opera last night. Sitting in the most comfortable seat, just a few miles from my home and with a good friend who shares my interests, this was a real treat and less than £20. One of the best things about cinema-going at my age is having no-one comment when I sit there with a cup of tea rather than pop and popcorn. A very convincing Macbeth and a truly domineering Lady Macbeth headed up a professional cast. My favourite character was Banquo. It can be hard to play a ghost convincingly through Act III, but he succeeded. It's a beautiful opera, with a real dynamic ran...