Alexandra Cameron's Blog

This week I joined Amanda Vanstone on her ABC National Radio show Counterpoint to discuss white lies and whoppers and why we might do it. Click on the link below to listen. 

‘For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen, Before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.’

Today we are a mere ten minutes walk from our house but feel like we might have taken a stroll down a country lane, except for the screech of a train every other minute and glimpses of a distant crane atop the skeleton of a new build. Even the looming ironwork of the local gasometer only signifies the coming of the modern age for the Victorians, having been part of the landscape si...

brutalism study #2: stepping into The Barbican feels like stepping onto the set of a slick 1970s dystopian film. I’m wearing an amber coloured jumpsuit with cowl neck and flares and a pair of chunky platforms, drinking something with an umbrella in it and channelling Jane Fonda circa Klute. Except I’m not, I’m in standard Mum uniform aka jeans and a jumper and I’m running after my toddler who is dangerously close to the infinity edge of the lake that runs through the residential block - compl...

Last night we walked up Primrose Hill in the twilight. The sun was setting across the other side and the fiery light burned through the trees. People gathered at the top, their silhouettes like statues against the mauve skyline and we all stood together watching the City lights grow brighter as the sky grew darker. Someone played Marvin Gaye on a portable speaker and the kids danced and jumped along the raised step. 

We stuffed our hands into our pockets and put our hoods on, the first time we...

Feeling brutal? Trellick Tower getting a semi make over? Brutal study #1

Originally designed by architect Erno Goldfinger, it was the first place I looked at to rent a room way back in Dec 1998 having responded to an ad in the Trading Post (no internet!) for ‘Room to rent in Portobello’. The woman’s flat was full of 60s concert memorabilia including one of Tom Jones’ shirts he had thrown at the crowd.

‘The lone tower block at the end of Golborne Road.’ It’s also the home of one of my favourite...

The enchanted garden. Surreal light. Columns to hide behind and run between. Spiralling vines and floral treasures. A couple of faeries were found here too... I’ve always loved overgrown gardens especially ones that seem to take over - much more scope for your imagination. It’s about once what was or what could have been. This one was said to have inspired Lewis Carroll and I can see why. Totally felt like Alice! 

Hidden away in North London you have to know where you’re going to find it. We w...

I've been offline for a while focussing on family and writing but my article on the sharing economy has just been published for Refinery29.uk and this is a subject well-worth talking about. Living far away from my family and having a young family of my own, I have never craved to be a part of a local community more than now. Then I started reading about the sharing economy and had a burst of hope in my heart for this troubled world we live in. Wouldn't it be great if we could get to know our...

Can a mother love her child too much?

Rachael’s Gift examines a co-dependent relationship between a mother, Camille, and her teenage daughter, Rachael. Camille worships her daughter in an all-consuming, and adoring way that sometimes feels uncomfortable. It seems Rachael gets away with whatever she wants, exhibiting some sly and manipulative behaviour, but it’s soon apparent that Camille is no less controlling and calculating. Together, they push and pull at each other to get what they desir...

A friend recently reminded me of an expression I used when people asked me how I managed to complete my novel after seven years.'You mean,B.O.S?I said.'Bum on seat!'She laughed, 'It says it all.'

It's not the most eloquent of expressions (nor can I lay claim to it)but it does get to the point. Quite simply, it means turning up to the page (or whatever it is you want to achieve) and discarding the rest.

Paula Hawkins was a financial journalist andwrote four romance novels under a pseudonym befo...

CREDIT: REUTERS/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE

Thanks to George Clooney's adaptation of Edsel's The Monuments Menthe world has awakened to the repercussions of Nazi atrocities that are not just events in history but real ongoing issues, with deep emotional resonance forJewish holocaust victims and their ancestors.

Helen Mirren stars in the 'Woman in Gold' just premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.The film follows the storyof Maria Altmann's battle with the Austrian governmentto retrievepaintings by Gus...