Leeds, Long-ago Liverpool and a Love of Language

LEEDS

We met up at the Travelodge, Leeds Central, to spend a night and a day taking in the atmosphere of Leeds.  There was just me and my best friend, Dawn, and we had a ball (except that I snored all night -allegedly!)

We wined and dined in 'La Tasca' - a great Spanish restaurant that served us perfect paella - and at  Wagamama.  Wikapedia says of Wagamama, 'a British headquartered restaurant chain, serving pan-Asian food in the style of a modern Japanese Ramen Bar'. And that's just about right. The food, in 'get it when it's ready' style, comes at you fast and furious, in bowls with chopsticks.  It was a huge treat.  I'll have to try out the one in Eldon Square, Newcastle, near to where I live.

We had breakfast in a super greasy spoon in the indoor market.  We strolled around the 'tat' stalls where I found a bag and a couple of bling watches.

 We wandered into so many arcades with cascading fountains, they all looked alike, blurring into one, except for the designer gear and jewellery in the shop windows. We strolled, mesmerised by the retro clothes shops until we came to the arts and crafts market - here every second Saturday apparently - where I found myself drawn to beautiful amber rings and things - and I bought one (a ring, that is!).
Dawn bought a hand-made framed clutch of hens in recycled metals (she'll correct me if I'm wrong in my description - but she won't dispute that it's simply gorgeous!)

Around the town hall were stunning statues and a tree of shoes (yes, you read it correctly!)


 Inside the art gallery were the amazing works of Henry Moore.  The Henry Moore institute, a collaboration between the Tate Gallery and Leeds Art Gallery, houses marvelous must-see sculptures.  I was enthralled.  This was a great week-end.  We'll do an away week-end again, for sure - and so should you, dear readers!  

WRITE ON

Love of Language:
Thanks a million to my writing buddies (and tutor, Kathleen Kenny, who introduced the activity) of the Wednesday writing group at Mea House Newcastle, for their involvement in the writing exercise that fuelled my 'about writing' article for - 

FLASH FICTION CHRONICLES

It was published on 24th March, entitled 'Waltzing with the Word'.  You might want to try out this great activity for yourselves.  Here's the link:

Flash Fiction Chronicles: Waltzing with the Word

http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/



Ghosts and Games of Long-Ago Liverpool

My manuscript for the 'Forget-me-Nots'section in 'This England'- a quarterly glossy magazine about life in England - has been retained.

How fantastic to be considered worthy by such a magazine.  I'm honoured!  Everything's coming up roses - a great big crimson bunch of 'em!       

That's all, constant readers, until next time...

...and next time, I'm likely to be giving my garden some much-needed attention!



Graceful Birds, Brilliant Gig & Gaudi's Barcelona

Cormorants Nest on River Tyne

Walking on the pier between the North Shields Fish Quay and Tynemouth last weekend, we saw the most amazing sight: cormorants in their hundreds, nesting on shallow protruding rocks in the river.I've seen cormorants many, many times, but usually, I've spotted one, or maybe a pair.  But this was astounding.
The cormorant is often described as almost reptilian - some say spooky or foreboding describes them best.  They are often seen with wings spread, drying out after fishing expeditions.

"They must nest here in the spring-time," I said, "Must make it my business to come here every March."  And I shall.  Oh, I shall.
When we set off, it seemed like a drab, miserable day.  It hail-stoned on the way down to the quay. 

But the sky became a magic mix of colour,the river sparkled silver light (making many of the photographs look like black-and-whites), limpets clung onto rocks in the shallows for dear life.  It was like they believed a tsunami was due.  And the statue of Lord Collingwood looking out to sea appeared dark and devillish.
    

A graceful bird in a gorgeous setting, don't you think?

A Gripping Performance from the Gatecrashers

The Brandling Villa in Gosforth, Newcastle, buzzed with excitement.  The place was packed to the rafters with fans as well as musicians from other local bands - all here to spend an evening with the fabulous Gatecrashers.

