Tag Archives: personal

Uni: Week 10 – Poetry results and two more assignments to get through.

Interesting day today; we actually started and finished the morning workshop on time. We had a bit of a mixed session, giving feedback on submitted work, content about writing short stories was delivered and then we had a discussion about the business side of  writing – agents, editor, that sort of thing.

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Uni Week 7: Disturbing news

Poetry is over and I had to hand in my assignment. This was daunting, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to do something like that.

The tutor has taken them home today to mark over the weekend. I really hope I’ve got a reasonable mark. Most of my class mates like my poem. Someone called my reflexive piece ‘very intellectual’. I can’t help it. How else was I supposed to say ‘it just happens’ for a 1000 words?

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Uni: Week 6 – we had a visitor!

Today started off spectacularly: I managed to catch the slightly earlier college bus and got to Grimsby by nine, took a stroll to the train station and didn’t feel rushed when buying the ticket and getting over to platform three. It was lovely. My plan was to get a table seat and do some writing on my way to Lincoln.

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University update: Week 2

Well, my second day at university has been and gone. It was an interesting day.

 In the morning workshop three people had submitted work for feedback, including me. I was very impressed by the other pieces, though I only got to read one of them. My writing is positively amateurish compared to everyone else. I did get some useful feedback and information about formatting though which I’ve acted on. I’m going to develop the idea further and possibly use it as my assessment piece. I’ve already written another thousand words on it. The only problem with that is, now I’ve been told it’s funny I’m going to have to stop myself from trying to be funny, because experience tells me that that way leads to tortured prose and no being funny.

My afternoon seminar was not too bad. My poem was out of sync with everyone else, who used the opportunity to write about emotional events. Very well, I might add. My choice of poem by someone else was also not in line with the rest. I don’t think I’m going to get good scores for this module. This week’s homework is to write ten lines about shoes. I’ve done that already and it’s sparked an idea for my assessment for this part of the module.

University is having an interesting affect on my mental state. In the morning I’m aware but as the workshop goes on I begin to get more and more impatient with people. By the afternoon seminar I’m mentally exhausted and I can’t give decent feedback. I’m getting overwhelmed by the experiences the others write about, which combined with the exhaustion means my focus goes entirely. It’s taking two days for me to recover mental stability. I really don’t want to be around people and I’m exhausted still on a Friday afternoon. I had to miss sewing and craft club this week because I just wasn’t up to being around people.

Physically, things aren’t much better. Since I had to walk up to the station in record time on Wednesday morning I’ve been hurting just a tad. The train doesn’t help, the seats are too low and close together so I’m squashed, which doesn’t help my hip or back. The chairs in my work shop and seminar are uncomfortable and they have those tables attached on swing arms rather than proper desks. I’m cramped and can’t get myself settled comfortably in them. 

I’m determined to keep going and I refuse to let my messed up brain and my back injury stop me from studying and doing the best I can. I’m in the process of arranging my DSA assessment, I’m just waiting to hear back from the welfare centre at uni for an appointment. I’m also still waiting to hear about my initial assessment for a psychologist’s assessment with the local mental health team. It’ll all get sorted eventually.

Today I plan to do very little other than sort out what stock I’m taking to the craft fair tomorrow and walking the dogs later on. I might work on the novel although I’m fighting the urge to go and reformat the first two novels and start editing.

What a difference a decade (and a bit) makes

I’m reading a book at the minute called The Long, Long Life of Trees, by Fiona Stafford, which I will be reviewing next week. It prompted me to think about trees, surprisingly enough.

There’s a wood that used to be a cow field. Sixteen years ago The Woodland Trust planted about a third of it up with mixed deciduous trees. There were the usual casualties but the trees that survived have thrived and the old horse chestnuts that for the core of the wood have continued to flower and fruit. They’re laden heavy with conkers already. The mature willows that dot the edge of the field, a reminder that we’re on drained marshland, are going strong and the cherry stand continues to produce fruit. A couple of years ago a further half of the field was planted up. The young trees are spindly but growing. There are pines among this new bunch of trees. It will be interesting to see how the next decade treats this young woodland. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed my pictures, there will be more in the book review, because if I’m writing about a book about trees there are going to be pictures of trees.

