Coffee-With-Kate

Don't Tell!

2011-11-24T02:58:00.001Z

It's a backwards kind of story.

I found another sore on my foot, a pustule. Not a pretty word or image.

I've become used to them over the last couple of years and they have intrinsically become part of me. They seep blood, but not the red kind we all envisage. It's the creamy yellow of the white cells, the defence cells, sent out to fight anything that is attacking my body. According to the doctors mine are working overtime. They've gone into Terminator mode and now reject and attack my own flesh.

They are a physical manifestation of what has always been there. I lance them for relief just as I once lanced my head. The prick of the needle or the slice of the Stanley knife. What's the difference? It's pain relief. It's the purging of a poisonous invasion.

I have a high pain threshold that developed over many years. My eyesight is poor because my brother decided one night to punch me so hard that my eye rolled to the back of my head. Six weeks wearing an eye patch and Mother placating with chocolate until I felt sick.

Don't tell!

The same brother who laughed at my childish attempts to do handstands then decided to kick my arms from underneath me. SNAP! Broke my wrist. Cold compresses applied, a sling made from my Mothers head scarf, three weeks before I was taken to a doctor.

Don't tell!

Oh, there's so much more.

Hush now.

Don't tell!

Blood, pain, sores, attack, rejection.

I'm used to it.

But don't tell!

Not ANOTHER NaNoWriMo blog post???

2011-10-30T18:13:00.001Z

If you haven't heard all about NaNoWriMo yet then check out your Twitter stream or just Google it. There's a plethora of information out there, blogs are full of it and I have nothing to add to the reams already written on the subject.

Whether the phrase NaNoWriMo strikes fear into your heart, makes your stomach flip in excitement or just plain bores you one thing is for sure, November will never be the same again. Why am I doing it? Good question. It's like asking why anyone would want to conquer Everest? Because it's there.

So there you go. I blogged about NaNoWriMo. Do you feel enlightened now. No? Me neither and I'll probably be none the wiser by the end of it all. But that's just me. Holds nose, takes one step forward and WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

See you on the other side.

Pound Shops and Charity Shops: My Top 10 Winter Tips

2011-10-19T01:50:00.002+01:00

Yorkshire has definitely been icy today which spurred me on to, finally, buy a winter coat. I managed, much to my delight, to purchase a brand new waterproof jacket for a mere £8 from one of the many good charity shops in the city. Granted, it is two sizes too big (necessary though for the layers of woollies it will need to cover) and it's the usual black ensemble but I will always go for warm and practical over the latest useless fashion fad. It can easily be 'jazzed up' with a brightly coloured scarf and gloves,perhaps even a jaunty deer-stalker type hat. Yes, the preparations for Winter are well underway here.

The last two winters have personally been extremely bleak. During the first I was left by an unscrupulous landlord with no heating, sleeping in one room with a toddler. For three weeks over Christmas the snow and the biting cold were relentless and I was ill prepared. The following year we were in a new house where the heating did work but deep snow and my inability to walk meant I ran out of basics and, at one point, I was boiling rice in the last chicken stock cubes for my sons dinner. Bad times.

This year there will be no such traumas and I've compiled a handy list of winter essential for those 'just in case' moments.

1) Tealights
It's surprising how much heat these babies can kick out. If you live near a Pound Shop a bag of fifty will set you back (you guessed it) a pound. Great for saving energy and make lovely ambient lighting but, as with any type of candles, use with caution, never in bedrooms and place out of reach of little hands.

2) Powdered milk
I can't tell you how many times I've ran out of milk at the worst possible moment. Okay, it's not as good as the real stuff but you will appreciate it when your gasping for a cuppa at 3am and the snow is two feet deep. Also great for mixing up to make........

3A) Porridge oats
or even Oats So Simple which is currently on offer in the Pound Shop. As are......