It was the first time I'd seen them with their vibrant new lead vocalist.  And I was impressed - so very impressed.  Nick (Saints of Arcadia) Jennison (below, left) has more than enough charisma to set a stage alight - and then some.  And he can sing - oh, can he sing! 

 

Sharing lead guitar with the amazing Ant Wright (below, left) who also provides great backing vocals, they had a ball while entertaining their discerning Geordie audience.

                   

Add to the flavoursome mix the brilliant bass guitarist, Dave Hildreth and talented drummer, Maurice Anderson (pictured together, above right) - and the Gatecrashers were a big green GO!

And the crowd roared. 

With pop numbers like 'Valerie' and 'Forget You', soul favourites like 'I Feel Good' and 'I Want You Back' and a dollop of rock an' roll in the guise of 'Sex on Fire' and 'She Was Just Seventeen' for good measure, you'd be pushing it to find a better cover band. 

 And the crowd roared.

A guest appearance from the singer of local rock band, Tommy and the Oddballs' added a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi to an already brilliant Gatecrashers performance. And the crowd roared.

On opposite sides of the stage, Tommy and Nick, up on chairs, bellowed and growled the lyrics to 'Dakota', while Ant took on superb lead guitar, jiggling his choir-boy golden curls, Dave (no curls, folks, but he does sport a mean curling lip) boomed the bassiest riffs ever - and Maurice sweated the drum-sticks and grinned over a beautiful Yamaha kit.  And the crowd roared.

It was a brilliant gig - brilliant!
View the Gatecrashers' rendition of 'Try a Little Tenderness' at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uxkORJxS8k

 WRITE ON

How Gaudi Taught Me a Lesson

Writing an article for Literary Traveler about Gaudi's architecture in beautiful Barcelona, I was taken aback by how much research was needed to get it right.  Gaudi was a complicated fellow - and his work is equally as complicated.  With a mix of Gothic and Art Nouveau, he took his work from nature. He famously said,

"Nature is my teacher."

When I researched Gaudi's sparkling creations, I realised I didn't know the half of it. His wavy lines, intricately forged sculptures and colours all portray something from nature. The balconies of Casa Mila (right) portray coral and kelp; the wavy lines, sea cliffs and caves. What a great deal I learned.

I also learned that ANY and EVERY piece of creative writing should be researched, from the point of view of history, perhaps - or geography - or just plain creativity: RESEARCH is the buzz word.

Now isn't that a GREAT BIG writing tip?



...and finally, some BLOODY GOOD news for me!  My 'about writing' piece, 'Waltzing with the Word', is to be published on Thursday 24th March in

FLASH FICTION CHRONICLES

http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/



NEXT TIME...A WEEKEND IN LEEDS

TALK TO YOU SOON, CONSTANT READERS

Red Letter Days

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, but oh, those couple of weeks have been eventful.  I've had so many red letter days it's quite astonishing:

A SQUIRRELLY SORT OF A GOOSE-BUMPY DAY

First, I had a trip to Sheffield to stay with friends and managed to get photographs and a video of a squirrel, out from his lair to eat the bird food my friend had set out on a tree stump.
I have to call it a red letter day because I adore squirrels.  There were robins out there in the woodland of Graves Park too - and a larger version of a tree-creeper I can't remember the name of.  And then there were my favourites - the geese - all bad-tempered and hissy-fitting because Spring is here!

WRITE ON

SEX-DRIVE AND SWEATY SOCKS
http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/mywanderlust/forum/the-weirdest-thing-youve-eaten-on-your-travels_2930

The link, above, takes you to my comment about the fruit, Durian.  I tasted it on a trip to Kuala Lumpur.  It is famous, they say, for improving libido - increase your sex-drive!  I've entered this into my 'red letter day' posting, because it was the first time I had used the 'My Wanderlust' site on the Wanderlust website.  It costs nothing to join and it's amazing: a great place to post information, photos etc. about holidays and trips. 
There's also a members forum, which is where I posted my comment.  Have you ever tasted Durian?  It's an experience, I can tell you! Some people say it tastes like rancid cheese or putrid fish.  I rather liked it!

