Chandler's Ford Today

Arts

Every photograph we take, every show we present, or every song and hymn that we sing, we bring inspiration, creativity and joy to the community. Our artists have taken risks. They have brought us wonder and beauty of nature.

Who are the Mysterious Postbox Topper Ladies in Chandler’s Ford?

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Dear readers, you must have seen many intriguing postbox toppers around Chandler’s Ford. They surprise us, delight us, and make us smile. A splash of colour; a creative design; a world re-imagined. For the past few years, the remarkable ladies (with some of their ‘helpers’) from Chandler’s Ford u3a have graced our streets and quiet lanes with their creations made with love and crafted with great skills. You may even feel a bit uplifted on a mundane trip to Asda, as the topper may remind you of an upcoming special celebration or a significant historical event, or its playful, whimsical nature may take you back to your childhood.

The ladies who have brought us joy with their Postbox Toppers.
The ladies who have brought us joy with their Postbox Toppers.

Credit: Special thanks to Sandra and Dave Claxton for providing the story and all the photographs in this article below.

Since the amazing response to our 25th Anniversary Postbox Toppers of 2023, our “Topper Ladies” have barely stopped in their endeavours producing themed Toppers for the King’s Coronation, Remembrance Week, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Summer, the Olympics and were even asked to produce a Postbox Topper to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Eastleigh Borough last May.

Eastleigh Borough Council's AGM at The Point, Eastleigh, on Monday 20th May 2024. The new Mayor Councillor David Pragnell was elected. Photo by Chris Balcombe for Eastleigh Borough Council. Chandler's Ford U3A created a postbox topper to celebrate 50 years of Eastleigh Borough Council.
Eastleigh Borough Council’s AGM at The Point, Eastleigh, on Monday 20th May 2024. The new Mayor Councillor David Pragnell was elected.
Photo by Chris Balcombe for Eastleigh Borough Council. Chandler’s Ford U3A created a postbox topper to celebrate 50 years of Eastleigh Borough Council.

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Making the Most of a Writing Event

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Image Credits:-
Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots and photos from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes. A huge thank you to Julia Patterson for taking the image of me leading my editing workshop at the 2023 Swanwick.

I’m shortly off on my travels again to a major highlight of my writing year, The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick in lovely Derbyshire. I meet up with friends I only see online for the rest of the year (though that is wonderful).

Indeed, one writer I plan to be catching up at Swanwick is Val Penny, author of the DI Hunter Wilson series, whom I’ll be interviewing here again next week. I hope to write more about Swanwick for a later post here but I am running a two part course called Editing as a Writer, Editing as a Competition Judge, which I’m looking forward to presenting.

I thought it might be useful to share some tips as to how to make the most of any writing event you might go to, whether it is a week long residential one like Swanwick, or a single day event. (I am hoping to get to another of those soon too run by the Association of Christian Writers).

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Writing Fitness

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Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

One disadvantage to the writing life is it is a sedentary one. I compensate by walking the dog and swimming, though not at the same time! As well as being aware of the need to compensate for a stationary job, there are other ways in which writers need to think about their fitness. This post outlines some of those.

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Employing Kipling’s Serving Men

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Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), renowned writer and poet, came up with his “serving men” which are an inspiration to all writers. Part of his poem on the subject reads:-

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

Do check out the full version via the link to The Kipling Society.

I would add in the question of “what if” as a useful addition to these six. How can all writers benefit from these questions? Let’s take a look.

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Author Interview: Maressa Mortimer – Going Downstream

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Maressa Mortimer and Lynsey Adams for author and book cover pictures. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It is a great pleasure to welcome Maressa Mortimer back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Maressa and I are members of the Association of Christian Writers.

If you’ve been tempted to think you don’t have time to write, Maressa may encourage you to think again. She writes around her home life of four children, who are home schooled, a dog, and the demands of her husband’s job as a church minister.

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Author Interview: Jennifer C Wilson – 31 Days of Writing

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Jennifer C Wilson for her author shot and book cover shots. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

It is a great pleasure to welcome back Jennifer C Wilson to Chandler’s Ford Today. Jennifer’s new book, published today, is 31 Days of Writing, which will be so useful to a wide range of writers.

