Tidbits - the written word
Snippets and musings on the written word
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The Value of Turnips
A friend of mine came back from a London seminar this week, with some startling facts and figures. Apparently, the UK was happy to borrow and borrow in the years leading up to the recession, racking up debts to the tune of 1.5 trillion pounds in 2009. Dennis Turner, Chief Economist for HSBC, told his audience that the real issue was the spending and borrowing before the recession. Well, yes, this would make sense. If we’d not borrowed, we wouldn’t owe would we? It would seem we are good to lend to as we pay back our debts and are deemed to be a ‘safe’ country. We don’t riot –…
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Very Inspiring Blogger…
Stop Press: I have been nominated for, the Very Inspiring Blogger Award, by J.P. Lane. http://jplanewrites.blogspot.co.uk/ I am delighted to accept of course – so, thank you Joan, so glad you enjoy this blog and find it inspiring. Joan’s blog explores the history and foibles of fashion and I urge you to visit. All I need to do now, according to the rules, is to tell you 7 things about myself. Since my blog tends to tell you everything you need to know about me, this could be tricky and I know I have told you seven things before. However, never fear, there are always more! In the spirit of…
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Tea with Charles Dickens
This week marks the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. Just about everyone knows the name, even if they may have never read his work. We were introduced to his books in school, and some of us retain a life long attachment to them. Who, when reading those books, has not shed a tear at the story of Little Dorrit or Oliver Twist or been at once saddened and enchanted by A Christmas Carol? Disney may have made A Christmas Carol, his own but the original story lives on. These gems, Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations – all are favourites of mine. There was of course, more to the man than just…
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“I heard that – Pardon?” *
As I will be on an island somewhere in the blue Aegean Sea for the next couple of weeks, I am scheduling a couple of re-runs to fill the gap. The following post was first published on 9th September 2010. This post is inspired by what I now see as selfish behaviour on my part. Yesterday, the telephone didn’t stop ringing. As well as calls from family, there were many from British Gas, BT and a variety of sales people not to mention those irritating automated calls that begin by telling you it is an important public announcement (it never is). Having spent most of the day answering the…
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Once upon a time
Whilst carrying out research for my latest book, I have been reading about some of the world’s greatest inventions. Many are attributed to named individuals. It all makes fascinating reading. I even found a website which summarises all this information and gives me the names of the inventor, the date and place. All very helpful when writing a historical piece! http://corporate.britannica.com/press/inventions.html It struck me though, as I perused this list, that there is one invention, from which our modern day society has undoubtedly developed, that does not include the name of its inventor: The Wheel. The information given for ‘The Wheel’ is simply: “About 3500 Russia/Kazakhstan or Mesopotamia” It is…
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The Dress
There are times when one thoughtful act can change the way the world sees you – or the way you think it sees you – even if you are only seven years old and your world is a little smaller than it will one day be. I was still seven years old when the year turned to 1964. I observed the world as the youngest of three sisters, the third of four children. My viewpoint was inevitably coloured by their experiences. My oldest sister, the elder by seven and a quarter years, was practically a grown-up in my eyes. She knew about the Beatles and dancing and had a record player in…
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An Audience with Grace
The first time I had a short story published I was ecstatic. It didn’t pay a fortune but the real pleasure came from seeing my story appear in print with a glorious illustration to boot. I wrote several short stories in the mid to late nineties for ‘My Weekly,’ – a long-established, women’s magazine that is still going strong today. Each time I had a story published, I felt that frisson of excitement that any writer gets from seeing one’s words in print. I was delighted to find myself in the company of such celebrated writers as Catherine Cookson and always pleased to note that I was placed next to her…
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In the blink of an eye…
I was thinking the other day, how fast time goes. Now, when my mind moves in this particular direction, it normally flies ahead showing me how little time we have left. I then take a backward look and pull myself up sharply telling myself to ‘stop right there, enjoy today’, there would be no point to life if we did not stop to experience it. The far wiser me, knows that we truly do arrive everywhere in a blink of an eye. When my first daughter was born, I remember gazing at her tiny form and wondering at the fact that one day she would be eighteen, I would be…
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Beware – Boeing 747 coming in to land…
Apparently, a number of visitors ‘Googled’ the question: “Where does Dawn French live in Fowey?” They were immediately directed to my post ‘Fowey Royal Regatta – celebrity or not celebrity?’ How funny.
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Snowy December
December has arrived and with it has come the snow. Winter has hit us early this year it seems. As we hurtle towards another Christmas I find I am once again excited with a brand new little member of the family to buy for. Yet it barely seems five minutes since my own children were small and I was traipsing off to the round of nativity plays and pantomimes in which they each starred. Oh those were indeed the days. I recall sitting almost doubled up with mirth as baby Jesus was lobbed into the audience from Mary’s lap during a particularly enthusiastic rendition of ‘Away in a Manger’. In…
