They say being a writer is a lonely business. I think this is especially true if you're a writer who doesn't live in London. Please don't misunderstand...this isn't a moan. As a woman who has turned being anti-social into an art-form at times, I don't necessarily see being 'lonely' as a negative. Indeed, shutting myself away in a room with only a laptop for company is a bit of an indulgence for me. Especially as I don't get the chance to do it that often these days. However it is nice, once in a while, to catch up with a few fellow Legends and other literary types. Again, a bit of an indulgence: the day job and the distance means I don't get to go to as many Legend bashes as I would like. So, it being the summer holiday and all, I grabbed my opportunity to head down to The Smoke on last Thursday.
Admittedly the trek from the provinces wasn't all plain sailing. Our train broke down and we were booted off in Bedford and ushered onto another very overcrowded train which eventually heaved it's way into St Pancras over an hour late (Yey!) However, it was a lovely sunny day in London so we weren't disheartened. Even with the delay we'd still arrived with a few hours to spare before the 'do'. We headed down to Covent Garden for a spot of light refreshment and a spot of shopping.
All was going swimmingly until some oaf trod on my heel and...disaster...
They managed not only to pull my flip flop off my foot but completely detach the top bit from the bottom bit. Alas my footwear would neither flip nor flop and I was left in the middle of London with only on item of functioning footwear. Excellent!!!!
Astonishingly, after explaining to the shop assistant that I really didn't need a carrier bag for my purchase, we got to the appropriately named 'Yorkshire Grey' on time. Had a few glasses of vino to cool down with before the main business of the evening. The relaunch of White Summer - written by my much missed co-author Luke Bitmead and the award of the writers' bursary set up in his name.
The finer details, I'll let you read about on the Legend Press website. However, a good evening was had by all, despite the rather precarious journey there. Was great to meet up with Legends I'd not met before and to catch up with those I'd met previously. Here's looking forward to the next one!

Just a quick blog to say thanks to the wonderful staff at Borders, Birstall (pictured above) for making me feel so welcome on Saturday. I confess, having not done a signing in a little while, to feeling slightly apprehensive. However, the lovely Micheal (who had come in on his day off, bless him) and his team soon made me feel at home.

I soon got chatting to staff and customers and the charming Rugby League 'Legend', Peter Fox (who was also signing books that afternoon) and the time just flew. Even the photographer from the local press who turned up to take my picture was delightful.

So, many thanks to all concerned for a splendid afternoon. And, if you happen to be heading down the M62 anytime soon and need a break from the motorway traffic, I can whole heartedly recommend a visit: A good stock of Legend Press books, friendly staff and Starbucks' frappuccinos on the second floor. Nirvana! I may be back next weekend myself.

When I moved house at the end of last year I promised myself, having now got the large(ish) garden I'd always craved, I'd spend as much time out there as I could. A sort of unofficial New Year's resolution. And I must say I'm doing quite well. One of the reason's I'm a bit of a stranger to MySpace these days is that I've rediscovered fresh air and exercise.
As a child I spent much of my time outdoors in the garden or on Dad's allotment. I thought I enjoyed gardening at the last house but now, with a more spacious plot which isn't over looked, isn't invaded with footballs and lager cans and doesn't have stuff nicked from it on a regular basis, I find myself hardly ever indoors.

As you can see we've got a nice little log burner to take the chill off the spring evenings and a whole host of comedy wildlife to keep us entertained. Yesterday it was our resident couple of blackbirds mobbing (successfully) the cat from down the garden. We have a beast of a Russian vine at the bottom of the garden and they are nesting in that. You can disinctly hear little blackbirds hetting exceited as mum and dad head back to the nest with beaks full of creepy crawlies. Think the cat got a bit close for comfort and was repeatedly dive bombed. Mr Blackbird did manage to lose a tail feather  in the episode but the cat was sent packing and  the Blackbird family seem to  be  none the worse for the incident.
Today's 'I wish I'd had a video camera' moment came courtesy of our friendly garden squirrel. I saw him scamper up the hawthorn at the end of the garden, then heard  the snapping of twigs as he fell from the tree, thudded onto the shed roof and rolled off Starsky and Hutch style.  I tell you, Bill  Oddy and Kate Humble ought  to have their film crews here.  If nothing else they'll get some comedy footage of the randy wood pigeons in next door's apple tree.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a few shots of the garden so you can see what I've been busy with. Having spent most of the winter months hacking away at overgrown shrubs and digging out docks and dandelions, it's starting to take shape a little. We have a bit of colour at least, although the project still has a long way to go.


Indeed, before that band of rain shuffles its way further up the country, I might head off out there with a bottle of vino and enjoy it some more.

I think I like today. At least two good things have already happened.

Firstly I have finally resolved my battle with a certain telecommunications company who have being trying to bill me for a service I haven't had since I moved house in October. After a series of letters failed to get me anywhere,  I finally got through on the phone. Conversation went something like:

Me: I've had a letter from you saying you are going to take me to court because I owe you over £70.
Them: What's your account number?
I read out the two different account numbers from the four separate letters on the desk in front of me.
Them: I can't find that account on the computer.
Me: Presumably it exists or you wouldn't be threatening to take me to court for non-payment of it.
Them: (pause of several minutes, the sound of furious keyboard tapping) I think this is it. Yes, you just owe us for the last 5 months.
Me: I wrote you a letter and cancelled the account 5 months ago when I moved house.
Them: There's no record of your letter on here.
Me: I sent your head office another copy as they didn't seem to be able to find any record of it either.
Them: Maybe it got lost in the post. There is a phone line you could have rung.
Me: Yes, I know. If you look at the last phone bill I did pay, you will see that I made several calls to you on the day my letter is dated. The long ones are where I was in a queue for more than 45mins with no-one answering. The short ones were where I tried a different number and got through to a clueless bufoon  who couldn't help me with my enquiry. I decided it would be quicker to type a letter and walk to the post box with it.
Them: We can cancel your account from the 5th of March.
Me: But that means I still have to pay for 5 months of broadband I haven't had just because you aren't capable of answering a phone in less than an hour or opening an envelope.
Them: I think I will have to go and talk to my manager...

