The difficult events over the past months have caused us all to look at life, work and relationships differently.

For some people this has prompted profound changes, for others it's been a case of being more aware of the life we're leading, and better appreciating those people who help us to live it to the full - doctors, nurses, teachers, shopkeepers and delivery drivers all immediately spring to mind.

However, we shouldn't forget that we all have a part to play. And I was intrigued to read about a recent arts event which sought to illustrate this fact.

It was staged over 12 hours and invited 'workers of the world' to step forward to describe what they do for a living. Participants were invited to answer questions or to carry out their everyday jobs in front of an audience.

A coffee roaster served coffee while explaining how she loved talking to customers. A former drug dealer described how he had changed his life around. A decorator spent hours papering walls. A cook prepared a dinner to share with the audience. A midwife explained the birth of a baby and an astrophysicist talked about the stars. And the cast list continued. 

Described as an 'epic documentary theatre performance', it was called 12 Last Songs and took place at Leeds Playhouse last week. 

"We had some amazing moments in rehearsal where we were bowled over by the extraordinariness of people and their lives," the co-artistic director Richard Gregory told the 'Guardian'. "So many people are unaware of how remarkable the ways they spend their time are."

We'll be looking at other people's lives through literature when we meet together for book group again tomorrow evening... 

Thank you for reading.