My Novelist Aspirations

I have my laptop centrally placed on my beautiful antique Indian Writer's Desk. It was a purchase I treated myself to when we started furnishing our home in Spain. I love it, it is gorgeous dark wood with a mosaic trim. It is so very "The Raj" and I can picture it in a colonial study in a tea plantation house or carried out to work outside on a perfectly mowed lawn. [It has folding legs so can be moved easily.] It was supposed to inspire me when time permits to write the novel we are all meant to have within us. Well so far, my novel is yet to be commenced, but blogs are written and emails both work and personal and who knows maybe one day the grand novel!

I used to think if I wrote fiction it would have to be pen to paper but there are such advantages to the computer - the instant ability to correct or simply reject some nonsense you have just written.

We are so lucky to be away from the extreme cold and snow of England right know and we are promised some sunshine here in the next few days and temperatures around 15 - 16 degrees which compared to London is positively balmy.

Friends arriving on Sunday so I will have to get beds made up and stock up with provisions. I do hope you all get time to be with friends and family too.

Winter Break

During the early hours of Friday morning I shall hopefully, weather permitting, be flying off with The Man to our place in Spain. It is a nice way to spend our 43rd Wedding Anniversary don't you think? We try to go away just before the main Christmas rush and are not due back until early January. We have friends coming out to join us at the end of next week if the predicted further snowfalls don't trap them at the UK airports. It is during this trip that we do our olive harvest and send the sacks of olives off for pressing into olive oil so the extra hands are really appreciated.

We have both been rushing around like mad this week seeing clients and trying to get ahead on projects before we leave the country. Although the laptop travels with us and we can work while we are away courtesy of email and mobiles.

Have a great time where ever you are and keep in touch.

The Full Monty

You may remember that a few years ago a low budget British Film called "The Full Monty" became a worldwide success. It told the story of a group of out-of-work steel workers from Sheffield who became Strippers to earn a living [for those unfamiliar with the term "The Full Monty" it is an indication of the amount revealed!] As I was travelling about London today via the tube and therefore going up and down several escalators I couldn't help but notice a promotional poster which featured at regular intervals advertising the fast train service which could, in only just over 2 hours, take you to the delights of Sheffield. Said delights, if we are to believe the poster, being not the architecture, or museums but stripping steel workers. The posters design was a cartoon representation of an iconic still from the film. I wonder what the good people of Sheffield think about this promotion?

In Praise of Panto

December 4th 2010 - a Star is born. Actually my gorgeous No.1 Grandaughter has been a star to me from the moment she was born in October 9 years ago. Yesterday we had the delight of seeing her appear in the Junior Chorus of a professional Panto production of Aladdin at the Palace Theatre in Watford. She is so obviously enjoying the experience but whether it will lead to a performing future - who knows? We had booked to go with The Daughter and her brood but the dreaded end of term bugs hit with both her two little ones being taken "poorly" so only me and The Man sat in the stalls clapping and cheering for our girl. We collected her afterwards and made her autograph our programme [with much giggling] and then delivered her safely home.

It has been years and years since I have been to a Pantomime, possibly only a couple of times when our two were very young. I must say this was a very slick professional show with good actors in the leads, well sung musical numbers and a child friendly script. With so much on television and on film that is violent or inappropriate for youngsters it is great to recommend this Panto as real family entertainment. Looking around the audience, children as young as 2 years and grandparents [like ourselves] were all having fun. Such a shame my other two grandchildren were unable to come as they would have loved it.