A quickie

Well I'm skint.  I'm working for pittance at the NHS on behalf of the agency.  Boohoo.  I miss all my uni friends and what makes it more frustrating is that they're all still working within the comforting happy learning walls of UCLan and I'm stuck working next to the old derelict spooky mental asylum in Whittingham.  Oh joy!

Still the old building fascinates me and has inspired a story so we'll see what comes of it.  I'm also entering a short story writing competition - 1000 words to be exact - in fact you may have heard of it as it's for the Lancashire Writing Hub.  So I won't be sharing any details of that just yet - can't have anyone stealing my ideas can I?

I'm starting a reading group with friends which I'm really excited about so I better hurry up and choose our first book!  It's looking like a ghost novel - there are 2 by good authors in that genre that have got my attention so far....I better hurry up and finish Nick HOrnby's Juliete, Naked.  Not a bad story but it hasn't bowled me over just yet but I am only up to chapter 10 so there is still time to be impressed. 

Must rush, night on the town planned with my best pal, Louise.  We'll be home and tucked up in bed by midnight because neither of us can handle the pace anymore.  I prefer supping real ale in olde worlde towns like York.  I was there with James a few weeks back and we're going again in December.  Also going to Sherwood Forest in 2 weeks too.  All my xmas presents are coming from far and wide this year!!!

Catch up properly soon

Cxx

Common Sense

While sitting with friends in the Mystery Tea Shop one afternoon it was brought to my attention that the final year at uni has well and truely fried my brain.  I once had a reasonable amount of common sense which seems to have been in the section of my brain that was cooked earlier this year.  Thank you degree, for making me an idiot on various occasions. 

Most recently for letting me destroy a table display in BHS. It was one of those 'knocking over the pyramid of baked beans'  moments.  Only salt and pepper mills.  Thankfully they weren't made of glass so nothing broke but the shop assistant wasn't best pleased.  This accident followed the one on Satuday when James gave me a can of beer to hold (I was on the bed watching a DVD) when chaos broke out.  The power in my laptop was running low so I paniked and we had this comical moment as James tried to find the power lead amongst the wires for my hair straightners and hair dryer etc.  Once calm had restored I saw the can, sitting on it's side on my bed and leapt up in the air shrieking.  Oh yes, beer soaked duvet.  It was on his side of the bed so it wasn't a complete disaster ;)  I never used to be so accident prone but according to my friends other things have happened to prove my loss of 'C.S'. 

My mind seems to go blank and I'm unable to do the simplest of tasks - it's very strange and frustrating.  I've just read the above paragraph - paniked is wrong but I can't for the life of me remember how to spell it!

Anyway - despite this lack of brain cell I will carry on being Claire, hence the new name for my blog.

I Write Like...

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Interview Interschmiew

I can't recollect how many interviews I've had.  Actually wait, I can because I've hardly had any because life sucks.  I've had about 4.  4 interviews, 1 offer, 2 cancelled interviews and several epic agency applications. The rest of my job applicating experience has involved hundreds of rejection letters, calls and emails.  And those the ones who bothered to let me know at all......

Finally I sign up with an agency that seems promising.  They're keen to get me work as I have an interesting CV.  My clerking experience certainly gets me kudos but I've learnt to stop telling people I'm a writer.  I'm now pursuing a career in Office Management by working my way up.....blah blah blah.  I just want a job with a decent rate of pay.  Is that much to ask?  Unfortunatly so do the thousands of other graduates and now to add to this A Level students aren't getting their places at college and are now going to add to the list of unemployed people.  I can't stand this unemployed malarky.  Okay, so I do have a job to go on to now but it isn't ideal - it's a 'stop gap'. 

Last week I had an interview for what would be my ideal job.  I thought, 'yeah, this will be an awesome opportunity, even if it's only a fixed term contract' but still, it seemed great.  I spent hours on the application form and was over the moon to get an interview.  I went to a lot of trouble to photocopy all the necessary documentation I had to take along with me.  I put together my portfolio, dressed up in my smart suit and walked into the room bearing my most confident smile and posture. 

