Kevin McManus discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Kevin McManus is an Irish writer and poet from Co. Leitrim whose work is rooted in place, memory, and the quiet emotional currents of everyday life. He has published several works of fiction and poetry, often focusing on crime fiction and the rural Irish landscape.

The Light at Evening is semi-autobiographical as it reflects experiences of his own over recent years: he works as a secondary school teacher, his wife is a cancer survivor and his father passed away in 2024. It is available at https://kevinmcmanusbooks.com/books/the-light-at-evening-kevin-mcmanus/B0GHZV418J.

1. The Irish Bouzouki. A distinctive instrument that has become an important part of the sound of Irish folk and traditional music, but one that remains surprisingly unfamiliar outside that world.
2. The Opening and Closing Lines of Irish Conversations. All those phrases that aren't really questions and don't require answers: "What's the craic?" "What's the story?", "How are you?" "How are things?" And the elaborate ritual of leaving: "Right so", "Sure look", "Anyway", "I'll let you go", and "We'll talk to you."
3. "Martha" by Tom Waits. A beautiful song from his 1973 album Closing Time, in which a man contacts a woman he loved many years earlier.
4. The Slow Set at an Eighties Disco. That moment when the DJ put on a few slow songs and the whole atmosphere of the disco changed. A largely vanished social ritual from the days before mobile phones, social media and dating apps.
5. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973). A wonderfully understated crime film starring Robert Mitchum. Bleak, atmospheric and completely lacking in Hollywood glamour.
6. The Talk of the Town by Ardal O'Hanlon. Ardal O'Hanlon is known primarily as an actor and comedian, particularly from Father Ted, but his novel The Talk of the Town deserves considerably more attention.

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Norman Lamb discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Sir Norman Lamb is the former Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk and a former Minister of State for Care and Support. Knighted in 2019 for services to mental health, he also chaired South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust from 2020 to 2025. His new book is Be More Human, which is available at https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/norman-lamb/be-more-human/9781805017752/.

1. Doing something for somebody else https://www.kcl.ac.uk/helping-others-create-change-professor-sir-sam-everington
2. The healing power of nature https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/woodland-restoration-at-whitewoods-offers-a-natural-health-service-to-the-community
3. Alternatives to locking people up https://www.livingwellsystems.uk/trieste
4. Ibrahim Maalouf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Maalouf
5. Rosie Phillips https://www.rosiephillipsart.com/
6. Shrinking https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/oct/16/shrinking-season-two-review-harrison-ford-comedy-apple-tv

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Chris Wilkins is a political consultant, strategist and writer and co-founder of global campaigns & advisory firm the Hanwell Group.

Beginning his career as a political advisor to the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe in Westminster, Chris went on to become the youngest Director of the renowned Conservative Research Department (CRD) in over 30 years. He later served in the government of David Cameron before becoming Downing Street Director of Strategy and Chief Speechwriter to Prime Minister Theresa May.

Chris sits on the Board of Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity whose patron is the Prince of Wales.

1. The music of Martyn Joseph: I grew up listening to Martyn’s music and have seen him in concert many times. He’s been described as the ‘Welsh Springsteen’.
2. Centrepoint’s 2037 ambition: I sit on the Board of the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. It’s our ambition to end youth homelessness by 2037 - and we have a strategy to get there.
3. The virtues of a Rhodia pad and HB pencil: I love nothing more than a Rhodia writing pad and a good HB pencil. But the real point of this is that it’s a reminder to step away from the laptop, stop worrying about the email inbox and to take time to think.
4. The joy of making music: I grew up learning to play instruments and played in various county orchestras and jazz bands. Every child should be able to do this.
5. Maya Angelou quote: the great American poet Maya Angelou once wrote “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.
6. A Six Nations game in Cardiff: there’s nothing better in life than Cardiff on international day. The Principality Stadium, which my father helped to build, is the best rugby stadium in the world

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