3B) Tinned Goods
3 tins of HP Baked Beans, 2 tins of custard, 2 tins of Rice Pudding, 2 tins of chunky soup, Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pies, tins of Bacon Grill, stock cubes, rice, pasta, all a pound....the list goes on. I've been slowly filling a large box for the last few weeks just by spending an extra couple of pounds.

4) If you have heavy winter curtains get them up now and make radiator panels. Simply cover an appropriate sized piece of cardboard in tin foil (Pound Shop) and slide down the back of your radiators to reflect the heat back into the room. An old trick my Grandma taught me.

5) Get down to the charity shops, grab some bargains and help good causes. Some of my creative friends have found random fleecy baby blankets and stitched them together to make bed and sofa throws. You can also stock up on inexpensive woollies. Forget about having the latest fashion items. You can treat yourself in the January sales with all the money you've saved on heating costs.

6) Flasks
In our house the kettle is seriously abused, especially during winter. Make up a flask of tea/coffee at a time and save electricity. If you need convincing just switch your kettle on and go watch that electric dial spin like a Strictly Come Dancing contestant on fast forward.

7) Check your first aid kit and medicines.
This is winter in the UK folks. Those dreaded lurgy is bound to pay you/the kids a visit and you'll be lucky to get away without at least one slip, trip or fall (think ICE). Dispose responsibly of all the out of date stuff and restock. Once again, the Pound Shops are ideal for this.

8) Hot Water Bottles
I couldn't be without mine.They linger in the back of the under sink cupboard for months but, boy, do they come into their own when the weather turns. Unfortunately, a quick look in my two local Pound Shops failed to locate any but I'm sure you can pick them up relatively cheaply and they are so worth it.

9) Matches And Spare Tin Opener
The one basic item that many people seem to forget is a box of matches (store in a high place away from children). You just never know when you're going to need them. But also, unless you can guarantee all your tins are going to be ring pulls, don't forget the humble tin opener. Once again, it's one of those items that you never miss until you really need it.

10) Check On Your Neighbours
The snow might look rather pretty when your wrapped up toasty warm indoors but please spare a thought for the elderly and disabled for whom snow and ice is a real danger. But don't wait until it's snowing before you say hello, do it now. There's a lot of warmth generated by a friendly smile.

Tea at 3am - Friday Flash #3

2011-09-09T04:17:00.000+01:00

It doesn't taste right, tea at 3am, it cools too quickly but I drink it anyway. The fridge hums and pulses too loud, strip light hurts the eyes. The season has changed. I can't hear the birds anymore and there's a chill in the room.

Perhaps that's the sign of the house ghosts subtly objecting to my presence at this ungodly hour. It's their time to dance and I'm intruding. But I can't sleep anymore so they'll just have to put up with me, slip around me, I don't mind.

More tea as I fix a blank stare on the page. The words will not come out to play. They still snooze, somewhere in the darkest recesses. I envy them that.

The End Of A Parenting Era

2011-08-28T18:57:00.002+01:00

September The Fifth fast approaches and marks the end of an era in my little world. For the past twenty five years I've experienced the pleasure and pain of raising children. It has, so far, been the most challenging, frustrating and amazing experience of my life. From that first heady aroma of newborn skin right through to the not so heady aroma of toilet training traumas I've stumbled along the path of parenthood never thinking about that inevitable day when the party would be over. My youngest child will soon don his shiny, new school uniform and be unleashed into the world of full time education and my arms suddenly feel very empty. My child bearing years are over.

I console myself with knowledge that there are exciting, new opportunities waiting for me. I will have more precious hours with which to indulge in my second love, writing. I can concentrate on getting back my health and building new social groups. I wont have to listen to endless, grating ditties via the CBeebies channel. My home will stay clean and tidy between the hours of 8.30am and 3.30pm. Luxury indeed. But still, I ache to remain surrounded by 24/7 happy chaos and feel trepidation at this strange, untrodden path that I find myself upon.

Tears will be shed.

