For the tenth episode of Pet Projects we welcomed Hong Kong-based author Stewart McKay to the show to talk about his long-serving pet companion and his debut coming-of-age novella, The Ballad of Billy Lopez, which (as well as being completely excellent) was a finalist for the Proverse Prize.

Originally from Scotland, Stewart now lives with his beloved one in the busy Mong Kok district of Hong Kong, where adaptability is key, hence our musings on dietary requirements, pet-sitting challenges and Covid consolations. Meanwhile, when it comes to the engaging book in question – ONE of us rashly attempts a US accent to relay a vaguely pet-related passage…

Stewart and I have both enjoyed roles in the Hong Kong Writers Circle (HKWC), with my guest appearing in ten of their annual anthologies while editing two. Our reflections on the value of the HKWC form part of a wider chat about Stewart’s writing life and promotional work for The Ballad… See links below and listen out for a radio interview on Hong Kong station RTHK soon!

A couple of extra notes about the show: there is some swearing in this episode, though sadly our curse words are somewhat muffled by the recording quality (we chatted over Zoom). As ever, greater clarity can be achieved via headphones.

Thanks so much for being our tenth guest, Stewart! Perhaps a follow-up episode could be recorded over there in the fragrant harbour? Remember, if you’re enjoying the Pet Projects podcast, please like, review & tell your friends.

Links to projects/discussion topics:

Stewart’s new novella, The Ballad of Billy Lopez: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Billy-Lopez-Stewart-McKay/dp/9888833952

My new novel, Adrift: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adrift-Peter-Humphreys/dp/B0DSSY5VNV/

Stewart on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatididinhongkong/

The Ballad of Billy Lopez featured in the Hong Kong Review: https://www.hongkongreview.co/post/southern-drawl-and-soulful-growth-a-review-of-stewart-mckay-s-the-ballad-of-billy-lopez

Stewart’s reflections on the book in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal: https://chajournal.blog/2025/03/16/whatsoever/

The Hong Kong Writers Circle: https://hongkongwriterscircle.org

Pet Projects on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petprojectspod/

For the ninth instalment of Pet Projects we are delighted to welcome artist, cellist and children’s author Margit van der Zwan to the show. Based in Lancashire, Margit was born in the Netherlands but has Hungarian roots through her grandma – and therein lies a link to her distinctive pet: a Magic Roundabout remix who is an expert at shepherding her music students to the piano – as well as putting them at ease.

In the course of a highly entertaining chat, Margit reflects on some of her adventures – including touring with pop band Elbow, introducing her wonderful picture book ‘I love my maracas!’ to leg-hugging young readers, and learning to play the musical saw (as well as designing a card game) during lockdown.

She also looks ahead to her forthcoming art exhibition, ‘All Made Up’, which runs in Clitheroe from 22 February 2025, and we discuss her own unique musical compositions, excerpts of which are included in the show at the following points: ‘Hearts Hearts’ (38:20), ‘The World’ (46:48), ‘White Van’ (01:00:00) and ‘Een Fijne Melodie’ (01:06:50).

Thanks so much for coming on the show, Margit! As always, there was much to learn from a wonderful new guest – both about the arts (classical/contemporary string music this time) and about those dawg-gone animals…

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and elsewhere. If you’re enjoying the podcast please like, subscribe and share.

Links to discussion points/project info:

Margit’s website: https://margitvanderzwan.com

Margit’s musical book for c. 3-year-olds, ‘I love my maracas!’: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1819613555/i-love-my-maracas-childrens-story-book

Details of Margit’s forthcoming exhibition, ‘All Made Up’: https://www.instagram.com/p/DE5q3OaAC2A/

Margit’s own music on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcy3pHO-OoOBXgfabWXgcHA

Quartet for Two – a podcast based on Margit’s card game: https://quartetfortwo.weebly.com

Carlo Curley, classical organist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Curley

Borrow my Doggy website: https://www.borrowmydoggy.com

Emily Sandé, singer with whom Margit shared the stage at The Royal Albert Hall: https://emelisande.com

Dame Evelyn Glennie, famous percussionist: https://www.evelyn.co.uk

Arthur and George – book by Julian Barnes: https://www.julianbarnes.com/books/arthur.html

Kassia, Byzantine composer who came up when we shuffled the cards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ipNUTtDYU

For the eighth instalment of Pet Projects, we welcome Dan and Emjay to the show.

