Makes You Think...

We have just got back from a fabulous weekend in Bruges. The weather was perfect and we spent a lot of time meandering the streets, soaking up the atmosphere and then stopping for Belgium beer in the market square. I have been to this wonderful city before, but it was the first time for my husband - and it's a city I never tire of.

We stayed in a small hotel near the centre and this was the view from our hotel window - it was where we ate our breakfast each morning.


And this is the belfry in the market square. To see the amazing view from the top, you have to climb 366 steps up a narrow winding staircase. Those of you who read my post on our Lake District holiday will know what happens when I try to do anything that involves heights and so does my husband... it involves shaking and crying. so why did I do it?

 

 

... because of this view of course!

 

Obviously I had to visit this sweet shop to recover from the experience.

 

While we were there, we decided to spend a day touring the Flanders Field battlefields as it is the centenary of WW1 and I have written a few magazine stories about it )which will be published later in the year.) I urge anyone who hasn't done a visit like this to do so. We visited both British and German cemeteries along with important places associated with the war such as the Menin Gate at Ypres and Hill 60. We also saw the grave of a fifteen year old soldier who lied about his age.

 

 He was the same age as my step-son... very sobering.

Making Friends Through 'The People's Friend'

Not only is The People's Friend a lovely magazine to write for, it also brings people together. Recently, I found out that I share an editor at The Friend with a writer who lives near me. If you are a reader of (or writer for) this magazine, her name will be familiar to you.

Alison Carter has been writing stories for magazines for the last ten years and her name crops up regularly in many of the magazines. As you can imagine, being a relatively new writer (in comparison) I had many questions I wanted to ask. Lots of information was swapped, lots of coffee was drunk and lots of cake was eaten. One thing I found out was that Alison writes twice as much in a day as I do. I gasped when she told me she had written four thousand words in a few hours yesterday (I had felt pleased with one and a half) but she did assure me that my writing would get quicker over the years - I certainly hope so!

Most of you know about my writing buddy Tracy Fells (competition queen and owner of a large rucksack) and when we get together over teacakes once a month, we talk about a huge range of writerly things. With Alison, we spent two and a half hours just talking about womag writing. Imagine how boring that must have sounded to the people on the other tables... but not to us!

As luck would have it, both Alison and I are in this month's People's Friend Fiction Special. My story, Spanish Idyll is a holiday read and Alison's story The House of Silence is historical.

After a lovely morning, Alison and I eventually went our separate ways and allowed the queue of customers to sit down (recognise this Tracy!)

I was going to end this post by shouting about the fact that I recently sold my 70th story but after hearing that Alison has sold over 400 I might just whisper it instead!

Bonnie's Lakeland Holiday

Every year, Bonnie takes us on holiday somewhere in England. This year, it was to the Lake District - she chose well, don't you think?

We are now back home and already I am thinking about our next visit to this absolute gem of a place. It was our fourth visit to the Langdale area (three times to Chapel Stile and once to Troutbeck) and it was only on our way home that we realised we are in danger of becoming the type of people we like to scoff at - those who go back to the same place, time after time. We've tried other parts of England, we really have - Devon, Somerset, Derbyshire in recent years, but after a while we get that itch to go back to the lakes again... just like we do when we haven't been on a canal boat for a while or to Greece.

This was the view for our window - it doesn't get much better than that.

I think it did me good to be away from the computer for a week and even mobile reception was sporadic. I had the idea that I wouldn't connect to the wifi at all for a week but after a couple of days I did succumb I'm afraid - in the same way that I succumbed to the chocolate Easter eggs we'd brought with us (is that why I put on weight despite walking 8 miles every day?)

The only bad thing that happened, while we were away, was when the path we were following, beside a waterfall, petered out leaving me scrabbling on a hillside of scree. I was not amused - in fact it's safe to say I cried (I don't like heights) when I found myself unable to go either up or down with the wind picking up and the vertigo setting in. Sometimes I wish I was braver.

Here is one of the fells we walked on. We didn't know what it was called, so we named it Tracy Fells after my very clever writing friend whose short story 'Household Gods' made the short-list of 2014 Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize. The link is here.

I found I had sold a story to PF while I was away but, most importantly, the fresh air, exercise and peace recharged my batteries and I have come home with a head full of new stories just waiting to be written.

Inspiration Behind the Story - Worth Waiting For

Another in my series of Inspiration behind the story. This time I am going to tell you how the idea for my story 'Worth Waiting For' in this week's Woman's Weekly, came about.

