Author: Dee

Sharing my writing journey

/ Dee / 4 Comments

Last year, at an age when most of my contemporaries were retiring from work or at least thinking about it, I decided to join a creative writing class at a local university. The creative writing modules I enrolled in are part of an MA degree course, I haven’t  decided whether I want a degree, but I do know that I love writing.

I have written lots of things, since my first effort at writing a play when I was seven. The play was entitled “The Little White Bull” and was about a small china bull that a little girl saw in a second-hand shop, whilst out shopping with her grandmother.  She saw the bull “move” and although her grandmother didn’t believe her, she let the child think that she did in order to find out what would happen.

 I wrote until I wasn’t sure where to go next. I knew I should end the play but was unsure how to do that.  I couldn’t ask for help as  I had not told anyone and anyway the play was going to be a Christmas surprise for my teacher, Miss Fawcett. The script was put in a drawer in my dressing table while I thought about an ending, and somehow in all the Christmas excitement, I forgot all about it.  It lay undisturbed until we moved house a few years later and it was then thrown away. I had other interests now!

 

I was apprehensive as I went to my first class. Passing young students on various stairways all laughing and talking together, I became acutely aware that I was old enough to be their grandmother.  What was I doing here? Then one stopped to ask me directions.  He was very polite and friendly and when I had to admit that I too was new here and about to start my first class, he flashed a brilliant smile and said “Good for you, well done.”  I reached my classroom on a cloud of happiness and reassurance. (to be continued on my Writing Page…)

Paths leading here and there

/ Dee / 13 Comments

I love beaches. I love winding pathways that could lead to the start of an adventure or a leisurely walk, you’re never quite sure just what you’ll find at the end. This one led onto South Beach in Miami, one lovely sunny day in early March.

Another March day, this time on Ile de Re and a path that led eventually to a little harbour and a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate.  Delicious!!

Finally, this one is closer to home, wild flowers from a path behind my sister’s house.  Aren’t they just stunning?

Hope you enjoy my photographs too

Aaah… just couldn’t resist

/ Dee / 2 Comments

If you have been following the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge, you will have seen people from all over the world posting some great photographs on each of the topics.

I had a hectic week last week; work well and truly got in the way of everything else – we had audits, reviews, meetings, blah blah .. anyway the upshot was that I missed the “Flower” challenge.  Then the other day, I saw these beautiful, amazing photographs, from a team in Scotland called Fusion Baby Photography,  they have to be amongst the most gorgeous “flowers” I have ever seen.

Weekly Photo Challenge – ‘Entrance’

/ Dee / 8 Comments

This is from our visit to Egypt, the photograph shows the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. We had left the air-conditioned mini-bus and walked with our guide the remaining few hundred yards towards the entrance to the tombs. The temperature was 46C and there was precious little shade.

We stayed at The Mena House hotel for the first two nights of our holiday and this is the entrance to the main hotel from the garden wing where our room was. We arrived late at night and I asked our guide how far away we were from the pyramids, he told me “Wait until morning!” And this is the view we had on opening the curtains, not one, but two pyramids! A sight that will stay with me for ever.

This photograph shows all that remains of the entrance to Wycoller Hall. The Hall was formely the home of the Cunliffe family, several generations of the family have lived there. Wycoller Hall is very famous locally; it is said to be haunted by the ghost of a horseman and it was thought to have been the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre.” The Bronte family lived quite nearby in the village of Haworth and it is quite probable that Charlotte and Emily visited during their walks. The Hall was used to illustrate the cover of the 1898 edition of Jane Eyre.

The bride wore something old…a 127 year old wedding dress

/ Dee / 2 Comments

There has been a great deal of wedding coverage in the press recently; a certain William and Catherine made headlines round the world, last week it was the turn of Zara and Mike. I oohed and aahed over the wedding dresses like most females I know and made comments on design, fabric, fit etc.

Then, yesterday I saw the story of the bride who had worn a 127 year old wedding dress for her wedding.  The dress was bought in 1884 for her great-great-grandmother and has been worn by several generations of her family down the years.

The bride looks stunning, the dress amazing. The family should congratulate themselves for keeping this heirloom safe all this time. I feel privileged to have seen it.

 

(click on the photo to read the full article)

Dieting, baby Beckham and Twitter…

/ Dee / 2 Comments

I have always been a fan of actress Pauline Quirke and so was delighted to see her new look in the paper the other day.  Losing weight is not easy.  I have tried various diets at different times of my life and, like everyone else who has ever dieted, find that some work, some don’t. I have never been a fan of the cabbage soup diet – very anti social, or the banana diet, very binding.  Likewise shakes and snacks, they don’t do it for me either. Pauline followed the LighterLife plan and lost 6 stone in weight, the results speak for themselves.  I think she looks amazing.

                                                                  

The Dukan Diet has also been in the press lately and it does looks interesting; and although health experts say we should eat from each food group each day in moderation, I don’t think foregoing carbs for a few days can do much harm.  As you get older any excess weight becomes difficult to shift, so while I’m not sure about following the programme long-term, for a kick-start it should be ideal.

 I was intrigued by the names of baby Beckham.  Harper, although very different I can at least understand, but Seven…….  It has been explained in different ways but seemingly the baby was born just after 7 in the 7th month of the year and David played at number 7 …… if this catches on then my eldest son will have to change his name to Four, following the same reasoning as above.

 Lastly Twitter – a while ago I wrote a post about Twitter and whether to tweet or not.  Since then I have to say I have become quite hooked.  I exchange tweets with some great people and have found that if you strip away the celebrity chit-chat, underneath there is a seriously free marketing and PR tool.  I have watched as businesses have attracted more and more followers by selective tweeting about what they, grow, sell, produce, make, let, buy etc.  And it has also become a sort of advice directory, just post a tweet asking for help or advice on almost anything and before you know it, replies come flooding in. Charities seem to have benefited too and there are people on twitter who work tirelessly to retweet appeals for help with raising money or to publicise new campaigns.

Amongst other things it has renewed my faith in human nature. People still want to help people.