THIS RIGHT HONOURABLE WRITER

"Well, I never," I said, when I looked at the Writers' Weekly 24-hour Fall Contest winners page, "I got an honourable mention."  There was a first, second and third prize, followed by 20 honourable mentions - and I was one of them.  My 850-word story, 'Meet Me off the Train' had won me a year's subscription to 'The Write Market' magazine and an e-book of my choice. 

Any writer out there interested in entering the Spring 24-hour contest, here's the website link:
http://www.writersweekly.com/misc/contest.php 
Now that was a red letter day indeed!


COMMISSIONED FOR CASTELNAU - Moi? Bien sûr!

La Greze, Castelnau de Montmiral, is the location of the wonderful gite where we stayed with our friends in 2009 as part of a tour of Annecy, Provence and the Midi-Pyrenees in France.

The owners, John and Judi have invited me to pen an article about our stay at La Greze, including the romantic hilltop villages amongst the vineyards, the meadowland and forest areas surrounding it.
I'll be writing about their beautiful gites, swimming pool and gardens - and their wonderful hospitality.  I'll be publishing text and photographs of the villages around and about.  I'll give the reader tips and hints on the best places to visit for day-trips away. To view 'La Greze', go to: http://www.lagreze.iowners.net/


Barbeque at La Greze (the Grange) '09



 POETIC LICENSE

Below, there are links to my attempts at poetry.  I've written about HAIKU, SONNETS, the SENYRU and the SESTINA.  If you like poetry (or even if you don't and you just want to try it out for the heck of it!) 
Go to the links below for my published poetry pieces to date, with the publishers, Authspot and Bookstove - and the writing community, Fan Story.

                                                                              
 

Haiku

http://authspot.com/poetry/haiku-42/

Winter arriving (haiku)

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=375156

Spring Woodland (haiku)

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=407030

Dusk ‘til Dawn (haiku)

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?hd=1&id=377310

Setting the Scene for Sestina

http://bookstove.com/poetry/setting-the-scene-for-sestina/

Moon-Dappled Magic (senyru)

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=389390

Fan Story: Things that go Bump in the Night (sonnet)

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=406153

Of course, Shakespeare really knew what he meant when he said to me, 

'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day'!

(Ah! Did I hear g-r-o-a-n-s?)

AU REVOIR - FOR NOW.
THANKS FOR READING ABOUT MY RED LETTER DAYS
TALK TO YOU VERY SOON, CONSTANT READERS

The Bottom Line | Authspot



 

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:

The Bottom Line Authspot

...for a fun piece of writing about the life of my rear-end, bum, bottom - whatever you want to call it!

If you have any comments at all - for example, if you want to tell me about your backside! - then you can comment here, on this blog, or go to the link above and comment there. 

Hope to hear from you soon, CONSTANT READER!

A Spring in My Step



Well, I reckon spring is just around the corner - and if we're due another cold snap, the garden knows nothing about it!  Although my winter tubs of blooms are still in full flow...



... the hyacinths and daffs and tulips are sprouting lovely green shoots.

My spring bulbs are starting to peep out of the ground.  The snowdrops are in full flow

and the crocuses in the garden and on the lawn are gleaming their magic colours.   

My cats are starting to get a spring in their steps - and SO AM I!!    

***

WRITE ON...

It came as a bit of a shock to me this week, that a critique of my flash fiction story, BED OF ROSES, showed an 'average' rating.  I was diasappointed, disgruntled, f-f-furious!  But when I went back in to the story, I realised that my reviewer was absolutely right - I'd cocked up big-style.

I hadn't kept my writing TIGHT and I'd thrown in so many pesky ADVERBS, it was untrue.  So I took the story back and edited it before submitting to a writing competition on Fan Story.  What a difference.  Now I'm like a dog with two tails - I've LEARNED a lot about writing flash fiction.