Faced with a panel of 3 people, 2 of which I'd never be working with, I answered a whole FIVE questions.  FIVE questions.  Wow.  What a way to tease out the best from a candidate huh?  I felt patronised if anything.  I just wanted to explain how I would be perfect the job, not list 5 things a good customer advisor needs to have to carry out good customer service.  That is high school stuff for goodness sake.  The interview was unfair in my opinion, I had gone to a lot of trouble to find out more about the organisation, remembered facts and figures, had examples of my previous experience all thought out etc.  There was an opportunity to sell myself at the end, which I did but come Friday morning I was tearing up the rejection letter.  What do these people want?  My blood?

So perhaps this part time job is the way forward.  At least I'll have the opportunity to prove myself.  Who knows, ongoing may turn into permenant and 15 may turn into 35 hours.  I hope so.  Otherwise I'm gonna have to claim housing benefit and I'm not altogether sure if I'm entitled.  I'm never entitled to anything like that. 

On the road to somewhere (just not sure where)...

Oh how I heart money when I have it and hate it when I have none which more than often the case.  I think I'm destined to work hard and never have any. 

Today is one those days.  It's pouring down with rain outside and quite frankly, matches my mood.  I woke up bright and early, tidied up my room - I've just moved and my belongings are in a state of chaos.  I don't think I stored enough in dad's shed.  I left the house to take a few things to the post office. 

Item number one is yet another epic job application form for a position with the Open University.  I haven't a cat's chance in hell but I'll waste 2 first class stamps sending it anyway.

Item number two is a parcel.  I ordered some bits of jewellery on asos.com only for them to send me the wrong thing.  These are Xmas presents so fair enough, no immediate rush but still - you'd think they could get the order right.  Thankfully I don't have to pay for the postage for this.

Item number three is something I sold on ebay and didn't charge enough postage for because I'm a jackass.  I better get good feedback.

While standing in the never ending queue I remembered the last of my bursary is due in my account this week.  After sorting out the parcels I checked my balance.  Not in yet.  Damn it.  I need this money to live off, don't these people realise how crucial it is for us jobless graduates to get our bursaries asap?  Especially us hard working jobless graduates.  Stuff the lazy ones!  I bet all the lazy ones have got theirs now and they're all living at mummy and daddy's house so they're all spending it on clothes.  Another thing to annoy me today.  Grrr.

Then I went to the old house to pick up the two last possessions residing there.  A plant and a push bike.  Now getting a push bike into a citreon saxo is a skill.  I managed to get in there when I picked it up but can I do it again?  There I was, in the pouring rain, my jeans getting wetter by the second as I tried to get the bike into the car.  The chain fell off so the option of riding the bike to my new residence went right out the window.  In the end I took it back inside and rescued the plant J's mum gave me.

The plant is meant to be planted in a flower bed and left to creep up a trellis.  It's a honey suckle plant.  Because I didn't know whether I was coming or going I left the plant in it's pot and is has done rather well considering.  As I stepped into the garden I realised the rest of the garden life had done well too.  The wet grass was up to my knees....jeans are well and truely soaked by this point. 

I got the plant into the car without too much trouble and carefully transported it to mum's house.  She has a trellis in need of coverage, I think she'll love the honey suckle.  Did I mention I don't warn my parents about these things?  They're not in today, they're at the hospital learning about Type 2 Diabeties.  I wish I could have been there too - I'd like to know more about it so I can look after my dad when mum goes away in October.

While at mother's I'm checking my emails and writing this blog.  I have no internet sorted out yet.  I think I've persuaded my ever suffering parents to buy me a laptop for my birthday or at least half of one to put with the money I'll attempt to get for my PC but one cannot assume things can one?  So a writer without a computer and  without the internet is a frustrated writer who is going to forget everything that is stored up in her little head.  I do write things down but I feel lost without my spell check.  My stories take forever to write by hand and then I'll have the tedious task of typing them all out.  Yes I can copy type over 65 words a minute but that isn't the point is it? 

