Things I've Seen

Sharing Some Dots

On marshmallows, binge-watching and delayed........................... gratification

Mar 24, 2026

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8 min read

On marshmallows, binge-watching and delayed........................... gratification

My educational attainment is pretty good. My BMI, less so. I doubt my parents would describe me as "competent" at anything.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

On the utter waffling bollocks either side of ad breaks on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year

Mar 10, 2026

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8 min read

On the utter waffling bollocks either side of ad breaks on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year

I honestly think the note of letting self-doubt fuel you is entirely unplayable, entirely unusable, in any creative context.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

Feb 24, 2026

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6 min read

On big issues and small details

If you let them come for your milk and say nothing, next they will come for your apples, and before you know it, they come for your freedom, your life, and no amount of bleating will stop them.

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

Feb 17, 2026

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6 min read

On pride and productivity

[FROM THE ARCHIVE] So many employers profess to value wellbeing — until it comes into conflict with the productivity which they value even more.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

On (un)healthy relationships with the metal pet

Feb 10, 2026

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6 min read

On (un)healthy relationships with the metal pet

"And then I realised, geez, how dependent I have been on my cellphone. But I should confess, you know, after the first day, I felt liberated."

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

On waving goodbye to 2025 and saying hello to 2026

Dec 31, 2025

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7 min read

On waving goodbye to 2025 and saying hello to 2026

Here's to a 2026 filled with daily bread — the kind we bake for ourselves, with craft and sweat and discipline and love.

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

Dec 9, 2025

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6 min read

On the 88 Club

The thing I will always love about Tom Stoppard is his spectral hand in the script for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

Oct 28, 2025

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6 min read

On (the joys of) negative utopias

You never know when you’ll read something that proves itself to be grimly, magnificently prophetic within your own lifetime.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

On saying what you mean and meaning what you say

Aug 26, 2025

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6 min read

On saying what you mean and meaning what you say

"If you're making a statement, artistically, then when you're making that statement, as far as you're concerned, it's an absolute."

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

Jul 29, 2025

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6 min read

On contraction and expansion

Have you ever felt like a broken accordion sometimes?

Philip Holyman

Audio, Film & Digital

On having your vichyssoise and eating it

Jul 22, 2025

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7 min read

On having your vichyssoise and eating it

Is Bruce Wayne, like so many of us, just plain lazy when it comes to matters of taste?

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

Jul 15, 2025

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5 min read

On liking

Maybe we all need to stop using the word “like” for good; maybe we need to retire it forcibly from the English language.

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

On using just one element and really going to town with it

Jul 8, 2025

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7 min read

On using just one element and really going to town with it

Quite possibly a total nightmare for stage managers — I do sympathise with them when faced with designs and designers like these.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

On when the mind is empty and when the mind is full

Jun 24, 2025

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5 min read

On when the mind is empty and when the mind is full

Joy is currently failing me and I’m very aware that this is a dangerous, not to mention costly, headspace for a freelancer to find themselves in.

Philip Holyman

Things I've Read

On whether accents matter, or just get in the way

Jun 17, 2025

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9 min read

On whether accents matter, or just get in the way

Does it really matter what accent an actor uses to play a character, or does it not?

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

On boats, tigers, zebras, and why story-telling gets done dirty by religion

Jun 3, 2025

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11 min read

On boats, tigers, zebras, and why story-telling gets done dirty by religion

The whole thing was not, in fact, about a young man on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a tiger and a zebra and a few other animals at all.

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

Apr 29, 2025

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7 min read

On someone just saying yes

[FROM THE ARCHIVE] In order to say yes to one thing, you have to say no to another. That’s how time is protected. That’s how the art gets made. But it starts with you, saying yes to yourself.

Philip Holyman

Novels

Apr 1, 2025

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5 min read

On Miss Marple, class and human nature

[FROM THE ARCHIVE] I don’t fall asleep easily, so for years, I’ve listened to audiobooks and radio plays in bed — now I’ve got an elasticated headphone band to make it a more comfortable experience.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

On remembering that hands consist of more than just fingertips

Mar 25, 2025

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10 min read

On remembering that hands consist of more than just fingertips

I’m doing my little bit to reclaim the concept of manual labour for myself and for creative people in a very literal (and literary) fashion.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

Mar 4, 2025

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5 min read

On the reasons for new projects

[FROM THE ARCHIVE] On a recent trip to London, we finally made it to the Design Museum so we could catch the exhibition of work by the Italian design legend Enzo Mari.

Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

On behaving like a pineapple, or, realising when it’s not all about you

Feb 25, 2025

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6 min read

On behaving like a pineapple, or, realising when it’s not all about you

What better way of challenging these unhelpful feelings than by taking my clothes off in front a room full of strangers?

Philip Holyman

Things I've Seen

On marshmallows, binge-watching and delayed........................... gratification

On the utter waffling bollocks either side of ad breaks on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year

On big issues and small details

On pride and productivity

On (un)healthy relationships with the metal pet

On waving goodbye to 2025 and saying hello to 2026

On the 88 Club

On (the joys of) negative utopias

On saying what you mean and meaning what you say

On contraction and expansion

On having your vichyssoise and eating it

On liking

On using just one element and really going to town with it

On when the mind is empty and when the mind is full

On whether accents matter, or just get in the way

On boats, tigers, zebras, and why story-telling gets done dirty by religion

On someone just saying yes

On Miss Marple, class and human nature

On remembering that hands consist of more than just fingertips

On the reasons for new projects

On behaving like a pineapple, or, realising when it’s not all about you

But anyway, I digress...