Well, folks, the upshot of it was that the person who'd critiqued an 'average' had WON the competition - and I came 5th out of 13 competitiors, so in the end, I didn't do so badly...

The moral of this story is ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF YOUR CRITICS - you'll be a better writer for listening to advice instead of blowing a gasket!

If you'd like to read 'Bed of Roses', here's the link:

BED OF ROSES

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=406866

and if you'd like to read my 3-5-3 haiku poem about spring flowers, just to keep you in 'spring mode', here's the link:

SPRING WOODLAND

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=407030



If Spring is really nearly here......then my flowery cup, flowery top, flowery tights and flowers in my sparkly vase might have brought me a touch of good luck!

HERE'S HOPING!

                                                                            



TALK TO YOU SOON, CONSTANT READERS

Sonnets that Creep an' a Peep at Roll Deep

Last week I learned how to write a sonnet.

This week I wrote an article called 'The Sonnet Revealed...'  It teaches you how to write a sonnet in a few easy steps.  My CREEPY sonnet (rather an unusual theme for a sonnet, I'm proud to add) is displayed in the article, published online by 'Bookstove'.

 

It's also been entered into a sonnet competition on Fan Story, the writing community I belong to.
Here are the two links:

Fan Story: Things that go Bump in the Night

http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=406153

The Sonnet revealed...

http://bookstove.com/poetry/the-sonnet-revealed/

Hope you enjoy both my pieces.

***

I bought my son two tickets for a rap band called Roll Deep for his birthday.  He invited me to be the other ticket holder.  I got done up in my best best bling outfit. An' off we went, pubbin' an' clubbin' last Friday, 11th February.  The concert was held in the O2 Academy in Newcastle.  The night ROCKED...



 ...and Roll Deep ROCKED!  We rapped and danced the night away. 

At 61, I reckon that was quite an achievement!

What a week!

Just back from a long week-end in Barcelona.  Just found out that I'm to be published with one of my fiction pieces in the small press magazine, DEBUT. Just made a wish, blowing out the candles of my belated heart-shaped birthday cake.  This whole week has gone off with a great big BANG! 



BARCELONA
I'd recommend a trip there to anyone.  There's something there for everyone.  We travelled by Easy Jet - cheap and cheerful - and found a great little hotel  in the Eixample area.  The Hostal Agua Alegre is the friendliest place.  The staff were wonderful, providing us with a huge map of Barcelona and pointing out all the places we wanted to visit, with arrows on the map to guide our way.  A big thanks goes out to them: if we visit Barcelona again, we'll stay there for sure.


We followed the Gaudi trail.  There are great examples of his work all over this gorgeous city, not least in the area of Eixample, where the Casa Mila, Casa Batllo and the Sagrada Familia can be found on the long, long road, Passieg de Gracia.


After viewing these amazing sights, we decided to trek up and up toward the blue winter sky to the Parc Guell. (that's me, on the left, at the entrace of the Parc Guell) The views from up here in the 'heavens', of the stunning city of Barcelona, are amazing.  The park itself is among the best I've ever visited.  It's devoted to Gaudi's work, with quirky sculpures and buildings to view on a huge wavy-walled piazza.

MY CLAIM TO FAME



Park publications are to publish (in hard copy, no less!) my story, 'Me, Bea and Betsy make Three'.  It's about two old Geordie lasses who talk a walk along the coast from Whitley Bay to Tynemouth.  Betsy is a dog.  You need to read the rest to find out what happens!  I'll tell you when it gets published and you can order your own copy...

THE BIG FAT BIRTHDAY CAKE

When we got back from Barcelona, I was greeted with the biggest birthday cake I'd ever had: a great big heart-shaped white beauty, decorated with crimson roses.  Oh, and the taste - mmm...



Me - and my big fat cake!

So this week's been huge for me.  BOOM!