I lust for life, I do!
I want to squeeze luscious moments from each day, and build on them to extract and extrapolate my thoughts into meaningful passages for my books.
Why? Because I write about family life. Those daily obstacles and complexities that drive us to do what we do. People are important to me, what they do is my life line, my business. They fascinate me.
I’m quite sure that I’ll only get one stab at this life, so I am going to grab it large!
Live it - Love it - Laugh with it. Do you lust for life?
Goodwood
Friday, 13 April 2012
Thursday, 12 April 2012
K… is for... Kindness
If I could be granted a superpower it would be this:
‘The ability to make people kinder, in actions, words and deeds.’
Hero’s don’t wear capes… they wear... dog tags
Oh so true ♥
If I could grant you a super power which super-hero power would you chose?
‘The ability to make people kinder, in actions, words and deeds.’
Hero’s don’t wear capes… they wear... dog tags
Oh so true ♥
If I could grant you a super power which super-hero power would you chose?
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
J… is for… Journey
I get to pick and choose. I know I am lucky. I have five beautiful nieces, eighteen, sixteen, fourteen, eight and six. All surrogate daughters, on a part time rota basis.
Fabulous fun.
It’s Easter holiday time and I have the middle niece to visit for a sleep over, a couple of nights with her mad giddy aunt.
Car journeys are usually solitary times when my mind is free and I can relax, unwind and think. Not last night, when I collected her. Something surprising happened.
She talked non-stop! Not even to draw breath. I couldn’t get a word in edgeways. If I tried to respond and break into her conversation, she kept going. Talked louder, drowned me out.
At first I thought it was endearing, charming. After ten miles I was fit to scream…
Until she said, smiling: ‘dry rain would be better.’
Fabulous fun.
It’s Easter holiday time and I have the middle niece to visit for a sleep over, a couple of nights with her mad giddy aunt.
Car journeys are usually solitary times when my mind is free and I can relax, unwind and think. Not last night, when I collected her. Something surprising happened.
She talked non-stop! Not even to draw breath. I couldn’t get a word in edgeways. If I tried to respond and break into her conversation, she kept going. Talked louder, drowned me out.
At first I thought it was endearing, charming. After ten miles I was fit to scream…
Until she said, smiling: ‘dry rain would be better.’
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
I… is for…If
If: the biggest word in the English language.
Let’s go back in history to one of my all time favourite English Kings: Henry VIII
If Henry knew that his daughter, Elizabeth, would be his legacy. Be the strongest heir, become the greatest queen of English history, would he have beheaded her mother? And declared Elizabeth illegitimate?
History has written the ending for these complicated events and I will never know if there could be an alternative answer to the question I’ve posed.
Looking back I can view and interpret Henry’s actions with hindsight. But while Henry lived these were his decisions, based on the limited information he possessed at that time. Guided, aided and abetted by those men in grey that held the power behind the throne. I can see Henry, the flaws that made this man, a king, a very real person, loved and loathed.
But perhaps the art to good storytelling is not to give away the ending before the story has begun. So when I write my characters I need to know where they are going to end up but not necessarily need to share this information with the reader too soon?
Let’s go back in history to one of my all time favourite English Kings: Henry VIII
If Henry knew that his daughter, Elizabeth, would be his legacy. Be the strongest heir, become the greatest queen of English history, would he have beheaded her mother? And declared Elizabeth illegitimate?
History has written the ending for these complicated events and I will never know if there could be an alternative answer to the question I’ve posed.
Looking back I can view and interpret Henry’s actions with hindsight. But while Henry lived these were his decisions, based on the limited information he possessed at that time. Guided, aided and abetted by those men in grey that held the power behind the throne. I can see Henry, the flaws that made this man, a king, a very real person, loved and loathed.
But perhaps the art to good storytelling is not to give away the ending before the story has begun. So when I write my characters I need to know where they are going to end up but not necessarily need to share this information with the reader too soon?
Monday, 9 April 2012
H… is for… History & Happiness versus Hung-over
Recently I discovered the joys of a Gin & Tonic.
Odd that I’ve never tried this tipple before, and now that I’ve found it, I can’t think why I never drunk one before. But I’m converted to Gin, despite it’s historical name of: Mother’s Ruin!
In 1700’s England, the British government supported gin distilling while banning and discouraging imports of wine from France. So the poor drank gin because it was cheap to produce, and often mixed with turpentine!
Hogarth’s famous cartoon of drunken debauchery in Gin Lane is graphic. But consider this... if Gin was drunk for breakfast and dinner and tea and supper. A soporific alcoholic addiction and drug induced state was virtually impossible to avoid, especially as gin houses established a strong link with prostitution. A means by which to pay for your addiction.
Drunkenness in the streets and back allies become common place.
Over the centuries good Samaritans charged with rounding up drunks would take these poor souls to large warehoused areas, cold, unheated, strung with washing lines. Drunks were ‘hung over’ the lines to let the side effects of alcohol wear off.
Think I limit my intake of Gin!
Odd that I’ve never tried this tipple before, and now that I’ve found it, I can’t think why I never drunk one before. But I’m converted to Gin, despite it’s historical name of: Mother’s Ruin!
In 1700’s England, the British government supported gin distilling while banning and discouraging imports of wine from France. So the poor drank gin because it was cheap to produce, and often mixed with turpentine!
Hogarth’s famous cartoon of drunken debauchery in Gin Lane is graphic. But consider this... if Gin was drunk for breakfast and dinner and tea and supper. A soporific alcoholic addiction and drug induced state was virtually impossible to avoid, especially as gin houses established a strong link with prostitution. A means by which to pay for your addiction.
