Take Flight is a meditation on the quiet courage of solitude. Standing before a lonely lighthouse beneath an immense night sky, we discover that freedom is not found by escaping the world, but by allowing the mind and spirit to journey beyond fear. The lighthouse becomes a symbol of steadfastness amid uncertainty, whilst the stars and sea remind us that imagination, memory and hope are limitless. It is ultimately an (hopefully) uplifting reflection on resilience; that even in our darkest moments we possess the extraordinary ability to lift ourselves beyond the horizon of the present and discover new possibilities within ourselves.

With Take Flight I consciously wished to explore structure, principally the structure of the Sonnets of Shakespeare.. I borrowed one lesson directly from the sonnets: the volta. Rather than simply repeating an image, each verse turns it slightly until the chorus acquires a deeper meaning.

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The other day I found a book. "Narrative Essays of Today". Published in 1964 it is stamped as being the property of Whitefield County Secondary School, Albert Road, Manchester, and features writings by Orwell, Wodehouse, Dylan Thomas and many others.

I took it with me on a lengthy dog walk. I also had a pencil.

Whilst Stanley sat poised, observing the squirrels, ready to give them the telling off he thinks they deserve, a story came to mind.

A couple. A girl and a boy, then a man and a woman, who meet in a field. It was all very Thomas Hardy in my imagination.

They met, loved and grew in the field. And even though they're long gone their spirit remains on the wind.

This is their story.

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Those memories that we cannot return to.

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