Writing goes hand in hand with reading. What a waste of time it would be to spend hours crafting beautiful prose if no one was around to read it.

And that’s why we think The Reading Agency, an independent charity inspiring people to read more, is a rather splendid idea. They say, “Imagine that no-one had encouraged you to understand the funny little squiggles on the page called words that can make you gasp or can make you cry. You’d be a smaller person*, living in a smaller world.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

(* And at 5ft 2in, Nicola is already a person of diminutive stature)

The illustration above was not done by me (I can barely draw a stick man). It was done by our friend, illustrator Ryan Welsh. He’s self taught (not jealous, honest) and hails from Birmingham. If you like to get in touch with him you can call him on 07900 263068 or email rajyellow@hotmail.com.

Want to clinch a business deal?

Hm.

Perhaps, after reading about biscuits this week, I should add “Don’t forget to turn up at the meeting with chocolate digestives” to our article on writing proposals…