So there you have it, I'm all angsty and annoyed.  I've also forgotten the point of this blog.  I have got a job.  A crap part time admin job.  A crap small number of hours for a crap hourly rate.  Crap.  My word of the day.  Still, people keep telling me that it wouldn't do me any harm to get my foot in the door at this place so I guess it's worth a try and hell, it's better than nothing and I won't have transport costs because it's a stone throw away from my new home.  So if I don't get that laptop for my birthday, I guess I can always sell the car but then that restricts where I work in the future and I can't get to mum's house and I'll need it when I look after dad.........you see, I hate money when it isn't on my side.

Bittersweet

This week has been one of the most emotional weeks I’ve ever experienced. The fact I’ve graduated has finally sunk in as we finish off our intern projects, and the rest of the office prepares for its closure tomorrow. Thank you and farewell cards have been signed, hugs and words of encouragement have been exchanged and tears have been shed.

I have no idea what I’m doing for a living until I get a job. I’m applying for all sorts of things, I have the intention to write articles and send them off in the hope someone will publish them. I want to build up a portfolio so I can start getting paid for my work. I will get work experience in publishing houses – keeping my hand in an industry which may move up to the North West in the next coming years. I’m waiting for the BBC to commence recruitment for the Administration section of their Salford Quays development, and somehow, among all this, I will save up for my flat with James and keep writing fiction (again, submitting stories until someone publishes me. I will get published!).

Now the majority of my work for the Lancashire Cookbook has been completed, I’m taking a moment to reflect on the last few years because in all honesty, I haven’t had much time to and putting it into writing helps so I have something to look back on.

I’ve grown in confidence as far as my writing is concerned and as a person. I am more confident because I believe in myself and know that I am capable of anything. Learning to love myself is probably the highest hurdle I’ve had to overcome but once I got over it, the rest was a doddle. So many friends, old and new have helped me along this amazing journey. I’ve watched some of these friends on their own journeys, becoming mothers, wives and successful in whatever they’ve done.

I’ve fallen in love with the most amazing man in the whole world – in fact he has become my world.

And best of all; I’ve made my friends and family really proud of me and the fact I have no job lined up just yet hasn’t stirred any judgements, accusations or negative feelings within any of them. They’re just proud of what I’ve achieved and that will always mean a lot to me.

It’s the end of an era and I’m a quivering wreck of emotion which is sadness, anxiety and happiness.

Chicken Soup

Job seeking aside, I'm loving this cooking malarky!  With 3 days til pay day and cupboards all bare I wondered how I was going to make 3 chicken breasts last me.  I say bare cupboards but I still had left over barley, a box of cornflour and plenty of stock cubes sitting around.  So I've thrown the lot together with some chopped parsley and voila, a thick chunky tastey chicken soup to last me until pay day.

Down in the Dumps

The dept I have been working for these last 18 months or so is being dissolved.  It only had funding to run for 5 years so we all knew this time would come.  What we didn't know was that jobs were going to be hard to come by.  The jobs are there, it's just harder to get an interview.  It's frustrating and we're all rather unhappy with our lot.  So we'll be marching to the nearest temp agency in order to avoid joining the ever increasing special brew crew in the Peace Garden near the Media Factory. 

I do have an interview on Monday at long last, just getting an interview has made me feel happier.  Interviews I don't have problems with, it's the job applications that seem to be the problem.  I hate doing everything online, I'm sure my cv is just lost in a big black hole somewhere.  And when I do get acknowledgement, it's usually a rejection.  It is actually a horrific experience this job seeking lark but I'll be damned if I have to sign on.  I've never signed on in my life and I don't want to start now.

Pain

Pain comes in different forms, shapes and sizes.  Some people think their pain is worse than someone else's, others think someone else's pain is worse than theirs.  Whether pain is mental or physical and no matter how severe or slight it may be, I don't think you can compare one person's pain to another's. 