Dan Lever is a musician and wordsmith with a passion for communication. Losing his music teaching role during Covid and having lost his appetite for playing, he turned to another of his longstanding passions – writing. He now runs his own business, Magnify Copy, which provides copywriting and digital services to people and organisations whether local to his base in Hest Bank, near Morecambe, or further afield. He has also, happily, picked up his guitar again and performs for the love of it with family, friends and strangers.

Two musical contributions from Dan feature in the episode (plus a ‘hidden duet’ you’ll discover on listening!): ‘West Snide Story’ by Islands Lost at Sea (46:39) and ‘Three Line Whip’ by the Two Hats Blues Band (50:25). ‘A Christmas Cat’, a poem by June Newall, and read by Dan’s friend Richard, appears at 24:25.

Other topics covered in our relaxed, in-person chat range from cleaning up Emjay’s poo to the ‘enshittification’ of the Internet and much in-between – including why cats prefer Kate Bush to dub, novel-planning options, and who rules the roost on Morecambe seafront (clue: it’s not the seagulls).

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and elsewhere. If you’re enjoying the podcast please like, subscribe and share. As ever, best listened to through ‘phones.

Links for your purr-usal:

Dan’s company, Magnify Copy

Islands Lost at Sea, feat. Dan.

Two Hats Blues Band (don't say it fast), feat. Dan.

Richard Newall’s film accompanying June Newall’s poem, ‘A Christmas Cat’

Pluralistic, daily posts from Cory Doctorow.

The ‘enshittification’ of social media platforms.

For the seventh instalment of Pet Projects – a bumper Christmas special – we are pleased as punch to welcome acclaimed author and Professor of Creative Writing, Jenn Ashworth and her beloved dog Brodie to our show. Originally from Preston and now living in Lancaster, Jenn’s funny, dark and moving work has gained a loyal readership and received widespread praise – in fact the evening before we chatted Chez Lucy her latest novel Ghosted: A Love Story had been recommended on BBC2’s Between the Covers.

We reflect on that but for the most part sink our teeth into Jenn’s life with Brodie, the process of writing and completing her upcoming book The Parallel Path (out with Hachette in summer 2025), and how her relationship with Brodie, walking across the north of England and her chosen path as a writer helped her come to terms with unexpected illness, burnout and a friend’s diagnosis, all of which came together in her highly anticipated new work. We also cover myths about northernness, letter-writing and how our loved ones, perhaps even without knowing it, can sometimes offer us mentoring in being ill.

There are also plenty of laughs, tips for animal custodians (and writers), and musical ditties.

A hearty & heartfelt Happy Christmas and wonderful new year from me, Ana and Lucy to all seven very special guests we’ve spoken to in Series One of Pet Projects, and to all of our listeners too. Thank you! It’s been a blast. Back in early 2025 with a brand-new episode.

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and elsewhere. If you’re enjoying the podcast please like, subscribe and share.

Links to discussion points/general info:

Jenn’s website: https://jennashworth.co.uk

Review of Jenn’s latest novel, Ghosted: A Love Story: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/16/ghosted-by-jenn-ashworth-review-an-unnerving-love-story

An enlightening Q&A with Jenn in Lunate: https://www.lunate.co.uk/features/jenn-ashworths-shelf-life

Between the Covers episode on BBC2, featuring Ghosted: A Love Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1QWw2cV2p5Y8d3ZZ1vKBVMK/between-the-covers-2024-episode-6

Monkey Scribbling, letter-writing podcast featuring Rich & Pete: https://open.spotify.com/show/04DKzcczZ1TibwTGG3bMOS

Furbo – for pet monitoring from afar: https://furbo.com/uk/pages/about-us

For the sixth instalment of Pet Projects, we are chuffed to welcome Ollie and Pixel to the show. As well as being a renowned author of speculative fiction (in the SFF genre), Dr Oliver K. Langmead (aka Ollie) is a Creative Writing tutor at Lancaster University’s world-famous Creative Writing department.

Ollie describes how he first met Pixel, the importance of play, the shared health problems that saw them taking the same medication, and how ‘yard time’ for cats doesn’t have to mean putting wildlife at risk.

Turning to publishing, Ollie discusses his research into (de)anthropomorphism and personhood, and his widely praised verse novel Calypso, a stunning piece of sci-fi, created with help from real-life astronauts, his longstanding editor, and literary influences including Milton and Homer. We discuss writing techniques, how to get into ‘the classics’, northern SFF events and publishing scams, among other things.

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and elsewhere. If you’re enjoying the podcast please like, subscribe and share.