Lovers Picnic - Friday Flash 2

2011-08-19T16:03:00.002+01:00

The buzz of inquisitive insects, the smell of cheese and onion sandwiches.
A soft breeze on my cheek and the taste of strawberries on my lips.

Swathes of green reaching far into the horizon.

Can you hear the silence?

Can you see the grass dance?

Lay back. Drink in the sky.

Reach out. Touch it.

Curl your fingers around the clouds.

Make hand shadows over the sun.

Kiss me.

Do you have to be mad to be a writer?

2011-08-17T01:55:00.002+01:00

It's been an unprecedented week. I'm busy working on five short stories each with a looming deadline. The midnight oil is burning at an alarming rate and coffee supplies need replenishing with lightning speed. I should be ecstatic that anyone wants to read my work, never mind pay for the privilege, but there's a kind of fearful tinge to it all. Self-doubt is not a new feeling to me. In fact, it's been the longest relationship I've ever had. I try to tell myself that I don't own the fear of not being good enough,. I share it with countless other writers, though I've yet to identify them.

Is my punctuation correct, are my characters believable? Is it descriptive enough, is it too descriptive? Or is my writing just plain, old boring? These questions and more swirl around my head as fast as my fingers can type. I continually push them back as I weave pain, love, horror and sex into reams of 12 font, New Roman text and pray that I've achieved coherence. This is multi tasking on an epic scale.

I could run off to hide in a dark place where I can dream up a thousand excuses to justify never writing again. I've done it many times before. After all, no-one in their right mind would choose an activity plagued by constant battles with a hostile psyche or driven by the synthetic stain of caffeine coursing through the veins. Writers must be mad. Or , at the very least, masochists.

Or perhaps that's just me.

Slipped Away - My debut Friday Flash

2011-08-12T21:20:00.002+01:00

Sue was down to the final dregs of coffee which only added to the bitterness in her soul. There was nothing left to say. She rose slowly from the chair, invisible to the swathe of people milling around the station. Most strode purposefully whilst others consulted dog eared timetables and glanced about in confusion.

Sue opened the message again, scrolled down and re-read those six cathartic words. 'I can't do it. I'm sorry'. Numbed, she slipped her phone back into her pocket and made her way to platform 9. The train to Manchester Airport creaked and groaned it's way to a standstill. Smiling travellers boarded quickly heaving their matching luggage behind them. The tickets in Sues bag seemed to burn through the lining and, gingerly, she took them out.

Flight EZY903 to Corfu leaving 12/08/2011 at 12.30pm.
For two people.
But Sue was going alone.

She booked them last year in a moment of optimism. It would have been a fresh start.

Finally she had found him. Finally the test results had come through. Finally the transplant could go ahead. Honors dad was a perfect match.

Then, the night before the operation, he sent her those six devastating words and left them both as quickly and as quietly as he'd done five years before.

Men In Education - A dying breed?

2011-08-04T11:26:00.000+01:00

I recently responded to a question on Twitter regarding which teachers had been most influential in my life. There were three in particular who stood out.

Mr Roden, my English teacher during primary school who encouraged me to write 'out of the box'.
Mr Homer, my secondary school History teacher who inspired and nurtured my love of history.
Mr Broster, my Drama teacher who gave me confidence and an outlet during my difficult teenage years.

It never struck me as unusual that around 60% of my tutors were male which is why I was shocked to read an article in the Telegraph that claims that male teachers, especially at primary school level, are fast becoming a dying breed.

Given the alarming increase in pupil violence in schools one cannot wonder if the lack of positive male role models could be a factor. In my own experience teachers, especially the men, commanded respect. During the eighties I grew up in a mining village that, like many others, had it's heart ripped out by Margaret Thatchers determination to crush the unions. It was especially harsh on the boys in the community for whom the mines were a major employer and many of them became disheartened by the real prospect of going straight from school to the dole queues. It was the male teachers who shored up these disaffected young men, encouraging them to continue their education, explore their potential for alternative careers and curbing any dissension that spilt over into the classroom.