Apologies for the 'deep' blog but it's a thought on the forefront of my mind today and I wanted to share it.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

After the Cook Off we had quite a few ingredients left over.  As the girls like to bake they kept the flour etc and I took away the left over vegetables, stock and herbs.  What was I to do with all these things?  What all eating establishments do at the end of the week.  Make a special!  So I'm in the process of roasting the vegetables (covered in olive oil, herbs and seasoning) and simmering some barley.  By the end of today I'm hoping to have a rather tastey roasted vegetable soup simmering on the stove - my personal chef will be here later to taste it and give me his verdict. 

Homemade soup can be frozen and heated up easily so in future, don't throw out your left overs - throw it all in a pot and see what happens! 

FYI

The veg I'm using is an unusual mixture of courgette, carrot, kale cabbage, celery, onion, chesnut mushrooms and garlic.  I'm using fresh rosemary and parsley with the added assistance of olive oil, salt, pepper and vegetable stock.  I'm going to crumble some tangy Lancashire Cheese into the bowls before serving.

Lancashire Cook Off

So I've been heavily involved with the editing of UCLanPublishing's Lancashire Cooking book.  It's going to be a cracking little book, to be sold in Waterstones, Preston with all proceeds going to the homeless charity, Shelter.  With the Hairy Bikers, Paul Heathcote and Nick Park on board we've also been in touch with local food suppliers, merchants etc for exclusive interviews, recipes and features.  We delve into the history of food with a look at both the shipping and industrial revolution and how those had a great impact on food.  Obviously I cannot divulge any trade secrets-you will have to buy the book when it hits the shelves in Autumn. 

Last week we organised a Cook Off in order to test the recipes that have been contributed and invented.  The recipes were all fun to make and include variations of hotpots, cakes, puddings and other tasty treats.  Spending an entire day rolling out pastry, chopping veg, baking things, cooking things and doing a lot of washing up; we found ourselves hitting exhaustion!  A photographer took photos, her dog liked our chicken so much she ate it when our backs were turned for one second! 

I appreciate what my boyfriend does for a living alot more than I did before.  He cooks for hundreds of people 5 days a week - sometimes 7!  Now I know why he likes a very long lie in at the weekend. 

We took our meals and cakes into the office where they were greatly received.  Everyone loved every morsel and myself, Vic and Fiona are extremely pleased. 

Update in a Nut Shell

I graduated with a 2:1!!!  Hooray!!!

Still no job.  Boo!!!

Still on board with the Lancashire Cooking Book project.  Yay!!!

Goodreads.com

I've found another way to share my favourite/current reads with the world.  You can rate, write reviews and blog all things book related!

Claire's bookshelf: read




More of Claire's books »

Thoughtful

I’ve got to move things around

My phone is vibrating but I

Don’t know who it is. Ghosts

Keep walking around and I can’t

Get to the tables. I think I can

Hear water flowing from taps

And there are people laughing.

I can see balloons, a mouse running

And now I think I heard a fast car

Or was it a jumbo jet? When I

Sleep tonight, if I can go to sleep,

I’ll see flashing lights, little stars

And count the flying fish. If they

vanish I’ll picture giraffes leaping

over rainbows Instead.

Little Bird

Little Bird




A little bird loses his wings.

He will have to live on the ground.

Harm is what it will bring.

He is too scared to make a sound,

And he will no longer sing.



The breeze will move the leaves,

Around him so he has some shelter.

Safety, the little bird achieves,

But trouble comes and he will welter,

And other birds will grieve.

Henry

1.




He can’t be bothered

going to work, to face

the tower of paper

that sits on his desk,



and spend half the day

on the phone to IT

because something

keeps beeping at him.



He wouldn’t be noticed

by anyone all day. They

think he’s too old to

say anything interesting.



But if he doesn’t show up,

his absence will be noticed

and his P45 will land on his

doorstep in tomorrow’s post.



2.



“I’ll get a coffee,” he

says to himself and

he recalls a greasy

spoon nearby.



Nancy’s Cafe. You

take a seat, a lady

takes your order and

the coffee comes to you.



