Tapas and the Edwardians
I spent a very enjoyable day cooking tapas last week. A day away from the pressures of pension scheme funding, book publication and the rest and an opportunity to learn a new skill. I was on a one day course at the Abinger Cookery School and the dishes I produced included braised octopus and chorizo, […]
Networks of writers
As publication date looms I’ve found a whole world of author networks and channels to work through in getting the book noticed. Some of these are very commercial but many are enablers and supporters. I’ve recently joined the Alliance of Independent Authors which means I can tap into the experience and knowledge of many others […]
Inspirations
As I approach publication of my novel, I’ve been thinking about some of the people who have helped me to get this far. Friends who have become writers. Friends who have supported and mentored. I thought I’d write a little about some of them. Where better to start than with Lynn Ruth Miller. I met […]
A whole new world
Joining the ranks of independent authors I’ve spent the week immersed in on line chats, closed Facebook groups, websites of marketing companies and you tube videos on the intricacies of being a publisher. All fascinating stuff, some of it a little confusing and a few acronyms thrown in for good measure. I’ve been helped in […]
Preparing for power. And for publication.
Where it all started Baildon Moor. Not strictly speaking where it all started of course. I was born in a nursing home on the edge of Saltaire, but Baildon Moor formed the backdrop to my early years and remains significant. It is also the backdrop to the early years of two of the characters in […]
Venues, grand and otherwise
From the pub to the convent Over the last few weeks I’ve been involved in a number of performances in a bewildering range of venues. Poetry readings in pubs, my latest play in a National Trust property, choral Dvorak in a 14th century convent (pictured) and jazz under the watchful eye of Yehudi Menuhin. That’s […]
Kangos, pipework, and theatre
Leith Hill Place, photo by Claire Malcomson Wake up call So here we go, the first performances of a new play and the wake up call is a domestic discussion about how to access bathroom pipework. The background music is hammer and chisel, alternating with a Kango, and I’ve lost the lead for my video […]
Surrey Unearthed – and Dorking Talking
Surrey Poetry and Summer heat It was a hot evening on Monday and the 38 people crammed into Narnia didn’t make it feel any cooler as Mole Valley Poets unveiled their latest anthology. Narnia? The back room of the Old House pub in Dorking, so named because you enter through the wardrobe. There were no […]
Chalk, Chalk Gardens, and Elizabeth Taylor
Old friends and new Sometimes everything feels connected. I have been working recently on poetry walks, an anthology launch, and writing some poems myself – all on the subject of Surrey Unearthed. This is a Mole Valley Poets project aligned to a much larger arts project being run by Surrey Hills Arts and involving a […]
Arts Alive
The brochures are here I’ve just picked up a supply of brochures for the annual Mole Valley arts festival – Arts Alive. The arrival of the brochures is a turning point in the summer for me. It reminds me that autumn is coming, it gives me key dates for the autumn diary, and it is an […]