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

Claire's Christmas Cracker

Well the first semester is over already. Just handed in my essay today. I think its the best essay I've written yet. Hopefully my marks will say the same thing! I've really enjoyed the film and literature module. I certainly won't be too quick to say the film is crapper than the book now I know all the ins and outs of adaptations!
I'm not quite ready for Christmas yet. Got a few bits and need to buy a few more, it's never ending really isn't it? This Christmas is going to be a very special and exciting one.
Weather permitting, my good friend Jemma will be up from London, it was meant to be a surprise for me but she can't keep secrets! he he. It is also my first Christmas with James so I'm excited about that too. Jemma's mum has invited us both over for Christmas night for her cheese board and turkey sandwiches.
Today's snow of course, is the icing on my Christmas cake! I haven't seen snow like this since I was a little girl! This morning I was struggling to get up as usual so James went to have a shower and I rolled over for a little snooze. He came back in and threw snow at me! That woke me up!
I'm really excited, just to spend time with my family, also I'm cooking the dinner for the first time (did a practise run yesterday) too. So its just going to be a really good Christmas :) Hope you all have a good time too! xx

Long Time No Speak

Once again I left it months before I bother to post a blog. I'm not very good am I? Yet I can waste plenty of time on Facebook talking nonsense!

Well I'm almost at the end of the first semester which means I'm half way through my final year at University and so far so good. The first draft of my dissertation has been handed in, reviewed and I'm currently working on the second. I've finally got a 2:1 in an English Lit assignment so I'm buzzing about that too. My elective module hasn't really taken off yet. I'm involved in the production of an in house publication for the University known as Impact. I go and interview lecturers and find out what sort of research they do for the courses they teach etc. I like talking to various members of university staff and finding out what goes into degree courses.

My internship with ceth has been a busy one. Vic and I have been asked to do kinds of things for the publishing house. We're creating lots of databases for MA students and assist with the planning of a Crossover Fiction Conference that will be going ahead next year. I'm fairly new to crossover, I've never picked up a copy of Harry Potter in my life and it turns out there is much more out there! There are all kinds of questions being asked and I'm finding it fascinating. I'm currently working my way through a novel called Uglies while I battle with Atonement for my Film and Literature module.

Speaking of Film and Literature....this has turned out to be a really interesting course. Films are adaptations of the novels they're based on and we forget that when we see the film. We always walk out of the cinema saying it was rubbish but I've learnt that films can never be exactly like the book. What helped me to understand more about this was our assignment. We had to take an extract from a novel and adapt it into a screen play, taking into account the camera angles, actions of the actors, props, scenes etc. It was really hard to do but I got there and got a good mark. So now, not only do I read differently but I watch films differently too. This course has been truely amazing to me.

I've had quite a few money problems this year. I only worked 10hrs a week over summer and that is when all the trouble started really. Come September when I received my student loan, money was going here there and everywhere as I caught up with myself but of course this has had consequences. So I sold all my good clothes, shoes and books on ebay. Even turned some jewellery into cash but I'm well and truely out of funds now, and I've nothing left to sell. My job at the uni is only 10hrs still so not enough to live on! My friends, family and boyfriend have been amazingly supportive and understanding about it though. Friends buy me lunch now and then, my boyfriend bought me a week's groceries last week (as well as taking me out to cheer me up) and my parents are stumping my rent this month. I want to throw them a party when I graduate so I can thank them all for being so patient, generous and understanding. Nobody can get through a degree without support...it is that support that keeps me going on the treadmill!

I tried to go back to the gym last month too. It worked for a couple of weeks but then I fell ill for a while. I'd got some sort of virus infection and it really knocked the wind out of my sails. I couldn't eat or sleep and had fever sometimes. I'm still not 100% but lots of TLC has done me good and I'm continuing to work as hard as I can. The gym is on the back burner now because I can't afford it which is a shame because I was really starting to enjoy the classes I was going to with my friend.

Despite my hurdles I keep on going and James has been wonderful. He took me out this weekend with his friends. Just for a few drinks on the Saturday and to a gig on Sunday night which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately I'm shattered now! I didn't drink much...I can't drink anymore but there wasn't much sleep involved and thats me wiped out for the week!

So I guess that is me up to date for now. I've no intention of planning Christmas until I've got my final assignment out of the way!

