Things I've Found In Pockets

The Sun is Shining... Quick, Everyone Outside!

2013-05-18T17:01:00.001+01:00

Photo: Chas Because you never know how long it will last.

THE CONTENT MILL – EVIL GENIUS OF THE WRITING INDUSTRY?

2013-05-17T07:27:00.000+01:00

I recently signed up on a content site, Copify. I was at a low point, where I had not been pitching or marketing and *surprise* the work wasn’t just appearing like magic. I was broke. I railed at my own carelessness and carried out an emergency marketing program to get back in business. Signing up on Copify didn’t take long, and I soon got a notification: "Congratulations! You are now

Wonderful Things in Pockets

2013-05-15T16:44:00.000+01:00

It's been so long since we had the sober journalistic experience of what's been found in pockets, around here. But I just HAD to say, I found a pair of earrings in a pocket this week! I thought I'd lost them forever. Things I've Found in Pockets: Tiny gold earrings, a pair! Sand Rocks Washed lists, hopefully not important Washed school notes, also hopefully not important £10, but it was

Mother's Day: NOT for burning the house down or trips to A+E

2013-05-13T21:16:00.000+01:00

I was browning sugar to create a delicious feast for my perfect children, when there was a thump and a screech of pain. Of course, I dropped everything and ran towards the sound of my wounded child. Five minutes later, Max was explaining just how much he could bend his fingers and that the pain was excruciating, and how it was ALL SAM'S FAULT, and smoke was billowing out of the kitchen in caustic

Boring Update!

2013-05-10T09:46:00.004+01:00

Photo: Kelly Warren Fitzjames, Brasso Seco Greetings, denizens of the internet! I haven't posted anything in weeks, which is so bad. BAD BLOGGER! Apparently my marketing strategy is "Disappear." I have excuses though. My son Max has returned from a month in Trinidad, so we have been catching up. Max prowled the rainforest with cousins and friends, climbed waterfalls and jumped off into pools,

Ten Tips for Children's Writers

2013-04-25T09:26:00.002+01:00

A sketch for an upcoming story about a boy whose gravity stopped working one morning. Courtesy Sharon Burford Cartoons. Don't assume that writing for kids is easier than for adults. It's a tough market, with some brilliant authors. On that thought, Don't skimp on proof reading and editing. Max was reading a book recently that contained so many little errors in grammar and sentence structure

Motherhood is Rebirth

2013-04-21T19:02:00.000+01:00

Today I read this beautiful post about motherhood being a form of death, and it reminded me of last weekend with my teenage boys. They were climbing a mountain, going higher and higher and I was just torn between letting them go, as I usually do, and calling them back. I am not a helicopter mum. I usually let them fall and fail and skip homework and get into trouble. And trust that they will be

Third World Stupidity

2013-04-16T17:21:00.000+01:00

Today, I walked with my Aunty down to the sea front in Bournemouth. Right now, a large building there is being demolished, because it blocked our beautiful view of the sea and the distant Purbeck Hills. It is such a forward-thinking and intelligent thing to do, and is happening because the residents of Bournemouth stood up and said "We hate that building, we're not spending our money there. We

We Interrupt This Blog for Something Amazing...

2013-04-15T14:52:00.001+01:00

My brother and the peeps of the jtography film crew have done it again, but this time with a life-changing moment of epicness... Watch, and read, and pass on.

Adventures and Happiness

2013-04-13T23:40:00.000+01:00

Sign hanging in 'Derrick's Tea Room'. We had a real holiday! My two big boys and I went to Cheddar Gorge. We climbed mountains. It rained. Our legs are stiff and the inside of the car (which was CLEANED last weekend) is astoundingly muddy. It was amazing. More later, I'm going to sleep!

Wide Horizons

2013-04-08T21:57:00.000+01:00

Boscombe Pier, Wednesday There have been some pretty amazing skies in Dorset lately. On Sunday morning Max and I drove to the airport and the sunrise colours changed every minute. Pink, golden; the mist rose in the New Forest; trees were silhouetted against the backdrop; golden, orange, silver. We kept saying, "Look, look!" And then I kissed my youngest son goodbye, and he went off with the

I've Been a Busy Bee

2013-04-03T22:50:00.000+01:00

It's nice to feel creative. I'm not sure if it's just the arrival of spring, or finally releasing Margo, or just a mind set, or getting into the part-time-work groove, or all of the above; but I've got that lovely feeling of possibility. It helps that I've had another feature published in the lovely Aquila magazine, the best magazine for kids that I know of. I got my April 2013 issue in the

Could This be Spring?