But Nancy’s has turned

into Starbucks – it takes

three people to make a

cup of coffee. Henry sighs.



He dodges pushchairs,

squeezes past tables

and trips over handbags

to join a long queue.



Mochas and Frappachinos,

where is the normal coffee?

Henry just wants a coffee!

Fair Trade? At £3.10 a cup?



A teenager asks for his

order in a monotone voice.

Another takes his money

and counts the change slowly.



3.



Henry goes to the office,

his white shirt stained

with coffee because drinking

from cardboard is new to him.



Five of his colleagues have

pointed and laughed.

He sits down and hides

behind his paper towers.



The highlight of the day

is lunch. His colleagues

go to the pub. Henry is

left alone at his desk.



Henry is happy to eat his

cheese and pickle sandwich,

undisturbed by laughter

and ringing telephones.



4.



The phone never rings,

he thinks the clock is broken,

it’s been half past three

for the last two years.



5.



He walks home while

his colleagues go to the

pub but Henry hasn’t

got the invitation to join.



He can’t be bothered going

home. Most people can’t

wait to get home. But there

is no-where else for him to go.



6.



Henry goes to the shop

on his way home. He buys

the evening paper, bread

and a tin of soup for one.



He gets home and changes

into his dressing gown and

slippers. Both are full of holes

but nobody will ever see them.



His house is empty, just

shelves full of books on

birds and wildlife. Why

would he read about people?



Henry feeds his two canaries,

who sit still on their perches.

They don’t care for Henry, as

he for them. They want food.



7.



He has his soup and bread

sitting on a tray on his lap.

The evening news begins;

a man has been missing



for 20 years and the family

have given up on him. Henry

thinks it’s been so long since

he saw his. Have they given up?

Glove

A red glove on a path


Wet from a rainfall

Does somebody miss it?

It has no place now



Useless without its

Other half its fate

Now left to the tarmac

The people walking by



Left to be kicked away

Be hidden by leaves

So it won’t be seen

And will be forgotten

My childhood hero, Robin Hood has returned upon his white steed!

Having spent the first 11 years of my life in Nottinghamshire, the myth of Robin Hood became one of my favourite folktales. Every school trip that I can remember involved the Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood’s Bay, visits to where Nottingham Castle once stood and going underground into the caves. I remember the attraction, The Tales of Robin Hood on Maid Marion Way (unfortunately this has closed down now) and it makes me smile when I see city roads named after the characters from the story.

I have watched many film adaptations about my favourite legend so when the latest hit our big screens at the weekend I was in a hurry to see it. I have to say, this particular film put a little fire in my belly. My childhood hero is back and made more real than ever before. I loved the light heartedness of the previous 1991 version but it was cheesy. Russell Crowe’s own interpretation of Robin is a remarkable one in my opinion and the white horse he rides adds to the heroic theme.

The legend is over 700 years old, going as far back as the 13th Century. Robin Hood did not really exist but for those who needed a hero, someone like Robin would have been a symbol to look to in times of crisis. Iterations of Robin Hood reappeared during periods of political tumult and one can’t help but smile at the timing of this new film’s release! Robin Hood gave the poor a spirit of hope.

For those who don’t know much about the legend, this new film is about how the legend came about, should Robin have existed and I strongly recommend you go and see this film for yourself:

http://www.robinhoodthemovie.co.uk/share.html

My Personal Library

I have a small collection of books that I haven't read. Now and then I've picked them up, bought them with the intention of reading them but it never happened. Why? Because I'm the slowest reader in the world and the books for my course were more important. I'm finally at that point of life that I was looking forward to. Finishing uni and being able to read what I like! This includes blogs too. I need to read more blogs and follow more blogs because I have been on here for 12 months and have 6 followers! My own fault. Anyway, back to the books. I have a lovely collection which my mum borrowed so they weren't gathering dust. So this is my reading list for the next few months (it will be months because I'm so slow):

Ash - Malinda Lo. A lovely 'crossover' novel which I picked up last week. Why? Because it sounds like a Cindrella story (my favourite story as a little girl) and the cover is adorable. Yes, I judge books by their covers. I'm a marketing department's dream come true!

a swift pure cry - Siobhan Down. Another 'crossover' which I thought I'd read but I don't think I finished it because I had to get through the Lancs book award short list instead. I can't remember so I'll have to read it again.

