Last Friday celebrations of February

I like the last Friday of the month, because it's the day I send out my invoices. Here's what else I'm celebrating today.

There were a couple of no-shows at Monday's meditation evening, but it was, I think, broadly successful. One lady got in touch afterwards to say she thought she had detected a 'presence', which was an unexpected outcome!

I've finally received the copies of Smallholder magazine that feature my articles on llamas and alpacas, and I'm very pleased with the results.

Pic: www.homefieldgrangeretreat.co.uk

Elsewhere on the writing front, there was a bit of a hiccup when I realised I'd gone off in the wrong direction on some website copy for a new client, but a quick visit to his showroom got things sorted and I've  just sent off the revised version. Fingers crossed. I've also had an enquiry via the same contact about writing some copy for a recruitment website, and (lessons learned) I'm going over to see them next week. Oh, and I'm proofreading a dissertation about hip-hop, which is really interesting (and no, I'm not helping its author to cheat).

I'm planning a lazy day tomorrow, topped off with comedy night at Kettering Arts Centre featuring Rob Rouse. No, me neither, but I'm sure he'll be splendid.

Peace out.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.   

Tall children win big

DuBoix/Moguefile.com

Say what you like about presenter Chris Evans, the most Marmitey of Marmite men, but he knows how to get things done. Witness Carfest, for instance. Whether or not he can make a success of Top Gear remains to be seen, but we can surely applaud his 500 Words initiative.

For those of you not from these shores (or who have been living in a cave), this is a creative writing competition for children 13 years old and under, supported by the BBC. The challenge is to submit a 500-word story and first prize in each age group is a stack of books as tall as Chris (1.88 metres - that's a lot of books) and 500 books for the winner's school library.

There are some fun videos of the Radio 2 website to get the youngsters started, but I've had a look and these Story Staraters are pretty useful for us oldies, too. At the very least, pop over the press Alphabot's tummy to generate five random words.

It's so much more entertaining than Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

It's Friday again already!

The hot yoga went well last week, and I must say I could do with another session right now. I have extremely icy toes at the moment, and this in spite of having been for a brisk walk after lunch to get the blood pumping.

I must admit the walk was also an aid to the digestion of an enormous portion of apple crumble and custard that I had during said lunch: and I'd been so virtuous with my main course choice of spicy parsnip soup and granary bread. Hey-ho. I shall celebrate good company (thanks, Will) and the freedom of self-employment, instead of feeling guilty about a few extra calories.

We had a proper family celebration on Wednesday with the birthday of number one son. We have a brilliant American diner in town called Cool Scoops, which is the only place I ever eat a burger. I could have stayed there all afternoon, because they were showing a video of Elvis in concert from way back when he was still thin and beautiful. So yes, that's another calorific lunch - and I don't care!

Have a good weekend folks.


Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.  

Modest celebrations

There is nothing in particular to celebrate today. Nevertheless, I feel as though I have had a good week. It's been the usual mix of yoga and words, work and socialising.

I spent Sunday afternoon with my mum, where we sat for several hours putting the world to rights. I don't know where she gets her energy! On Monday, my back made a peculiar clunking sound as I was working with a particularly glorious spinal rotation, so I popped along to see Brian, my osteopath. He was able to reassure me that I just needed realigning - a task he was happy to perform. He also released my piriformis while he was at it. I hadn't realised it was tight, but my goodness: I could tell he'd done something. I'm now skipping about like a two-year-old.  On Wednesday, I had a multi-chai meeting with my writing buddy Elaine, which was great fun as always. One day we will get around to acting on all the literary plans we make.

And that's about it. Just time to tell you that tomorrow morning I'm off to my first hot yoga session in the appropriately named village of Scaldwell.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.  

Monumental opportunity

I had a fascinating morning on Saturday at St Edmund's Church, Warkton, a tiny village near Kettering, where I took part in a Writers' Retreat.  I quote from the church guidebook to set the scene: 'With Saxon origins and Norman remains, the Church of St Edmund is distinguished by its chancel, which contains an exceptional grouping of four world class monuments to the last three generations of the Montagu family of nearby Boughton House. It was designed and built in 1754 by Louis Francois Roubiliac, the greatest sculptor active in England in the 18th Century , to house his individual monuments to John, Duke of Montagu, and his wife Duchess Mary. The chancel had two other empty niches, which were subsequently filled by monuments to John and Mary's daughter and granddaughter.'

Time and environmental issues, including pollution and high humidity levels, had taken their toll on the marble, and so an extensive (and expensive) renovation project was undertaken. The monuments have been painstakingly cleaned and are now revealed in all their glory.

I joined a group of local writers for a brief introduction to the church and, more particularly, the monuments. Then we were let loose to use them as inspiration for writing, sketching or simply contemplation. It was a lovely atmosphere and we all scribbled away like mad. We could sit in a quiet side room (near the kettle) or in the church, and could come and go as the mood took us. There was no pressure to produce anything, nor any necessity to share. It was great to be given permission (by which I mean, to give ourselves permission) simply to explore and see what happened.

Everyone who took part has been invited to follow up with a 50-word contribution to a new guide book that is under development and/or a longer piece for a spoken word event. I have a couple of ideas that I shall be working up into something.

There's more about the monuments here.

Bagging a prize

Remember  how I said I'd been shortlisted in the H E Bates short story contest? Well, I went along to the awards do last night, and a good time was had by all in a very convivial atmosphere. This was the function for which I'd been rehearsing my public speaking skills - and big thanks to poet Kezzabelle for all her help - so I was a tad nervous, to say the least, but I managed to get through it without making an idiot of myself.

I'd been asked to go along and read out my entry: 'Scoring an own goal in tennis', and I had assumed that this was because I'm local, but no: I won a prize! No, not one of the main ones, but the award for the best Northamptonshire writer. (H E Bates was a local boy.)  I was amazed. I was presented with a certificate and a cheque, which latter has been turned into a lovely new bag.

Have a good weekend, folks.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.  

Taking advice from an expert

I'm reading one of my short stories at a function on Thursday and I'm a  tad nervous, so via Facebook I asked my poet friend Kerry (Kezzabelle) for some tips, because she is a seasoned performer at spoken word events and all sorts of places.

She advised: 'Practise in front of the mirror; if you're brave enough, record it to hear how you sound -  you'll hear your intonation, length of pauses etc; try to  keep your head up so your voice projects; most important of all, concentrate on slowing down, because when we're nervous we gallop through and the audience will miss the power of your piece.'

I also went round to meet her in person for a one-to-one crash course on how not to fall on my arse in public. This was an hour well spent, during which I learned the following:

• Wear something with colour and shape, to stand out and be remembered for the right reasons. 
• Put on a bit of lippy - and loosen those lips before you start to speak.
• Plant your feet, then stand still.
• Use a highlighter pen to emphasise key words, or the start of paragraphs (in case you lose your place).
• If you have to give an introduction, write it on a sticky note - you might forget your own name if you're nervous! 
• Start strong.
• Turn the page in natural pauses - reprint, if necessary
• Pause for laughs - or tears or whatever emotion you're trying to evoke.

She also had some useful advice about which words I should emphasise in my story and made some suggestions about when to look up, pause, etc.

I'll let you know how I get on.