Celebrate the Small Things

Just a quick one today: I'm celebrating shopping local. I went into Not Just Words bookshop+ to drop in a donation for the local food bank. Rachel who runs the shop is holding a music night there tomorrow to raise funds and I can't go because I'm off to Skipton for the weekend (because that's how I roll). Of course, I came home with a bag of books. Well, it would be rude not too!

 



Then I went into Waterstones and bought tickets for the next two comedy events at the Arts Centre, had a little browse around the market, bought something for tea and then came home. 

Simple pleasures.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop hosted by  Lexa's Blog. Join us

Just a quick word

I'm still up to my neck in stuff, but I wanted to drop you all a quick line in case I disappear again.

I sent a book submission to a publisher last week and was pleased to get a reply almost straight away; so often submissions seem simply to disappear into the ether. It wasn't good news insofar as my book wasn't what they were looking for. However, they did offer me the chance to join their team of freelance editors. Result!

Elsewhere, I have had a story accepted by Ireland's Own, which is pleasing.

It has been KettFest this weekend, the appalling name for a burgeoning arts festival here in Kettering (and if you don't know where that is, ask Lindsay Lohan). I bumped into a local author who has recently launched a small publishing company and we are going to get together to talk about future projects. Watch this space.

Naturally, one of the venues for events was our lovely independent bookshop Not Just Words. The shop is on the first floor of a  little complex of outlets and the risers on the stairs have been painted (by customers) to look like book spines. My picture doesn't do them justice, but aren't they lovely?

Celebration time

Welcome to Friday's post and the opportunity to Celebrate the Small Things. It's been a busy but enjoyable week.
In addition to my usual yoga classes, I led another a meditation centre at the Not Just Words bookshop, which was lovely to do. We have another couple of dates pencilled in for later in the year.

On the editorial front, I went to Nottingham on Wednesday to meet the rest of the team of one of the magazines I'm subbing for. Highlight of the day was being introduced to the term 'speedbumps for the eyes' to describe unnecessary punctuation.

There's been success, too, on the creative writing front, with my entry to the Senior Travel Expert comp being announced as joint winner. It will be published on their website in due course.

And that's my week. How about you?

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.  

Best of both worlds

The scene is set. Photo courtesy of Ruth Stanway Woodings

I have written before about my friend Rachel's latest venture, a bookshop called Not Just Words that also doubles as an arts venue. It is housed in a fabulous development called The Yards, tucked away in a corner of Kettering that used to be the site of the old fire station.

Anyway, last night I held a meditation session in the shop, thus combining two of my main passions. About 20 people turned up with open minds and good hearts to explore some breathing practices, visualisations, relaxation and meditation, surrounded by lovely books, musical instruments and various pieces of decorative ephemera. It was grand, although I say so myself, and it looks as though this might become a regular feature.

There are also plans for some writing gatherings in the same space and I'm looking forward to getting involved with them, too. There must be lots of business premises up and down the land that would be suitable venues for readings and workshops: all those shops with an upstairs room just crying out for use in the evenings. Is there anything near you?

Celebrating some small things

It's been three weeks since I posted a CTST and then it was very hot. Today I went to town in my boots, because it's chucked it down with rain all day and the temperature has dropped accordingly. Mind you, the rain is my first cause for celebration, because my poor allotment is starting to look a bit droopy.

Other things worthy of note today are:

* Having had my creative side prodded by the poetry challenge set by friend Tricia on Monday

* The launch tomorrow of my friend Rachel's bookshop venture 'Not Just Words', which opens with a fundraising day of music in aid of our local hospice

* My sensible mother (she knows why)

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  

How to lose readers

I know, I know. If you're going to host a blog it's very important to keep posting regularly or your followers will lose interest and wander off to read the offerings of someone more consistent. Epic fail, then, on my part: nothing posted since 12 June and I missed last week's Celebrate the Small Things. Sorry. May I offer the following in mitigation?

I've done a lot of work, including covering some yoga classes at a local gym. More pleasing, on the entertainment front, I've been to see Ivory Yardsale in a Northampton pub; Jez Hellard and Scott Cook, Fabian Holland and Chris Wood (yes, the Chris Wood, folk legend) in the homes of friends; my friend Will in The Hook, the Arthur Miller play that has lain dormant for decades and has been revived for a world premiere run in Northampton; Robin Ince supported by Grace Petrie at the Kettering Arts Centre; and taken part in International Yoga Day celebrations.

Girl power

I went into town on Friday to watch the Women's Tour arrive at the end of stage 3, the longest and hilliest of the event. I know nothing about cycling, but thought I should go and see what it was all about, since it's quite a Big Thing for it to have come to Kettering. As usual, I was torn between taking decent photos and looking at the event IRL: I chose the latter, as a result of which I have lots of pics of half-wheels and blurry heads.

The other thing that has been taking up my time is helping my friend Rachel. She is opening a shop called 'Not Just Words', which will be a bookshop - but so much more. This is worth a whole blog post in its own right, and one will surely follow in due course. Suffice to say for now that a bunch of us have been running up and down stairs with boxes of glorious second books and, would you believe, shifting a piano on to the first floor of her building. There has been a great sense of community and we have enjoyed getting tired and dusty together. Watch this space.

There has, however, been some sadness, since local musician Stevie Poole has died. I didn't know him very well, but I'd seen him perform many times. He will be much missed in our circle.