The Divide - Nicolas Evans. I loved reading his books before I came to uni. My favourite was the Horse Whisperer (don't let the film put you off reading this-it was completely different from the book), then The Loop and then The Smoke Jumpers. This one is a different kind of story to the others so it will be an interesting read.

Enduring Love - Ian McEwan. I've only read Atonement which I thought was beautifully written. I know this story is more contemporary. Unfortunately I've seen the film and I can't help but think adaptations can tarnish your reading of the book. We'll see what happens.

The Island - Victoria Hislop. This was mentioned on the TV Book Club last week. It is being made into a Greek television series. Apparently it's the biggest series the Greeks have made for television.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale. I'm looking forward to this one, a contemporary novel set in the Victorian era.

The Other Hand - Chris Cleaver. No idea what this one is about, mum bought this one. She said I'll probably enjoy it because it's about love and friendship or something along those lines. I think!

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro. This was recommended to me by one of the biggest book worms I know. Apparently it is simply amazing so we'll see if it was worth spending money on!

The Outcast - Sadie Jones. A love story set in the 50s but again written in the 21st Century. Mum didn't rave about this one but she said it was alright. What we have to remember is that my mum is a fan of the mystery genre so I have to make up my own mind really.

In the Presence of Horses - Barbara Dimmick & The Hearts of Horses - Molly Gloss: Mum said one of these focused too much on all things equestrian. I'm excited to read it because I'm a horsey person anyway, that and apart from the Horse Whisperer I haven't come across equestrian themed books (oh, and Jilly Cooper's Riders).

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold. Okay I admit it, I saw the film. I couldn't wait until I'd read the book. I have a feeling there is more to her murder than the film suggested. A tear jerker me thinks! Still, the film provided me a nice image of what the inbetween world looks like. I'm not sure how I could imagine a place like that in my mind.

Angels in my Hair - Lorna Byrne. This one is a 'true story' about an Irish woman who discovered she had psychic powers or something. My mum wants this back when I've finished with it so I'm assuming it was quite good (?).

The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins. This book was compared to with so many of the books I had read on my course that I'm extremely curious about it. I should have read it during my time at uni but you have no idea how time just seemed to escape from me and like I said before, I'm the slowest reader I know. I wish I could speed up but I think so much as I read!

So there we have it. Plenty to keep me busy. My boyfriend will be disappointed a horror isn't included. I'm sure it won't be long before he pushes one into my hand.

I'm 6 chapters into Ash and really enjoying it. So far it has been quite sad so I have to keep reading to make sure Ash finds herself in a happier place.

Creativity never stops...

Well today I handed in the last of my assignments. It's all over now. Well that is what you think. There are a couple of exciting guest lectures and workshops coming up at UCLan so I can't put my notebook away just yet. In fact I never will, I am so determined to become a good writer that I'll always have a notebook with me. I've just bought a lovely bag on ebay, small enough to carry around everywhere, enough colours in it to go with most outfits and big enough for a book, note pad and pen! Finishing university is sad but so exciting at the same time! I'm so glad I work there too because I'm not ready to leave those protective academic walls just yet!

Book Award Fun

Well unfortunately I cannot disclose anything in respect of the Lancashire Children's Book Award! Not until it has taken place anyway. It was a great day though, got to meet new people and have wonderful discussions and share my opinions on some wonderful texts. The children will be voting on their favourite book so it will be interesting to see which one wins. It has been great to have had the opportunity to take part in something so exciting.

