When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

I am the type of person who picks up basic knowledge of things very quickly. As a result of this I have a small amount of knowledge in a range of subjects. However, I spent 3 years learning to be a stage lighting technician. I did not study it to a degree level, or even close to that, but I have enough knowledge to plan and light a stage. I can tell you how different colours create different effects, I can tell you how different types of lights create different effects, I can explain how the angle of the lights can create different types of emphasis on the actors.

I am also a larper, which has taught me a lot about how to make fire and how to cook for myself over a flame and how to keep myself clean with very few facilities (wet wipes are your best friend!) The interesting thing is, that both of these things have taught me a lot about how to manipulate rope. I can't manipulate rope in a way that will make it look pretty, there was no need for me to learn that, but I can make it work. I know how rope reacts with itself, I know knots to hang things and the classic british knot that you do twenty times over to make sure something doesn't move.

The rope can't judge you

I love working with rope, there's something about the texture of it that I enjoy. I like to tie knots and untie them again and I like to make rope do things I didn't know it could do. I like the challenges rope presents and the hold in the knots I create. I find that there is something calming about working with rope.

And now I have discovered that it is a very good way to distract myself from the anxiety the world presents. I intend to carry a small length of rope on me at all times so that if the world ever gets too much I can lose myself in the world of knots.