Knitted postbox toppers are appearing around Chandler’s Ford. Have you seen them? These have brought a lot of smiles.
Chandler’s Ford u3a is celebrating its 25th Anniversary by erecting 25 toppers in Chandler’s Ford. Thank you Jill Mayes for sharing these photos.
[Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford u3a Celebrating 25th Anniversary
Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, famously said “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Strongly suspect his publishers/those he worked with on the BBC (for scripts, including for Doctor Who) did not take the same view!
I see a deadline as a challenge. Not to let it go by but to meet it with room to spare. I also think deadlines can encourage you to be more creative, simply because they give you something to work towards. There is an end goal. It is a great antidote to that notorious thief of time, procrastination!
March can be a busy time in the garden, as Spring begins you will notice the busy activity of bird in your garden building their nests. To help them out tie up bunches of tiny twigs, moss and stringy plant material around your garden.
Hedgehogs and frogs begin to come out of hibernation this month, make sure there is availability of water and food for them.
Lift and divide overgrown clumps of herbaceous perennials that were not split in the Autumn. [Read more…] about March Gardening Tips by Wellie
One good thing to come out of the pandemic was the increasing use of Zoom. I used it for family get togethers when meeting in person wasn’t possible. (I still regularly meet up with family members abroad this way too).
A number of writing related activities transferred to this medium so I was able to join in with workshops, listen to talks etc. In the past eighteen months or so, I’ve been invited to run workshops via Zoom on flash fiction. It has been lovely to have paying gigs too! (Would always welcome more of these!).
So I thought for this post I’d look at how to make the most of Zoom workshops if you’re running them/likely to run them in the future. I hope you find this useful.
All great stories focus on their characters. Why?
It’s because we want to find out what happens in the story and that usually involves finding out what happened to the lead character in particular. Did they get their happy ending? Were they a rotter who deserved and got their comeuppance?
Only one way to find out and that is to read the story but the character has to interest you enough in the first place to make you want to read on. So how can that be done? I share some thoughts about how I approach character creation and hope you find it useful.
It is with pleasure I share the news Richard Hardie, author of Leap of Faith and Trouble With Swords, will be releasing his third book in his Temporal Detective Agency series. The third book is called Remember, Remember for reasons that will become apparent when you read it! Richard is also planning to release his fourth book soon too. This will be a collection of short stories linked to his Temporal Detective Agency.
Definitely time for another CFT interview then!
[Read more…] about Author Interview: Richard Hardie – Remember, Remember
There has been quite a lot of changes at Fryern Hill. Banks have disappeared, shops are closing, businesses are moving elsewhere……Here are just a few examples.
Card Gallery
The former Barclays Bank
Wellie’s gardening tips are written a month in advance and the weather outside at the moment is extremely wet and windy, but also very mild. It will be interesting to see which plants, especially the more temperate plants that will survive after the minus temperatures we had in December. In the 20 odd years that I have been working as a gardener, 2022 was the first year that the leaves (especially some of the oaks) had not all fallen by Christmas. The suggestions below are just that – suggestions, and are all dependent on the weather.
It was a joy to see Pinocchio, staged by The Chameleon Theatre Group on Saturday, 28th January. There are many for whom pantomime is their first experience of live theatre. Funnily enough, it wasn’t for me. My kid sister and I tended to go and see the latest Disney releases at the old Gaumont, now of course The Mayflower in Southampton. Remember seeing Robin Hood and Cinderella there.
[Read more…] about Review: The Chameleon Theatre Group – Pinocchio
What would you define as a classic story? Do you define it by age or by how often it can stand being re-read? Or do you define it by its word count where you have a story where you can’t imagine another word being added and/or words being taken out of it?).
Of course, your answer can be any of the above, maybe all of them! For me, though, the age of a story is irrelevant. If it is classic, it is because it is a fabulous tale, not because of its antiquity (or lack of same).
It is with great pleasure I welcome friend and fellow Swanwicker, June Webber, to Chandler’s Ford Today. June and I first met at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick back in 2016 when I was a “white badger” (first time attendee). June, Val Penny, and I regularly meet up on Zoom.