Almost Over

This morning I sat my exam for the Victorian Literature module. I think the majority of the group were feeling sick with nerves, concerned the questions would not match up with what they had revised (that was my fear anyway). I had concentrated on the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins, The Turn of the Screw and The Importance of Being Earnest. 3 very different forms of text. I researched the writers' backgrounds, any theory concepts that linked to their work etc etc etc. Although I tried to thin out my revision notes with what some call 'mind mapping' charts (I call them spider webs) I still found myself scanning masses of paper. Yet I wasn't convinced it would be enough.
We seated ourselves at desks, and the allocated reading time was ten minutes. I had to answer a question from Section A and another from Section B. I made a quick note of key words etc but I was confident. The questions were perfect and I started writing furiously. One of my tutors gave a sly smile as I had to stop and give my hand a good shake, writer's cramp was setting in but there was still a good fourty five minutes left. The two hours flied by. It wasn't enough time! I had so much more to write but had to stop. I had given the spelling a quick check but grammar was the last thing on my mind. I just hoped the right information was there, that I had fulfilled the criteria.
Since the exam I have had a dull headache and that deflated feeling. I feel like I've been drained of blood but instead I've just had to release all my new found knowledge. When I first came to uni I never gave a thought to what studying can do to you physically!
Well it's all over now. I have some pieces of work to hand in on Thursday but they're almost finished. My degree is in sight and I'm putting plans into action for graduation parties and celebrations. Right now thought, I'm going to have a lovely, long, well deserved sleep. xxx...zzzzzzzz

Please Read....

my edited post from September 2009. I've replaced my ramblings with a poem I wrote recently. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any thoughts on amending it, please let me know. A poet's work is never finished!

The Doors Alive Tribute Band

Just a quick stop by to say hello. Got lots of poetry and stories to share with everyone but a little bit busy at the moment. Finish uni in less than 2 weeks! Yay! So hopefully I can become more involved with blogging and Preston's writing network. In the meantime, if you're not sampling ales at the continental on Friday the 14th May, please come to 53 Degrees. My brother's band; Stephen James Buckley & The Feverdreamers will be supporting the UK's best Doors Tribute band, The Doors Alive. I will be there celebrating my release from academia so please come. Tickets are available via the Lancashire Tickets website or the Student Union reception on Fylde Road.

Dissertation Dramas and Baby Wipes

This time in five weeks I'd have finished all my uni work. My dissertation is due a week on Monday. I started working on it over summer last year and had hoped it would be in by now. No such luck. Writing a novella seems to have taken me a great deal of time. Writing the perfect story takes months! I wonder if I'll have the patience to write a complete novel? I wonder if the likes of JK Rowling, Marian Keyes, Brian Keene, Nicholas Evans etc worry about punctuation and repetition of words? Or do their editors do it all? I have read my story, Pony Tales, so that many times that it bores me to death and sometimes, when I'm trying to make sure the punctuation is where it should be, the words merge together into a big blob of black. 16 pages, 7500 words and 9 drafts have taken a good 9 months to write but I think I've done it. I've exhausted myself and I'm ready to hand it in.

Last week the final amendments were interrupted with the news of my niece. My brother found out he was a father to a 5 week old baby girl. It was quite the shock but most of the family have responded well to this news. Emily, now 6 weeks is a beautiful little blue eyed girl who is going to have the best aunty anyone could ask for. I've been eying up little pink dresses, white booties and cute cuddly toys to present to this lovely little girl. I cannot wait for her to get a bit older so I can babysit and play with her. If I ever end up getting married I'll have a little flower girl to join me at the alter. If I have children of my own she will have someone to play with. All of a sudden the possibilities, the future as well as the present have been turned on their head by the appearance of this little girl. My brother is proud to be her father and doing the things I never expected him to do (like changing nappies). The family will have some adjusting to do but this is one of the most exciting things that could happen to a family. New babies just bring smiles and joy and peace and laughter. I think a story may be brewing in my mind. Oh and that is the other ace thing I can't wait to do. Write her stories and read fairy tales to her.

But now last week has passed, a wonderful Easter weekend has slipped by and I'm back at my desk, typing furiously away on statements, critiques and essays. xxx