We have left you a small clue (an English alphabet) in the photo. What’re your memories of this place?
How has the place changed? Please share. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Saturday Guessing Game (16)
IMAGE CREDIT: A very big thank you to Stuart Wineberg and The Chameleons for kind permission to use the images in this post.
I’m delighted to review the Chameleons’ latest production – Blackadder Goes Forth. [Read more…] about The Chameleons: Blackadder Goes Forth – Review by Allison Symes
Blackadder Goes Forth, performed by Chameleon Theatre Company, went beyond all expectations. It truly brought back a classic comedy set during one of the greatest conflicts in history on the Western Front in 1917. [Read more…] about The Chameleons: Blackadder Goes Forth – Review by Dominic Mayes
If you have ever walked past the war memorial outside St Boniface Church in Hursley Road, you may have wondered about those named on it. Perhaps you wanted to know a bit more about them and how they died in the Great War. Or maybe a bit more about the Chandler’s Ford they left in 1914. [Read more…] about Book Review: Margaret Doores’ Love’s Greatest Gift – Remembrance
Do you have a story to share about this image?
According to Doug Clews, the photo was kindly supplied to him by a former Chandler’s Ford resident, Peter Smith, now deceased, who used to live over the shop with his wife Muriel. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Saturday Guessing Game (15)
In this final section of my mini-series, Jennifer C Wilson, Val Penny, Anne Wan, Wendy H Jones, and Richard Hardie continue to share their thoughts on different aspects of writing the series novel. Tonight we look at how to ensure each novel can be read as a stand-alone book, specific things my guests love and loathe about writing series, and whether they know, ahead of time, how many books are going to be in their respective series. [Read more…] about The Joys and Challenges of Writing Series Novels Part 3
“Why not write something about growing old,” she suggested, shortly after my birthday.
“But I don’t know anything about that.” Then I thought I must know something about it as most people, even if not me, consider me old. Oldies are not that special these days, about 25% of us are 65 or older and 3% are 85 or older.
The first clue I got about age was in a café in California. Coffee in hand, I approached the till. “It’s free for oldies before 10 on Thursdays,” said a young girl at the counter. To her, anyone over 40 would look ancient. [Read more…] about Lean and Slippered Pantaloon
Gran is still looking after the two-year-old Julian while Jock recovers from my birth, and she finds it a tiring business, “…in spite of Jane’s help”, she writes, on January 9th 1955. She continues:
Jane took Julian for a long walk this afternoon whilst I did some cake-making. They saw several Grey Squirrels, which ran up the trees and Julian gave me a graphic description on his return. He also stroked the nose of a horse but withdrew in alarm when it snuffled at him, and this, too, was described to me with much drama.
[Read more…] about Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 67)
What’s the parking situation in this area? What’s around this roundabout? [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Saturday Guessing Game (14)
It was a great joy last week to introduce my fellow writers and contributors to this series which looks at the joys and challenges of series novels. Amongst tonight’s topics for Jennifer C Wilson, Val Penny, Anne Wan, Wendy H Jones, and Richard Hardie to tackle are the challenges of writing a series and what are the issues which arise in trying to promote a series. (Trust me it is challenging enough promoting a single book!). And as ever many thanks to all of my guests for supplying the author pictures and book cover shots. [Read more…] about The Joys and Challenges of Writing Series Novels – Part 2
November 29th 1954:
Gran completes her last painting of the year with Butcher’s Broom – she has been doing one each month – and her skill appears to be improving. She writes:
I was quite pleased with the result and intend to paint wild flowers seriously next year when I should have more free time. I feel that I could do better with more practice, for these last are a great improvement on my earlier efforts.
[Read more…] about Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 66)
This old milestone is situated 69 miles from London, 6 miles from Winchester to Southampton. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Saturday Guessing Game (13)
The joy and challenge of writing flash fiction is creating a short story out of nothing, with a proper beginning, middle and end, to a tight word count.
The joy and challenge of creating a novel is conjuring up your own world out of nothing and having an enthralling story set there, which usually comes in at the 80,000 to 100,000 word mark. (So your story must be strong to literally go the distance). [Read more…] about The Joys and Challenges of Writing Series Novels – Part 1
CAFOD stands for the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development. It is the Catholic international development charity in England and Wales.
In Chandler’s Ford, for almost 30 years, Clare, Cecily, Gill and their CAFOD group from St Edward the Confessor Church in Chandler’s Ford have been hosting simple soup suppers to raise money for CAFOD. In total, they’ve raised over £18,500 for the Fast Day appeals. [Read more…] about 30 Years of Soup with CAFOD at St Edward the Confessor Church in Chandler’s Ford
“In loving memory of the Pitt family from 1905” [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Saturday Guessing Game (12)
The world of literature would be much poorer without its fantastic fiction and its realistic opposite (and I am including non-fiction in what I term reality writing). Both show worlds we can identify with in some way.
For example, in The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein’s epic fantasy work the way Saruman attempted to destroy the natural world to make his weapons and build his power is a direct reflection of how things have been on our own planet time and time again. I needn’t name the dictators and while Tolkein always denied any comparison to the build up to World War Two, you can see why people made that link. An absolute evil had to be destroyed. An unlikely hero did so. (Who would have thought Britain would win the Battle of Britain? We weren’t supposed to!). [Read more…] about Fantastic -v- Reality Writing
Empty nest syndrome; fun collecting crab apples; flowers for a Queen; a dockers’ strike; a farm wedding; “Goodbye Mary”; and another wedding.
September 21st 1954:
Jane left early this morning to return to college at Eastbourne and Jill Fowler, who joins her there tomorrow, arrived just before she left, with some things which Jane had promised to take for her. Our farewells were brief, for even when we feel our best, we dislike these partings but today with the shadow of Robin’s tragic accident hanging over us, neither of us was fit for prolonged speech.
“Poor little Jane”, Gran continues, “it is the first time tragedy has so nearly reached her and she is being very brave”. Later that day, she cycles to the top of Otterbourne Hill “to get some blackthorn upon which to feed a Fox moth caterpillar which I am looking after for a youngster while he is on holiday”. [Read more…] about Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 65)
Image credit: Stuart Roberts [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford Saturday Guessing Game (11)
I was saddened to hear of the recent death of Denis Norden. He will probably be remembered most for It’ll Be Alright on the Night, the blooper show, but he wrote far more than that and, in my view, was a wonderful wordsmith. I also loved his ironic manner. (”Dry wit” doesn’t begin to cover it!). [Read more…] about Playing with Words
One that got away; enjoying Barry’s and Julian’s company before they leave the district; quiet reflections in Compton Church; goodbye Mary Robinson; news of a tragedy; another wedding, and a hedgehog knocks over a milk bottle.
Jane encourages Gran, dogged this day and regularly at fortnightly intervals, by her debilitating headaches, to accompany her on a walk along the Itchen, downstream from Brambridge, on the evening of August 16th 1954. Few people are about, apart from a lone fisherman and a single dog-walker. A Kingfisher flashes past, and a family of Mute Swans is on the water. Gran and Jane observe the fisherman, whom they saw: [Read more…] about Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 64)