Bonus picture of the dogs playing in the clearing. They love long grass.

What I learnt in Paris

A long list of things I learnt in Paris that might be of use to other novice travellers (it was orginally ten but the lessons got away from me).

  1. The French are fucking insane and should never be allowed near cars, vans, motorcycle or bicycles.Traffic laws seem to mean nothing and crossing the road means taking your life in your hands and hoping you make it across the road before someone decides to just drive over the crossing. Crossing when the green man is lit is only marginally less dangerous than using a crossing without lights. Follow the example of the locals and cross when they do.
  2. Motoercycles and bicycles are incredibly common means of transport in Paris. When crossing the road, be sure t0o make an extra observation behind you as they tend to appear from nowhere and sometimes ride on the footpath. There are dedicated cycle lanes on the pavements – try to avoid walking in them. Bicycles can be rented from racks all over the city and can be left at any other official rack.
  3. Restaurants have English language menus; they’ll either give them to you when you walk in and are obviously a tourist or you can ask for them and you won’t have to struggle with trying to make sense of the menu in French if your language skills are so-so.
  4. Always wait to be seated when you enter a cafe or restaurent. The waiter will ask how many and whether you want to sit inside or outside. Most of them speak reasonable English if you need help.
  5. Portions are huge! It might seem expensive but you get a generously sized meal. eat where there are lots of locals; if they like it the food will probably be good. You almost always get a bottle of table water to go with your meal so if you’re on a budget don’t order a drink.
  6. The Louvre is open until 9.45 pm on a Wednesday and Friday, I recommend going in the late afternoon/early evening when the crowds have thinned out and it’s less sweltering outside. It is very hot in some parts of the Louvre purely because of the number of people in the building, which is something to bear in mind when visiting. You won’t need a coat. 
  7. Again, at the Louvre, and other attractions, you can pre-book your tickets online and get the e-tickets on your phone. This allows you to skip the much longer queue for security. People in wheel chairs and those with children in push chairs are also sent to the head of the queue. 
  8. Watch for the beggers; they  sometimes claim to be raising money for a deaf and blind or dumb charity or a disabled association and present official looking sponser forms. They are not real charities and the beggars are neither deaf nor dumb.Wave them away with a stern ‘Non’ and if they persist don’t get you purse or wallet out; they will look inside and demand you open zipped pockets. Just keep waving them on. The same applies to the dodgy old men who ask you to take their picture in front of a building, such as Notre Dame and then say they want a selfy with you instead, while they try to grope you or get in your pockets. 
  9. Avoid buying from the street vendors of cheap tat, of which there are many. They are usually men carrying strings of mini Eiffal towers and will offer 1, then 2, then 3, etc. up to five for a Euro. Again, ‘Non’ and carry on walking.
  10. Remember your manners; it isn’t hard to learn ‘Oui’, ‘Non’, ‘Bonjour’, ‘Bonsoir’, ‘Merci’ and ‘Si’l vous plais’. Also ‘pardon’ is useful for getting through crowds.
  11. If you want tea buy some tea bags from Franprix or one of the other supermarkets, the tea bags in the hotel room are not great.The Louvre has a tea shop in the food court but it’s expensive tea. I had a quick look and had a heart attack. 
  12. The airport security and much nicer and more thoughrough than they are in England (in my limited experience) and can be very helpful and funny. In fact service in general is really good. 
  13. Getting in to any country is easy, getting out is the problem.
  14. France in August is hot and you can’t get a decent cup of tea anywhere.
  15. McDonalds is the same everwhere, except where it isn’t. There are local differences but in general the menu is predictable; this is useful on your first night when you’re knackered and can’t be bothered with anything too complicated.