Amazon Buy Link – Pre-order link

31 Days of Writing buy link:

Blurb for 31 Days of Writing

31 Days of Writing draws on the prompts and exercises from seven years of North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. Whether you’re wanting to build scenes for a work-in-progress, or generate ideas for short stories/poems, there’s something for everyone in this collection, to keep the inspiration flowing for a month of writing…

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Having a Superpower

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Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

I run a monthly Zoom workshop on flash fiction writing for the Association of Christian Writers. It is great fun to do and the online aspect helps so much as the members live several hundreds of miles apart so we could never get together in person.

I usually set a monthly theme and then set exercises based on that. Sometimes I will prepare an answer to an exercise to show as an example but most of the time I will write on the night of the meeting with the other members.

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Author Interview: Jenny Sanders – The Polished Arrows of Non-Fiction Writing – Part 2

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Jenny Sanders for supplying book and author pictures. Other images from Unsplash and Pixabay (forwarded by Jenny Sanders). Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It was such a pleasure to welcome back Jenny Sanders to Chandler’s Ford Today last week where we discussed her new devotional book, Polished Arrows. Devotionals are a specialised form of writing and she discussed the joys and challenges she faces here.

This week, Jenny is sharing thoughts on marketing and book launches. There are some great tips here for any writer thinking along these lines which may prove useful to you.

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Beyond Beliefs by Sohail Husain: The Incredible True Story of a German Refugee, an Indian Migrant and the Families Left Behind

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After 6 years’ research, Chandler’s Ford resident Sohail Husain has published this remarkable book – Beyond Beliefs.

Beyond Beliefs is an incredible true story of a German refugee, an Indian migrant and the families left behind.

Now you can Meet the Author Sohail Husain, on Monday 24th June, at Dovetail Cafe at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church, from 2pm to 4pm.

Meet the author from Chandler's Ford - Beyond Beliefs book written by Sohail Husain.
Meet the author from Chandler’s Ford – Beyond Beliefs book written by Sohail Husain.

This epic memoir recounts the compelling and extraordinary tale of Sohail’s parents and grandparents, whose lives were engulfed by four momentous events of the 20th century: the First World War, the Great Depression, the Partition of India and the Holocaust.

His parents were separated by birthplace, race, faith, language and age, but their common experience of unimaginable loss and upheaval ultimately brought them together in London.

Their love story was complicated and unconventional, but enduring. It is a testament to human spirit overcoming tragedy and adversity. [Read more…] about Beyond Beliefs by Sohail Husain: The Incredible True Story of a German Refugee, an Indian Migrant and the Families Left Behind

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Author Interview: Jenny Sanders The Polished Arrows of Non-Fiction Writing – Part 1

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Jenny Sanders for supplying book and author pictures. Other images from Unsplash and Pixabay (forwarded by Jenny Sanders). Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

It’s a pleasure to welcome Jenny Sanders back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Jenny and I are connected through the Association of Christian Writers. We have written for Mom’s Favourite Reads. We now write regularly for Writers’ Narrative (on which I am also a copy editor. Good news – it is free to subscribe to – see the link for more).

As well as her children’s fiction, Jenny writes articles on writing. She also writes non-fiction books (Christian devotionals) and her latest is due out today, 31st May 2024. Her Polished Arrows is a follow up to her first non-fiction book, Spiritual Feasting, (both published by Instant Apostle).

I’m always interested in how writers combine writing fiction with non-fiction. The disciplines are different so managing to meet the demands of both is an interesting challenge.

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Decisions

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Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Every story focuses on a decision. At some point a character has to choose whether or not to act on a situation they’re facing. What they decide to do has immense consequences for that story.

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Journeys

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Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

By the time this goes live on Chandler’s Ford Today, I shall be packing up after a lovely holiday in Scotland with my husband and Lady and preparing to have a long journey home again. So with that in mind, I thought I would look at journeys in writing.

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Questions and Answers In Writing

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Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.

Questions are something I often use in my writing. For my non-fiction work, they often act as an underlying theme. I have been known to use them as titles too. For fiction, again I use them for titles and themes. In this case though I am getting my character(s) to answer the question. In my non-fiction work I’m answering it through the conclusion I come to at the end but I show my “workings” along the way.

