Andrea Mann

Andrea Mann is a Screenwriter and Freelance Writer based in London

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing

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Barrie Mann – 1936-2020

On Tuesday, we said goodbye to our Dad. Just eight of us, separated into our little family units. I’m so grateful we each have our little family units.

The trees and the cherry blossom in the crematorium grounds were bursting with joy and colour – pink, white, all shades of green. The birdsong from outside could be heard throughout the service, through the open doors. The sky was – as a favourite songwriter of mine (yes, Bruce) says in a song about life continuing after sadness and tragedy – “still the same unbelievable blue”.

I’m not religious, so had to do a bit of research before finding a suitable passage for the vicar to read. When I found Ecclesiastes 3 1:8 – which I’m sure you’ll all know, whether through the Bible or through the Pete Seeger/Byrds song Turn! Turn! Turn! – it seemed completely appropriate. For our dad, for us kids, for all of us seeing the glorious spring and beginings of summer out there through our windows and in our gardens and parks, and being reminded that the earth keeps turning, that our feelings keep changing, that there is a time and a season for everything. And what is a funeral during a pandemic if not ‘a time to refrain from embracing’, eh… ?

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After A Devastating Election Defeat, I Joined Labour. I Urge You To Do The Same

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A piece I wrote for The Huffington Post:

It was the aftermath of a shocking, devastating general election loss. The Labour party leader was standing down. Nobody knew exactly what would happen next.

It was May 2015 – and it hit me that I actually cared very much about what happened next: both in the Labour party and in the country. And it hit me that I couldn’t really complain about what happened next unless I got involved somehow. 

So in June 2015, I joined the Labour party. Without any history of activism, volunteering or politics. Just a history of shouting at my computer screen. 

It was that election result that finally made me take action, of course; but probably also, somewhere in the back of my mind, a favourite scene from one of my favourite films.

It’s in James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News – a moment where super-smart, super-informed TV news producer Jane (Holly Hunter) chastises super-handsome, not-very-informed TV presenter Tom (William Hurt) for complaining about feeling out-of-depth in his new role as a news anchor. “I agree with you – you’re not qualified,” she tells him. “So get qualified… Stop whining and do something about it.”

Lines from films, books or songs stay with you because they resonate somehow. I realised that deep down, I wanted to be a Jane – but had actually been living my life as a Tom. So in June 2015, I decided to stop whining and do something about it. 

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Arts, Health and Wellbeing: My Speech to Westminster Council

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This is the speech I gave at Westminster City Council’s full council meeting tonight, in a debate about Public Health. I highly recommend reading all of Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to the high school students. 🙂

When a group of high school students contacted him as part of an English assignment, the writer Kurt Vonnegut gave them the following advice:

“Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.”

Whether we’re participating in them as creators, audience members, or something in between – the arts make our souls grow. They make us feel ourselves; feel connected; feel better – sometimes in more ways than one. Because there’s an overwhelming body of evidence to show that taking part in creative and cultural activities can dramatically improve our health and wellbeing.

This connection between health and creativity was backed up as recently as 2017, in the report produced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing.

Their two-year inquiry found that arts engagement improves psychological, social and emotional wellbeing in people of all ages.

It can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, social isolation and loneliness; it can promote healthy ageing; help with the self-management of long-term health conditions; tackle health inequalities and begin to address obesity.

The report also found that engagement in the arts influences childhood development, and shapes educational and employment opportunities. It prevents illness and infirmity from developing in the first place and worsening in the longer term.

And it doesn’t just help us as individuals: it improves the wellbeing of groups, whole communities and our wider society – strengthening bonds between us, and promoting community cohesion.

And for those who care about the bottom line: the report also found that arts engagement saves money in social care and the health service.

Now, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to arts offerings here in Westminster – but I don’t need to tell you that this rich cultural scene is not enjoyed equally by everyone.

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