The terror of the blank page

Abstract

Sitting down to write this I face, as so many of you will have before me, the terror of the blank page. A hectic work schedule, multiple deadlines and a busy home life have meant that I have left writing this to the last minute, and the deadline is so close, it can sense my fear. However, this isn’t an unfamiliar situation and like anyone that has ever had to write to a specific brief for a specific audience for a very specific publication, I have found that the inspiration arrived at the last possible moment as I drove into a grey and dark Sunderland on this chilly February morning (thankfully the sun is now reflecting off the River Wear and silhouetting the outlines of the manoeuvring industrial shipping). As it transpires, the inspiration was there all along and thankfully for me, has been rather consistently for the last 13 years. My issue was overcoming the blank page induced terror and plucking up the courage to try and adroitly attempt to do some sort of justice to my commentary and description. I will undoubtedly fail or at least fall short in part but, hopefully, I will be able to at least convey some part of the story and in so doing, perhaps do it justice. The inspiration I’m drawing on comes from the community I have found myself a part of and working in. For the last two decades, I have been lucky enough to work with many hundreds of inspiring people who have all had the most fascinating stories, histories, interests and areas of expertise. It is the stories and community that have kept me afloat and inspired, and in this short introductory piece to the special issue for the 2022 ARPCE 4 International Conference I intend to share how and explore why. Firstly, a short but relevant story. In December of 2007, I was called out to an early hour’s vehicle breakdown by a distressed family attempting to reach Manchester airport from which they would be departing (as they described) to get some much-needed winter sun. Nearly two decades on, their