In an age of equality, has the pendulum swung too far with regards to the education system? Is societies media fuelled fear of paedophilia shutting out a source of positive role models that our sons (and daughters) could aspire to?

My own son is due to begin primary school in September and a quick look through his Welcome Pack sadly reveals that he will not come into contact with a single male teacher during his time there. He is lucky that he has a strong, male role in his father. Ironically, this same father is a highly qualified teaching assistant with a degree who has been passed over for so many jobs within the education sector that he has given up trying. He now works as an Education Facilitator for the under sixes within a museum yet, sadly, is still viewed with an air of mistrust by the service users.

Making Time To Write In 3 Easy Steps

2011-08-03T12:51:00.001+01:00

School holidays, work, cooking and cleaning. Many writers find their time being swallowed up by these mundane activities. After years of research I'm pleased to share with you my 3 tried and tested tips on how to grab back those precious hours so that you can finally perfect your prose, make excellent edits and finish that best selling book.

1 - Online Grocery Shopping.

Log on to a supermarket, type in a shopping list, press buy, then sit back and wait for a delivery. It's a no brainer. However, if you are supper savvy, 90% of your shopping list will consist of jars, packets and boxes that require no cooking and can be easily opened by a four year old. Forget the healthy, nutritious, five-a-day jargon, the kids will get that at school (or at Grandmas), you're just putting the 'balanced' back into balanced diet. Remember that the millions you earn from your best selling novel will cover the cost of sending the kids to a good dentist and a month in fat camp.

2 - Cleaning Is For Wimps

For all those annoying little laundry problems I can heartily recommend Febreeze. Thousands of students swear by it and busy writers are clawing back hours of time because of it's easy to apply formula. Basically, if it smells whiffy you spray it. On curtains, carpets, bedding, the kids school uniforms, this versatile product will keep your fabrics smelling......well, Febreezey. This recession busting must have is now available in all branches of Poundland. And speaking of recession busting, how about hiring a cleaner? It's easier than you think, wont break the bank and you'll be performing a public service. Simply volunteer as a befriender for a few hours a week and soon you'll have your very own lonely pensioner flicking a duster round the house and doubling as a bouncer when the kids start fighting

.

3 - Kids? What Kids?

My last tip is possibly the most ingenious. It does require a little pre-planning but the benefits are immense. You set up a Holiday Share with six other mums and draw up a rota whereby, once a week, each mum will have the pleasure of entertaining all the children for a whole day. Ensure that you are number seven on the rota and, each time your allocated day arrives, you suddenly develop a chest infection, scabies or the bubonic plague. Done correctly this will ensure that you spend almost all of the school holidays sans children and that 90,000 word bonkbuster becomes a doddle. The only downside is that you may have to change schools and friends every year but sacrifices have to be made.

Hope that all helps and if you have your own strategies please leave a comment. Do your bit to help stressed writers everywhere.

Win a copy of Kindle Kash.

2011-08-02T01:58:00.001+01:00

The world of publishing is changing and many authors are looking into the future at the potential of e-books. But, in an ever changing and complicated market where exactly do you begin?

Nick Daws is a freelance writer , an editor and the author of over 80 non-fiction books. He has just released a brand new writers guide called Kindle Kash .

Kindle Kash is described as - a comprehensive guide to devising, writing, editing, publishing and promoting your own e-book on the massively popular Amazon Kindle platform.

Nick is running a free to enter competition with some great prizes on offer including a copy of Kindle Kash and invites you to put pen to paper and get your sci-fi imagination fired up. Full details can be found here. at Nicks blog and, who knows, this could be the start of a brilliant e-publishing career for one lucky writer.

Good Luck!!!

A Clean Slate

2011-08-01T22:43:00.000+01:00

It's taken a while to get here but welcome to my shiny new blog. The cafetiere is fired up, the shop has been cleared of brioche and I'm ready to defile every virginal piece of paper within a five mile radius. The world has been warned.

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net