[Read more…] about Author Interview: June Webber – Publication: Never Too Late
The writing life is fun but being prepared for the roller coaster aspect of it is a good idea. Every writer has their ups and downs. It helps to know this. Going into the writing life with your eyes wide open also helps. It also helps, I think, to accept the following is true.
Have you ever kept a diary? Did you use to/still do enjoy writing and receiving letters in the post? The answer to both those questions is yes from me.
I keep a diary to help me stay on track of what I write when (and to remind me to get my author newsletter out, note down workshop dates etc). I also keep, as part of the same diary, notes on how my writing is going and whether I was pleased or not with the previous day’s writing efforts.
Plant bare-root roses, shrubs, hedging and ornamental trees, as long as the ground isn’t frozen. Remove and bin hellebore foliage marked with black blotches, to limit the spread of leaf spot disease. Deadhead winter pansies and other bedding regularly, and remove any foliage affected by downy mildew. Check for rot on stored bulbs and tubers, and ensure dahlia and canna tubers haven’t totally dried out. Continue pruning climbing roses, while they are dormant.
It’s almost impossible at this time of the old year to resist looking back and weighing up what kind of twelve months it has been. The days and months of the calendar never change (well, bar leap years I guess and even then only by one day!), yet our attitudes towards the passing of time can vary so much.
I must admit this year has struck me as a sad one. I’ve known several friends lose loved ones and I was deeply saddened by the death of the Queen. I was (and remain) saddened (and angered) at the war on Ukraine. So on the face of it, 2022 has not been a great year (and we thought 2020 was bad!).
What I find helps is remembering feeling like this is normal. Every year has its ups and downs though in some years, it is harder work to recall the positives!
My, how does the time fly! It’s time for some festive flash fiction and news about my writing year. It’s been a busy but fun one.
MARY’S STORY
Oh, I’m so tired. I’m glad I’m able to ride some of the time on Eysl, our donkey, though I do have to walk some of the time, to give him a rest too. I hope we’re nearly there. My back aches and I’ve had some pains – I wonder if that’s the baby coming. I haven’t mentioned those to Joseph – I don’t want to worry him. He’s already worrying about where we‘ll stay when we reach Bethlehem, what with so many people on the road going for the census, like us.
I’m tired and I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what people say about me being pregnant and unmarried. Afraid that the shame will mean we can’t find anywhere to sleep tonight. Afraid of what having the baby – the Son of God – will mean for the family. Will Joseph and I be able to have a normal family life? I’m afraid of what the future holds for us all.
I do love Joseph. I already did, when we got betrothed. But then when I had to tell him I was with child, I was sure he’d want to walk away. He told me he thought he might, but without making too much of a fuss. But he didn’t, he said he’d stand by me and the baby. He told me he had a dream where an angel told him to take me as his wife, that what I’d said was true – that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that it’ll be a boy and we’re to call him Jesus. And that he’ll save people from their sins. I’m not sure how that last bit works – but we’ll see. I wonder if it’s what the prophets foretold all those years ago. Could he be the Messiah? My little baby? [Read more…] about Mary’s Christmas Story – In Her Own Words
It is always a joy to get to go to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event and it is equally lovely to blog for Chandler’s Ford Today about it! This year it was held at the Theodore Bullfrog pub in London. They do have some great pub names (and if you can think of any you’ve come across, do share them in the comments). It is an especial pleasure to go since Covid-19 has put paid to previous planned get togethers. It was by no means certain this year’s event would go ahead either due to other outside events beyond BHP’s control.
But we made it and it was lovely to get into a cosily warm pub, given it was bitter out. (Coldest places on the planet must include railway stations. They make for very good wind tunnels… brrr… and I’d nominate Southampton Airport Parkway as one of the worst there).
[Read more…] about Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event 2022
It is lovely to welcome Wendy H Jones back to Chandler’s Ford Today with news of her latest publication. It is another departure from Wendy’s usual line of work too. This time, Wendy has a short story in Deadly Traditions, which is a crime and Christmas anthology.
[Read more…] about Deadly Traditions – Interview with Wendy H Jones
I’m delighted to say Scottish crime writer, Val Penny, has excellent news to share with regard to her Hunter’s Revenge. Its second edition was published on 30th November 2022 by Spellbound Books.
To find out more about Val’s DI Hunter Wilson do go to her book page on her website
There is also a buy link at geni.us/a13c