Drunkenness in the streets and back allies become common place.
Over the centuries good Samaritans charged with rounding up drunks would take these poor souls to large warehoused areas, cold, unheated, strung with washing lines. Drunks were ‘hung over’ the lines to let the side effects of alcohol wear off.
Think I limit my intake of Gin!
Sunday, 8 April 2012
Running ragged…
It’s the end of a hectic week, one where I agreed to complete the blogging A to Z April Challenge.
What was I thinking…?
Last week was the first week of the Easter holidays which coincided with the end of the tax year so all hell broke loose here. As the maddest giddy aunt known to my many nieces I’d been commandeered into becoming a temporary taxi driver, personal shopper and waitress! And carer.
Monday I raced up to Kingston, picked up middle two nieces and dropped them at my mothers. Then rushed to collect eldest niece from work, followed by a dash to pick up second eldest from school, poor lamb despite being on holiday she’s attending revision lessons, as if securing a prediction of 14 ‘O’ levels (mostly grade +*) isn’t sufficient - she needs extra lessons!?
This set of bonkers escapades was repeated over the next four days as nieces stayed between my house and my mothers. Including shopping trips to Brighton Laines and Horsham. It was fun. It was mad.
I take my hat off to all the mums here who run households and blog and write and juggle kids because this week my writing took a bit of a nose dive. I managed to keep the challenge on track and dip into Twitter occasionally but the novel is on hold until May… probably!
I’ve realised that this coming week may be a another challenge as I shall be away the following week so I need to get a double set of posts drafted, written and posted before I go away - if I want to remain part of the challenge…so no pressure.
I started out as number 1916, out of a field of around 1,940 and then I moved to 1914. To start with I thought I’d got confused but my number changed to #1881 and now I’m at #1805 so it appears that bloggers disappear off the A to Z challenge list at quite a high rate – *gulps*
So if I don’t respond to your lovely comments on my blog, I’m not ignoring you, really I’m not, just running ragged for the second week of the Easter holiday mayhem.
Will be awfully glad when normal services can be resumed week commencing 23rd April – St George’s day – ‘World Book Night’ oh and I have to organise a book launch too!!!!!!!!
What was I thinking…?
Last week was the first week of the Easter holidays which coincided with the end of the tax year so all hell broke loose here. As the maddest giddy aunt known to my many nieces I’d been commandeered into becoming a temporary taxi driver, personal shopper and waitress! And carer.
Monday I raced up to Kingston, picked up middle two nieces and dropped them at my mothers. Then rushed to collect eldest niece from work, followed by a dash to pick up second eldest from school, poor lamb despite being on holiday she’s attending revision lessons, as if securing a prediction of 14 ‘O’ levels (mostly grade +*) isn’t sufficient - she needs extra lessons!?
This set of bonkers escapades was repeated over the next four days as nieces stayed between my house and my mothers. Including shopping trips to Brighton Laines and Horsham. It was fun. It was mad.
I take my hat off to all the mums here who run households and blog and write and juggle kids because this week my writing took a bit of a nose dive. I managed to keep the challenge on track and dip into Twitter occasionally but the novel is on hold until May… probably!
I’ve realised that this coming week may be a another challenge as I shall be away the following week so I need to get a double set of posts drafted, written and posted before I go away - if I want to remain part of the challenge…so no pressure.
I started out as number 1916, out of a field of around 1,940 and then I moved to 1914. To start with I thought I’d got confused but my number changed to #1881 and now I’m at #1805 so it appears that bloggers disappear off the A to Z challenge list at quite a high rate – *gulps*
So if I don’t respond to your lovely comments on my blog, I’m not ignoring you, really I’m not, just running ragged for the second week of the Easter holiday mayhem.
Will be awfully glad when normal services can be resumed week commencing 23rd April – St George’s day – ‘World Book Night’ oh and I have to organise a book launch too!!!!!!!!
Saturday, 7 April 2012
G… is for… Games
Which games did you play as a child? Monopoly perhaps.
Or maybe Mousetrap, was your favourite board game?
The funny thing about board games is I never got bored as a child. I loved playing games, except… when I lost! I was a sore loser. But, in a very competitive family it made it inevitable that at some stage I might lose.
My mum had an uncanny knack of adding to, amending or changing the rules as the game was in progress and bless her, she still does this, to this day. It does not matter if it is Canasta or Mah-Jong. A couple of weeks ago, after an enormous scrumptious Sunday lunch, we played Monopoly with her grandchildren. They all know her wiles and did not let her escape; the competitive streak runs through all of our family – to be the best and to be a winner.
And the funny thing was…I re-read the rules that afternoon and still learned rules I didn’t know!
When was the last time you lost your competitive edge? Or played a game you lost?
Or maybe Mousetrap, was your favourite board game?
The funny thing about board games is I never got bored as a child. I loved playing games, except… when I lost! I was a sore loser. But, in a very competitive family it made it inevitable that at some stage I might lose.
My mum had an uncanny knack of adding to, amending or changing the rules as the game was in progress and bless her, she still does this, to this day. It does not matter if it is Canasta or Mah-Jong. A couple of weeks ago, after an enormous scrumptious Sunday lunch, we played Monopoly with her grandchildren. They all know her wiles and did not let her escape; the competitive streak runs through all of our family – to be the best and to be a winner.
And the funny thing was…I re-read the rules that afternoon and still learned rules I didn’t know!
When was the last time you lost your competitive edge? Or played a game you lost?
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