Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

Yarnbombing. In a churchyard. That's a first for me. Get to St Mary's in Hitchin if you can. All in aid of Hitchin Festival. It's not all about music.

A beautiful day spent scoping out a couple of new jobs for October this year and June 2017. Fingers crossed they'll both come off. Exciting times.

It'll probably take another year, but the side of London Bridge, in the shade of the Shard, is starting to take shape. New arches going in where the old arches were. There's a sense of bustle around the top of Bermondsey Street and hopefully eventually that road will get open again and a few more businesses will move in.

We all need exercise, right? Can't find time for the gym? Get a dog. I kill two birds with one stone and find a morning dog walk both helpful for fitness and inspirational. The author Judith Kerr said recently that she gets most of her best ideas when she's out walking. And she's a lot older than me. I consider it a soft reset for my brain. Sometimes I start work early and then take a break when I'm getting stuck on a particular story. If the creative juices don't flow, get out in the fresh air. Especially when the sun's shining.

Despite an annoying delayed start and therefore shorter set, The Brand New Heavies were simply amazing on stage at the end of Rhythms of the World 2015 last night. I felt a bit jealous that a new generation is discovering and loving the Heavies. A bunch of 17-year-olds behind me were jumping along with those of us who remember the band when they started. Overhearing one of them describe it as the best gig he'd ever been to was actually quite moving. Dawn Joseph is a spectacular vocalist and I'm fairly sure the backing vocalist was younger than the band. What I love about ROTW is that closing headliners can be jazz artists (last year, it was Courtney Pine) and they absolutely rocked the main stage. In front of audiences who would probably tell you they don't like jazz.

Saturday at Rhythms of the World was damp but nothing could rain on the enthusiasm of the audience or, it would seem, the performers. All six stages were thronged from 12pm through to the final notes just before 11pm. It's more of the same on Sunday, with better weather promised and some great artists still to perform. Saturday highlights were CC Smugglers , especially with their audience participation in their encore and Neville Staple , with too many great local acts to mention. My personal favourite, though, was always going to be The Shires, who are both world class and local. Fresh from their performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and Isle of Wight festival, they performed an acoustic set which kept everyone singing along and dancing. The singing along surprised Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle, who seemed unaware of how big their album Brave is and how much airplay the single State Lines has had. "It was amazing," Ben said. "We didn't expec...

The sun is trying to shine and summer is on the horizon. Whether in Hitchin (poppies) or London (roses), there seem to be flowers blooming all over. There is something deeply positive in the air and even when it rains, it brings out the perfume even more. Here's hoping we don't get too much rain as Rhythms of the World kicks off at lunchtime tomorrow. Another muddy weekend would dampen the festival vibe. Fingers crossed!