It is ironic. I have led a Writer's group for several years called Writer's Block and can honestly say I have never experienced Writer's block as I understood the meaning. I can write for England. I can write when I am 'up' and I can write when I am 'down'. I can write in bed, at home, in the park, by the sea. I can write anywhere, any time.
As you may know I have decreed 2015 as my big WRITE year. So far I have sent pieces for competitions, booked myself on a Woman's Weekly Fiction writing workshop in London and a two week Writing Retreat in Skyros. I have re-acquainted myself with my 27,000 words of a novel I started sometime ago. And Wham! Writer's Block hits. So I press on with another competition piece then when it is complete and ready to send, Wham, there it is again. That voice in my head that says 'stop, don't send it'; 'it's not good enough', 'you can't have that in print'. Reasons back up my thoughts and they make sense, so I heed my own advice but then feel lost. What do I do now? Even blogging ideas were blocked.
Well, I have been reading things about writing; I have been reading a Man Booker Prizewinner story (I found FIVE 'and's in one sentence - surely this is a no no - but hey what do I know she won awards); I have been pondering what I should do about my novel. I also watched a You Tube video recording of an author debating the use of 'first person' and 'third person' which was very useful to hear.
Last night I hardly slept. I'm sure you have nights when something on your mind; something you or someone else said that day, goes round and round in your head whilst sleep evades you. I used the tactics I suggest others try when insomnia becomes a problem, but to no avail.
A new title, a new way of writing the same thing came to me. I wanted to leap out of bed at 3 am and start writing! Such Joy. So I am thrilled to say, my temporary lapse, hopefully is ended. I will start afresh using some of what I have already written in a new way. Hope it works!
Friday 30 January 2015
Wednesday 21 January 2015
ONLY A POUND
Have British shops gone mad with the pound? Everywhere you look there are signs in all manner of shops and supermarkets advertising goods for sale for ONLY £1. Do credit us consumers with some intelligence, we are not daft, we can work out that actually you are doing us no favours and that the said item is either marked up or down for your sales pitch. We will only buy what we need and as the recession hasn't been pronounced ended, we will continue to make rational decisions about whether we pay £1 in your store or go elsewhere.
For example, cherry tomatoes at Only £1 in one supermarket are actually only 49p in another for the same amount. No sign saying 'Only', they just are very much cheaper.
The store Poundland may have started it all off as they have grown and grown in popularity, followed closely by Home Bargains, Poundstretcher and other similiar stores. Why do we think we are getting a bargain if it costs a pound or less? They are making a profit on that theory but actually quality and quantity should always be taken into account. We may have become accustomed to buying all manner of food and household items under one roof, so it is arguable that 'shopping around' for better value is a waste of time and effort and that the little margin of financial difference is not worth it either.
But people are, it seems, voting with their feet. They are shopping around more. Large supermarket chains are suffering as a result. What goes around, comes around is a saying that fits here. I remember as a child shopping with mother, going to the grocers, the butchers, the newsagents, the school uniform shop, the bank etc etc etc. They were seperate buildings, we walked from one to the other. We had milk and soft drinks delivered to the door, a fishmonger came weekly in a van, and a greengrocer sold vegetable in our street from his vehicle. Ice cream too could be purchased in the road if you had a big enough container. We were fitter and leaner, thriftier and just as happy. Now, however, one does not even have to leave the living room as on-line shopping is available and delivered ready for your cupboards, fridge and freezer making us lazier or filling our time with other persuits, some of us are not so lean or careful with our money, and many are not so happy.
Turn a blind eye to those ONLY signs, turn a deaf ears to those Must Have advertisements on the television and in magazines, be content with what you have, what you can afford and how you live. You ONLY have one life, be happy.
For example, cherry tomatoes at Only £1 in one supermarket are actually only 49p in another for the same amount. No sign saying 'Only', they just are very much cheaper.
The store Poundland may have started it all off as they have grown and grown in popularity, followed closely by Home Bargains, Poundstretcher and other similiar stores. Why do we think we are getting a bargain if it costs a pound or less? They are making a profit on that theory but actually quality and quantity should always be taken into account. We may have become accustomed to buying all manner of food and household items under one roof, so it is arguable that 'shopping around' for better value is a waste of time and effort and that the little margin of financial difference is not worth it either.
But people are, it seems, voting with their feet. They are shopping around more. Large supermarket chains are suffering as a result. What goes around, comes around is a saying that fits here. I remember as a child shopping with mother, going to the grocers, the butchers, the newsagents, the school uniform shop, the bank etc etc etc. They were seperate buildings, we walked from one to the other. We had milk and soft drinks delivered to the door, a fishmonger came weekly in a van, and a greengrocer sold vegetable in our street from his vehicle. Ice cream too could be purchased in the road if you had a big enough container. We were fitter and leaner, thriftier and just as happy. Now, however, one does not even have to leave the living room as on-line shopping is available and delivered ready for your cupboards, fridge and freezer making us lazier or filling our time with other persuits, some of us are not so lean or careful with our money, and many are not so happy.
Turn a blind eye to those ONLY signs, turn a deaf ears to those Must Have advertisements on the television and in magazines, be content with what you have, what you can afford and how you live. You ONLY have one life, be happy.
Saturday 10 January 2015
Nicker or Quid
Listening to a Quiz Show on television last night I heard the word 'Nicker'. I had missed the question but somewhere in the recess of my mind I knew this word from way back. I pondered on its meaning then searched on the computer for an answer. It's my pound! A 'Nicker' is slang for one pound. I knew that meaning a long time ago but had forgotten it. The word doesn't seem to be used anymore. It sounds more like an undergarment than a currency, or someone who steels stuff from shops!
Perhaps 'Nicker' was taken over by the word 'Quid' - another of our English colloquialisms? Other words for one pound are:
Perhaps 'Nicker' was taken over by the word 'Quid' - another of our English colloquialisms? Other words for one pound are:
- Smacker (sounds a bit violent to me!)
- Smackeroo (Australian influence maybe?)
- Oner (not to be mixed up with a onesie)
- Oncer (as above)
- Sovereign (well it does have the Queen's head on it)
Tuesday 6 January 2015
One hunded pennies
Has the younger generation not heard of the saying : 'if you look after the pennies the pounds will take care of themselves'? I ask this because today a young man behind me in the checkout queue at the supermarket dropped 2p and openly told his friend he couldn't be bothered to pick it up. It is not the first time I have come across 'copper litter'. I used to have occasion with my work to go into local High Schools and by the gates, path to the entrance or in the playground I could have picked up 50p or more. I don't want to appear miserly or hard done by so rarely pick up dropped coins in view of others but it exasperates me.
A purse or pocket full of coppers, granted, is heavy and unwanted but take them home and pop them in a pot. This is my solution and have done it for as long as I can remember. When the pot is full count it up and take it to the bank to exchange for 'useful' currency. Or, these days there are money counter/converter machines in the foyer of some large supermarkets.
Being thrifty isn't just for hard times. Today I have converted pennies into pounds - £15 pounds to be precise. £5 in coppers, £9 in clothes (recycling payment from Cash for Clothes £4 and a £5 Marks and Spencer's voucher for recycled M&S items given to Oxfam) and redeemed my scratch card win of £1.
Come on lads and lasses, pick up your pennies and makes some pounds!
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