WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO START IMPLEMENTING YOUR 15 MINUTES OF MINDFUL PLAY WITH YOUR TWEEN? With a child this age it can be very helpful to involve them in your commitment to spend more time each day having fun together.

Natasha Cuddington (48) is a poet and educator who co-edited the new anthology Words Out with Ruth Carr for Open Arts, an organisation which inspires and supports the creativity and artistic development of disabled people.

"I SPENT a lot of time on the train – or I used to," explains author Bernie McGill of the inspiration behind the titular tale from her new short story collection, This Train is For, which involves locomotion, place names, foolish pride and family estrangement.

"LAST week Plop ended up in a prison cell with Queen singer Freddie Mercury, whose head was popping out of the toilet singing 'I want to break free'.

ANGELA Scanlon is used to listening to other people open up, on her Thanks A Million podcast.

Notes and musings from the arts scene as it looks forward to a new month, by Jane Hardy RIVERRUN, people.

BEING honest, I had mixed feelings about reviewing a book which was reported as being favourable towards the RUC and that was written by a former RUC officer.

Fiction Fight Night by Miriam Toews is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £14.