2013-04-02T22:12:00.000+01:00

Gratuitous John Cleese Pic So the sun is still shining! Tomorrow after work I'm going to go for a walk on the beach with a friend, because if there's one thing we know about Summer in England, THIS MIGHT BE IT! I don't want to miss it and be listening to the radio going, "... millions traumatized by shortest summer on record" and wish I had been there, you know? In other news, my personal

Informative Teen Infographic

2013-04-01T20:00:00.000+01:00

I just love Sam's cartoon, for so many reasons. "Nooo... Anything but the triple shot!" I notice the panel where the hero cleans up the mess is missing... It's holiday time! There are hordes of hungry boys here, and one girl. She has very wisely hooked up with the neighbours, who are doing girly things. You learn a thing or two, when eleven year olds are hanging out and forget you're

Good Day, Sunshine

2013-03-31T16:39:00.002+01:00

maggie and millie and molly and may went down to the beach (to play one day) and maggie discovered a shell that sang so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and millie befriended a stranded star whose rays five languid fingers were; and molly was chased by a horrible thing which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and may came home with a smooth round stone

All the Things You Can Get Done While Babysitting a Toddler

2013-03-24T13:46:00.000Z

So I said to myself, "Hey, it'll be good to have a weekend at home babysitting the Niece of Awesomeness. I can get a few things done around the house." BHAHAHAHAHA! In theory, you might think "Clean bathroom while toddler plays in bath. Proof read and complete article at nap time. Enjoy baking a carrot cake together." This mother of three should have known better. But I've had the best

Beginnings!

2013-03-21T09:26:00.001Z

Or, re-beginnings! Freelancing (all writing, in fact) took a bit of a nosedive while I worked a full time job, crashed my laptop, adored a kitten, shook my fist at the weather, turned 40, handled family upheavals, said goodbye to my granny and was generally fabulous-but-distracted. As you are sometimes. I'm all organized to get back into the freelancing thing. TOTALLY ORGANIZED, INSPIRED and

Celebrating a Special Lady

2013-03-15T08:30:00.005Z

Margo passed away peacefully yesterday. Thank you for all of your good wishes to her. We will try not to cry too many tears...Tonight we will dance and sing and raise a toast in her honour. That is what she would have wanted!

Margo

2013-03-14T11:32:00.000Z

Margo is now ninety-six and a half. Recently her zest for life and her heart have both begun to fail, and Margo's indomitable fighting spirit is giving in. She's in a home now in Trinidad where she is loved and respected. My mum spends many days there with her, singing, reading letters and remembering. I'm in tears now. But if you know Margo, and so many people do, don't think of her dozing in

Hopeful Spring Dance!

2013-03-12T13:07:00.000Z

Pic Courtesy Sam I know, spring is taking AGES to come. But take heart! My birthday is on Friday (40!!!) and I've placed an order for a gorgeous, sunny weekend to share with all my peeps. If the sunny gorgeousness arrives on time, you will find me hiking on the clifftops and drinking hot chocolate somewhere. If it rains, well, I've got the same plan but with hats and gloves!

Waiting Made Easy

2013-03-08T13:19:00.000Z

Assisting cat nap While the rain falls down again I am a cat lap I'm typing this on the iPad, which involved signing kids out and signing myself in and getting a text with my verification code to type in because I'm uber-secrutiy here... All very fiddly. Both household laptops have gone off to the neighbourhood computer shop to get some geek love. So I'm waiting to get them back. Mine is

It's okay, cuz I'm not often a treacherous old hag. Apparently.

2013-02-14T14:00:00.001Z

Quote of the week, from Sam: "That's ok mum. It's not often you carry on like a treacherous old hag." In reply to my "Sorry about the bad mood guys, blame it on the weather, PMS, whatever you like." Sandra Boynton's Cow Yup, I had a few days of WASHING THE DISHES LOUDLY, muttering under my breath while cooking (very hag-like I agree), and saying "Somebody had better move that sock before I

I'm Only Writing This to Prove I Can Stay Up Past 9

2013-02-06T21:41:00.000Z

Greetings, from the desk of the corporate working, freelancing supermom of exhausted fabulousness. I've finished writing an article this week on the joys of boredom, and in the process I realised that the BEST boring times of my childhood were spent in detention. Detention was in the library, once a week, and I was often there for not doing my homework. So I spent a happy hour in my favourite

Yup, it Snowed!

2013-01-18T10:45:00.003Z

And it's still snowing. Half the neighbourhood has turned up to play, trailing wet things in and out, borrowing hats ("mine is wet!") and they are now half-undressed while the dehumidifier and the space heater crank out enough heat to defrost the North Pole. Jackets, trousers, socks, leggings, gloves and hats are draped everywhere. One inch of snow causes mass confusion, school closures and

Just Write Something, Already...

2013-01-17T12:59:00.000Z

I have to write, to get back into that groove. Even though I can't think of anything witty to say today. I'm looking at the grey sky and thinking, "Will it snow?" Maggie is curled up on my lap, purring loudly. She has had an entertaining morning of 'helping' me hang laundry on racks indoors. She viciously savaged her arch-nemesis PaperTowelRoll to death. She met the landlord's agent, who came