You get the idea. Anyway, I was determined not to be bullied and they decided to back date the cancellation of the account that didn't exist to when I moved house. Hurrah!

Second feel-good event of the day happened quite unexpectedly in Doncaster waterstones this morning. I remeber posting a rather giddy blog after finding myself on Amazon for the first time. Another first this morning. For the first time I was ambling innocently round a bookshop and - TA DA!!!!- My book on the shelf.

Yep, sorry the picture isn't better but I was trying to discreetly snap it on my phone. I was pretending to send a text or something, wandering to and fro in front of the shelf. It's the red one 4th from the right.
Couple that with the novely of being woken up at 1am by an earthquake, it's been quite an exciting week really.

Well sort of just pottering about on the Internet this morning after a spot of light gargening and soup making and I find I have been quoted in the Telegraph. Well Telegraph.co.uk to be more precise. But hey, not only has someone read one of my blogs but they have chosen to quote it. Whe-hey!

If you fancy a read here's the link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/02/24/boll.xml

At last a week off work work where I haven't been moving house, ill in bed, geting angry with BT 'cos they've cut off my Internet, having sit in call centre queues etc etc.

Even managed a day out with my husband on Thursday. Off to the lovely (if a little chilly) town of Bakewell in Derbyshire. Although it's only about 20miles from where I live, it's somewhere I've never got round visiting before. Even in on a murky day in February, I found it to be quite delightful. And yes, I did indulge. (Well it would be rude not to wouldn't it.)

There were plenty of tea shops offering huge slices of Bakewell Pudding - plain, with cream, with custard, hot, cold - any way you fancied it really. Mmmmmmm.

It's also been rather lovely to catch up with some of my on line aquaintences after all these weeks and months. I've been especially enjoying getting to know some of my fellow writers over at Legendary Authors. There's a real sense of community and energy starting to happen over there.
And just to show a bit of solidarity with Candi, whos idea it all was, I'm going to politely ask you all to go and vote for her book on the WORLD BOOK DAY site. More details at LegendPress.co.uk

How many times do you have to get the 'unexpected error' message before it ceases to be unexpected. I've been trying to post a bloody blog all afternoon but to no avail.

Anyway, just a quick one. A blog about a blog. Bit like a play within a play? Who knows?
Ok, I'll stop rambling and get to the point. There are quite a few folks on my friends list because they, like me, have a bit of a thing for writing. And I thought those aforementioned friends might be interested to know that I've been invited to blog on the Legend Press, Legendary Authors' site.

If you're interested in publishing, writing, talking about writing or even writing about writing. Would be great to see you over there. I will be uploading my first contribution shortly. Assuming I can work the new fangled technology over there. Given my success uploading this blog today, I wouldn't hold your breath.

Cx

http://forward.legendpress.co.uk/legendary_authors/

When anyone asks me what I do for a living and I tell them I'm a teacher there follows one of two responses:
a) You're brave...bloody kids...don't know how you put up with teenagers, bring back the birch etc etc.
b)Must be nice having all those holidays.

Or even better your friends send you comedy emails like this one...


Just for the record, the kids I teach are no more badly behaved than the middle aged, middle class cilontelle I had to put up with in the hotel where I worked before becoming a teacher. (I don't have to split up nearly as many fights in my current role). And...just for the other record...I have only had one none working day so far this 'holiday' and that was used to clear out the rubbish from the loft, left by our house's previous occupants.

But, as it is the 'holidays' I have taken time out from lesson planning and report writing to have a quick snoop around on MySpace as I don't seem to have been here for ages. I see there is a whole list of new blogs for me to get stuck into.

Just before I go and do that, just want to say a quick farewell. One of the main reasons I came to MySpace in the first place was because of the Legend Press space. They do do most of their blogging at legendpress.co.uk rather than MySpace now. However,  it would seem the cheif 'blogger' is off to pastures new. Despite having to put up with all the witterings and dumb questions of a first time author, Emma was always able to find something nice to say about me and my writing in the Legend blogs. So it's my turn to say something nice in return today. So, that said, just want to wish Emma all the best for her new job and offer a big thank-you for all the help, support and much needed reassurance. Has been an absolute pleasure!

Cx

It's a worknight and I'm on Myspace. Feels deliciously naughty.  What's more I'm eating the first Cadbury's Creme Egg of 2008. Yes, I know. That's it now. It's all downhill til Easter. I normally try not ignore their presence in the shops until at least March. But a bad week at work...not elaborating as I know people I work with sometimes read this...meant I needed a sickly sugar fix as I roared into the patrol station the other night on the way home. The damage has been done. There's no going back.

Good news is that the phoneline has been back on for over a week without interuption. Bad news is the water has been cut off now. There are loads of nice little holes surrounded by reflective barriers all over the close and those dear chaps from Yorkshire water attempt to improve our supply. Although they hadn't imporved it much an hour or two ago. Came in from work after an extra long day at work, exciting training session blah blah. Turned on tap in bathroom. Sink full of brown sludge. Lovely!

I suppose I'd better go and do some work. Grrrrr! Otherwise I'll have to get up at quarter past stupid tomorrow and get it done then. Still. The work avoidance was nice while it lasted.