First Day Back - Fresh Start

The new academic year has not started without it's hic ups. Thankfully these were resolved and this week my classes & lectures have started. My literature module for this semester is looking at various novels and their film adaptations. Rather than a lecture followed by a seminar our tutor is treating it like a workshop. We read various novels and watch the film adaptations in our own time and then discuss them indepth in class. Today we looked at Edgar Allan Poe's The Fallen House of Usher and the 1960 film (with Vincent Price) House of Usher. Many of us watch adaptations and often see them as a violation of the novel so it is interesting to learn why these adaptations made. Novels from our past like 19th century literature are converted into films to provide us with a visual of what the times were like back then. What clothes were worn, what transport was used etc. The adaptation of contemporary novels are more often than not created for commercial reasons. We often see the best sellers turned into films and very often the plot is changed, characters have different relationships and the narrative disappears. If a novel can make so much money than it can make a good film too...the story earns respectiability as a novel so people run out to see the film. I can't wait to dig further into this and find out what all the critics of literature say. I've already been to the library and taken out various text books. The assignments for this module seem straight forward. Adapting an extract myself, a presentation (my group is doing it on Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events) and an essay. I'm confident I'll get good grades in this module.

My only other class for this semester is another publishing project. Not doing a book this time, instead I will be creating a leaflet for an arts provision in Preston. Haven't got any more details on this. Not until tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it and my friend's mum has lots of tips on marketing and promotion for me :)

My dissertation is already well under way and I'm really excited about it. The little class time I have this semester means I can spend quite a bit of time reading and writing. I'm determined to keep my grades up and finish my degree with a bang.

Unicorns of the Night

Dark blue sky hovers over a wonderful scene,
A herd of unicorns can be seen.
A filly drinks from a pool of cold water,
Quenching the thirst of this mystical daughter.

The stallion’s coat shines silver in the moonlight,
But by dawn he will be white.
His ivory horn illuminates his beautiful face.
Oh this magic image is something I must embrace!

He looks over his mare with protective eyes,
Watching the land where she lies.
He hopes no goblins will appear tonight,
Because they will ruin this evening’s delight.

A cluster of flowers lie close to the water’s edge,
Sweet nectar they pledge -
To the hummingbirds who fly amongst fairies,
Whose mischief makes the unicorns quite wary.

A thick mist sweeps over the enchanted land,
Hiding the volcanic sand.
Soon it will be dawn and the unicorns must go,
Or they will grow too hot under the sun’s glow.

Will Miss Her :(

My internet has been down over the last couple of weeks but this is what I wanted to post on 4th Sept:

I am currently in need of tea and sympathy as I have just waved my friend off to the bright lights of London.

So many people have come and gone from my life but I don’t think I have ever experienced a tearful goodbye. Not since I was a kid anyway. I met this friend just over a year ago, through other friends and we just clicked, as you do with some people. We became firm friends and did what girls do. We went out dancing, went to gigs, festivals, went shopping, went to the pictures or we’d stay in, drink lots of tea and eat pizza and chocolate. We did what any friends do, even when we had no money (which is often!), we’d always find something to do. She has this unusual quality that makes those around her act young and daft. She is probably one of the reasons why I don’t feel my age! Despite only knowing her a short time she became one of the few people I could confide in and trust and in return I too became someone she could trust.

She has gone to London because she’s a born performer and her ultimate ambition in life is to sing. She’s doing the thing screenwriters and authors write about all the time. Chasing her dream into the big bright lights, to where all the celebrities hang out. Some people will think that’s crazy but if you knew her you’d know that she is doing the right thing. I’ve every confidence in her and should it not work out, I won’t be disappointed either, she’s my friend and friends support one another.

From a selfish point of view I’m upset, what will I do on Monday afternoons when we’re usually wrestling with the clothes rails in charity shops or giggling over a sugar high in Neros? Who will come to festivals with me and sleep in the car? Who will encourage me to wear all things pink and girly? Who will watch stupid You Tube videos with me on Sunday evenings? There are so many things that we did together and I’m going to miss those times. We’ve always had fun and forgotten our troubles when we’ve gone out on random road trips etc.

But I wish her every ounce of luck in the world because I wish the best for her. If it hadn’t been for her not only would I have had to drink a white-chocolate-vanilla-syrup-cream-chocolate-covered mocha on my own but I wouldn’t have met my boyfriend either.

I haven’t said a proper goodbye because I will be going to visit her, even if it means catching the megabus and driving through the night to see her. Good friends are hard to come by and I only have a few of them so I treasure them and treat them like they’re my own family.
To add insult to injury my longest serving friend (we went to school together), has gone to Bulgaria for two weeks. Thankfully my gay friend is still around for shopping trips and sugar highs. Otherwise I’d have to resort to making whipped cream covered beverages at home and shop online which just isn’t quite the same is it?

Finally, before you reach for the tissues at my tale of woe, it was my birthday yesterday and tomorrow night myself, my boyfriend, my brother and a couple of close friends will be having a meal in a posh restaurant in Manchester. This will keep me from thinking about Monday afternoon.

To date I've either been kept busy on Monday afternoons and had one unsuccesful shopping trip. I got a take away coffee and it spilt everywhere. My new uni timetable means I'll be in class all day Mondays from now on - this will keep me from insanity for the time being but I'll still miss her :(