I was sitting in my doctors surgery waiting for a doctor whose name I couldn't remember. I was just hoping that when the time came, they'd call my name loud enough to drag my attention from the magazine I was reading (don't you just love reading things you'd never normally buy).

As I waited, a succession of doctors came out and called names and as they did, it made me think about how things had changed at the surgery since I moved to the town in 1987. For many years, I had one doctor: I knew him and he knew me. He saw me through my two pregnancies and other general ailments and I trusted him implicitly. When he retired, it was a very sad day (not for him, I'm sure!).

Now the system has changed. Nobody has a doctor - or rather you get to choose who you would like to see. The only problem is, if you want a specific doctor, chances are you will need to make an appointment a week or so in advance (not much good when you're ill and need to see someone that day). I actually saw five different doctors while they tried to sort out my high blood pressure over the course of a few weeks. I had to tell the same thing to each one and lovely though they all were, I never felt I knew any of them.

This led me to think how hard it must be for the older patient who needs the reassurance of a familiar face and with this in mind, my main character, Mrs Parsons, was born. The other character, Izzy Maynard, was based on a young woman who was struggling to get her double buggy through the surgery door.

So you see, inspiration is everywhere. Look out for it next time you are out somewhere.

Also, you might like to look out for my story, 'Too Good to Last', which is in this month's People's Friend Fiction Special.

I Need a Rest!

I've had a very busy time since last week. First there was my birthday and then last Friday we were off to Hayling Island for the Jive Time modern jive weekend. I've been on many jive weekends over the years but this is a particular favourite - held at Lakeside Warner holiday park, with accommodation in chalets, which gives it a rather quaint Hi-di-hi feel. I have to say we were very well looked after and the carvery was as good as usual.

The fun begins when you get your timetable and decide what lessons to do each day. This year I did: West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, 1930s Shag, Salsa, Kizumba (not to be muddled with zumba), Quick Step and advanced Modern Jive.

For three nights we danced until the early hours and then staggered home on the Monday Morning!

Yesterday, I took my eldest grandson to London for the first time on a sightseeing trip. We didn't get home until nearly midnight! Armed with a children's map and an I-spy book of London, we (along with my sister) took in all the major sights, saw the changing of the guard, took a boat trip, visited the Tower of London and walked back along the South bank for dinner near the London eye - looking out over a river that reflected the London lights as day turned to evening. Certainly a day for us all to remember.


This week I have a story called 'All Our Yesterdays' in The People's Friend - I think I'll read the rest of the stories with my feet up!

Birthday Hug!

I can't believe another year has gone by since I wrote my last Birthday Blog. I've just been reading it back and I was getting excited about going to the Waldorf tor a tea dance. You read my post about it here.

My birthday started well with a huge bouquet of flowers from my husband (when he carried them in, I could hardly see him behind them!), a sale to The People's Friend and birthday wishes from my editor - they are so kind.

This year, I decided to have a quiet day just doing things that I enjoy - so the first thing I did was visit the grandchildren for a birthday cuddle and then home for a sunny walk with Bonnie by the river.

The rest of the afternoon I'll spend writing, as tomorrow we go to Hayling Island for a big modern jive weekend and if the last three years are anything to go by, it will be really tiring. I'd come back a stone lighter, if it wasn't for the amazing carvery they have and the cooked breakfasts.

I am still trying to contact Claire (winner of my rejection T-shirt competition) so she can read your good wishes but have had no luck so far. On her behalf, thank you all for all your messages of encouragement.

 

And the Winner is...

Who is the winner of my rejection T-shirt? I bet you can hardly wait to find out! I have read all your comments from my post two weeks ago (if you missed it, you can read it here) and made my final decision.

In third place is Patsy, who said that she hadn't just got her share but other people's as well! (we don't need to feel too sorry for Patsy though, as since then she's had a lot of good luck).

In second place is Nicola, who gave an extremely strong case for winning with a favourite story that did the rounds but still failed to hit the mark. Since then, she's said that she's not going to waste her energy moping but is putting it to good use writing her novel.

So here it is... in first place is Claire. Claire has written stories, poetry, readers letters and articles but she hasn't collected a heap of rejections like the rest of us. Why? Because she hasn't had the courage to send them. In a way Claire has rejected her own work and that is so sad.

So congratulations Claire - you are a winner after all and that is because you pressed the submit button on my blog! I hope that this T-shirt will be a reminder that we all (published and unpublished) get our share of rejection from time to time but that rejection is a sign that we have been courageous enough to submit our work.

Claire is a young writer and I'm sure you will all want to give her the encouragement she needs to send out her writing... then, one day, she might have the chance to win again.