Links to Ollie’s work & works discussed:

Ollie’s website

Ollie’s university bio

Writers Beware – a website exposing publishing scams

The Coral Bones by EJ Swift

The Odyssey by Homer (audiobook version)

Paradise Lost by John Milton (audiobook version)

Genesis by Frederick Turner

Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles

Jim Stewart, poet

It’s Strange Up North (inaugural event of ‘fantastical fiction featuring some of the very best writers working in the SFF space today’, June 2024)

The Publishing Rodeo (podcast co-created/-hosted by writer Sunyi Dean)

For the fifth instalment of Pet Projects, we are thrilled to welcome Alice and Jeff to the show. Much in-demand as a highly original, multi-disciplinary artist, Alice Evans trained at the Royal College of Art and Chelsea College of Art, and now works from her studio in Lancaster, a city we are unembarrassed about singing the praises of during our chat.

With at least as broad an outlook as her loyal, mischievous and museful cat, Jeff, Alice’s prodigious output encompasses filmmaking, painting, poetry, photography and music. Today, as well as the irascible Jeff, we focus on her band, The Arcane Hope, who have just released an eponymous album and performed their first gig.

Snippets from the following Arcane Hope songs appear in the second half of the show: (30:35), The Best Sci=Fi (36:45), Do Not Cry (38:49), Laundry Isle (42:54) and Heavy Sky (50:49).

Blessed with autumn sunshine, this episode was recorded outside at The Storey Institute’s gardens in the heart of Lancaster, where we suspect – without solid proof – that Jeff may have been watching/listening to us from a nearby tree...

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and elsewhere. If you’re enjoying the podcast please like, subscribe and share.

Links:

Alice’s website

Alice on Instagram

The Arcane Hope on Spotify

Recent exhibitions and events involving Alice

For the fourth instalment of Pet Projects, we are thrilled to welcome Jon, Jess and Roo.

During the Covid lockdowns our very special guest Jon Hill not only welcomed ebullient double-doodle pup Roo into the family, joining older lady Jess, but also revived his love of baking: beginning a journey in pizza-making that would see him raising thousands of pounds for good causes and connecting with our local community in the most delicious of ways.

Going from strength to strength, Jon now runs Community Pizza Events, and if you’re lucky enough to be in Lancaster you can sample his and his team’s mouth-watering produce at the Fairfield Festival on the 13th July 2024, alongside bands, DJs and (this is northern Britain after all) a beer tent. In our podcast chat, we cover dog family trees, dog-walking highs and lows, dog-sleeping boffs and burps; how our animals adapt to new arrivals (or don’t!), and much else besides.

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, iTunes and elsewhere. If you’re enjoying the podcast please like, subscribe and share.

Links >>>

Community Pizza Events

Fairfield Festival

Global Village Café

Muscle & Longevity – advice on living a strong, healthy life

Sheffield Wednesday (aka ‘The Owls’) website

For the third instalment of Pet Projects we are joined by actor and theatrical producer Nicole Garbellini for a fascinating chat.

Having been scouted in Italy and performing at the Venice Biennale, setting up her own theatre company in Hong Kong, and thereafter completing her acting studies in London, where she is now based, Nicole is not used to being upstaged. However, her beloved cat Marty McFly has done his best to compete with her in a way that only cats can: appearing alongside Nicole and her husband David in ‘Close Quarters’, a YouTube series from writer Ryan King born in the Covid lockdowns, during which our animals – to many of us – became more important than ever.

Some of the other subjects Nicole and I explore in this episode are the difficulties of transporting pets between countries; the challenges and joys of producing theatre, including ‘Mussolini’s Mistresses’, a play created in Hong Kong by Nicole’s Aurora Theatre from writer/director Clare Stearns, and how cats are not as antisocial as ‘the man’ tells us – Marty as a grandpa to younger felines? Why not? He can teach them how to skateboard for starters. For all budding actors/cat owners, there is much to learn in this episode about both. Enjoy!

Pet Projects is a collaborative project devised by writer and editor Peter Humphreys and artist and filmmaker Ana Rebolledo, who provides the artwork and video content. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud and elsewhere. Please like and subscribe, and follow @petprojectspod on Instagram for updates and insights from the Pet Projects universe.

Some links related to Nicole’s life and work >>>

‘Close Quarters’ YouTube comedy-drama series starring Nicole, David and Marty: https://youtu.be/TeSb7QlslA8?si=0JHUANBmOAimFgFs

Aurora Theatre YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AuroraTheatreHK

‘Mussolini’s Mistresses’, interview with cast members: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw11NyuOUhU

Aurora Theatre, Hong Kong – latest news: https://www.auroratheatrehk.com/blog/