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Review: The Chameleon Theatre Group – Waiting For Gateaux

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Image Credits:-
A huge thank you to The Chameleons as ever for kind permission to use their excellent photos. Screenshots from The Chameleons’ Facebook page and website were taken by me, Allison Symes. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.
Also a huge thank you to Katrina Lush for kind permission to use her photo of the Slimming World Yes You Can sign placed next to The Chameleons’ Waiting For Gateaux sign at Ritchie Hall recently. Katrina, like me, is a member of the Slimming World group that meets here. This photo went up on the local SW Facebook page and gave us all a huge laugh. I think it is excellent product placement for Slimming World and The Chameleons.

It was a joy to be back at the Ritchie Hall with Janet to see the latest production from The Chameleon Theatre Company. Their latest show, Waiting for Gateaux, intrigued me the moment I heard about it. My first thought was this must be more fun than Waiting for Godot. I was right. I was surprised though to find a story behind the laughs which was often moving. More on that shortly.

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My Top Five Writing Exercises

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Image Credits:   Images were created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots were taken by me, Allison Symes.

I love writing exercises as I’ve shared before in previous posts (see Related Posts below). Writing exercises encourage lateral thinking. I’ve had far more story ideas thanks to using these.

You can get used to thinking in certain ways for your next idea (especially for short form writing where you need to constantly invent things) so it can be easy to become “bored” or to run out of inspiration. You don’t want it to be a case of same old, same old here.

So mixing up how you approach writing stories is a good idea. It keeps you on your creative toes as well which is never a bad thing.

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History – Fact and Fiction

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Image Credits:- 
Images created via Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images directly from Pixabay. My book cover image from Chapeltown Books.

Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure and privilege of presenting to an online history group a PowerPoint on Josephine Tey (author of The Daughter of Time) and Philippa Langley (co-author, with Michael Jones, of The Search for Richard III: The King’s Grave, and, more recently, The Princes in the Tower, where she is sole author).

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Author Interview – Sophie Neville – A Creative Life on Water, In Film, and In Writing – Part 2

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Sophie Neville for supplying book and author pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or are images supplied by Sophie Neville or are from Pixabay directly or are from the CFT archives. Screenshot taken by me, Allison Symes. Images from Sophie Neville’s website are used with her express and kind permission. Thank you, Sophie.

It’s a joy to welcome back Sophie Neville to Chandler’s Ford Today. If anyone could be said to have a life immersed in creativity, it is Sophie Neville. She has starred in films (best known role was Titty in Swallows and Amazons which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year); she has been on television in front of and behind the camera; she is an artist with many exhibitions to her name; and she is an award winning script writer.

That is only a brief summary! Do check out her news, YouTube and social media links, all of which are at the bottom of this interview.

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Author Interview: Sophie Neville – A Creative Life on Water, in Film, and in Writing – Part 1

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Sophie Neville for supplying book and author pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or are from Pixabay directly. Images from Sophie Neville’s website are used with her express and kind permission. Thank you, Sophie.

It is a huge pleasure to welcome fellow member of the Association of Christian Writers, Sophie Neville, to Chandler’s Ford Today. Sophie is best known for her role as Titty in Swallows and Amazons, that well loved children’s film classic. She went on to appear in The Two Ronnies, Doctor Who, Animal Magic, Songs of Praise, Crossroads, and Nationwide, and these are just a few of her TV and film credits. For a full listing do visit her website.

I remember Swallows and Amazons and The Two Ronnies in particular. I loved their Charley Farley and Piggy Malone, in which Sophie appeared. For full details of Sophie’s extensive TV and film work, do check out the link.

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Thanks to Chandler’s Ford u3a sharing Easter joy

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There are several lovely knitted postbox toppers in Chandler’s Ford. Thank you Chandler’s Ford u3a once again for sharing your creativity in the community.

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Questions and Answers for Characters

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Image Credit:   Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images

As I write a lot of stories, I have to find ways to continually invent characters. One useful way of doing this is to outline my characters (rather than the plot) as by knowing more about them, I can figure out what trouble I can land them in – such fun! Plots come from that. Outlines don’t have to be long. It is a question of working out what you need to know. That will vary from writer to writer.

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