Richie Phillips

As it probably does for many people with creative tendencies, the need to fulfill the normal responsibilities of work and family life invariably gets in the way. So it was with me for many years. It had always been there, though; I remember my Gran penning poems for her WI Meetings and my Dad was always making up silly rhymes and changing the words of songs. So it began. I suppose the first real recognition that I might possess some talent as a wordsmith was aged 11, when I was named a winner of the BBC's 'Jackanory' Writing Competition. It was a very proud moment. TV exposure was quite something then; there were only three channels! Through school, enthusiastic teachers and my interest in art and pop music, the creative energy remained and even into undergraduate life, I looked to playing in bands and writing lyrics to balance out the rather dry philosophies and psychological studies. Eventually though, after higher education, working life began and I assumed the normal role of employee, householder, father, son, etc. There was far less time and myriad priorities with which to fill it. I knew the writer was still there, but he was buried somewhere beyond reach. Creativity always requires time. It took the end of my rather moderate football career, for the spark to re-ignite. A badly broken leg left me in plaster, off work and largely immobile for a couple of months. I could do very little, except write and within those two months I had penned my first novel, although a return to the hamster's wheel meant it would be 2006 (another 12 years) before 'Making Allowances' was published. Again, the door became closed, although I always kept my scribblings and verses, I can't really explain why. One of the very few positive upshots of the dreadful pandemic, has been the time that 'lockdown' presented; I found that I had the headspace and time to start thinking about creating things once again. It has been a joy and something of a surprise to me, how much I enjoy writing - how much I want to write, to create, and in different forms. Art too; I have set up a small business offering sport and rock artwork. The King, this book, brings together a narrative, written during lockdown, with a collection of poetry which I have composed over the last ten years. Writing for me provides not only a repository for my thoughts, observation and reflections, but it also provides me with an ongoing journey and a sense of excitement for whatever the rest of my life holds in store.