A Heartwarming Week

It's the little things that matter: choir members rushing to offer a lift to a newcomer who'll be walking home in the dark through miles of country roads, even though it's not on their way; flowers left on the town bridge as a mark of respect and thanks to a man who simply used to pass the time of day with passers by for years; neighbours who ring our doorbell to see if we're OK, because the burglar alarm went off yesterday and we haven't been able to reset it. NAH and I remarked to each other on how lucky we are with our neighbours.

Just simple things really. Part of the thousands ordinary, everyday acts of kindness which far outweigh everything that's bad in the news. NAH and I are trying to say hello to people we pass in the street. It was one of the things that makes Tywyn a friendly place to be - we want to pass on that friendliness to Chippenham too.

Happy Feet

It's winter, so I can't show off what I had done to my feet yesterday that much, so I thought I'd show them off here instead! I've never had a pedicure before and never painted my toenails either, so yesterday held two firsts for me and I'm delighted with the results. As you can see, I went for the most vampish colour I could choose :)

I spent the weekend with my GNO buddies. We all used to work together (3 still do) and I organise a monthly meal/cinema trip for us. Sadly one has moved to Dorchester, so can't make many of our monthly gets together and another often has childcare issues, so it was especially nice for us all to be there for once. In December 2007, we had our first visit to a day spa at Center Parcs and swiftly followed this up with a spa weekend in January last year. As we've just had our second spa weekend, it looks like this is becoming a traditional annual event. S found a good deal at an hotel not too far away - good food, overnight accommodation, 4 treatments (Indian Head Massage, upper body massage, facial and eyebrow wax) plus use of gym, pool and sauna. Last year, all 4 treatments were firsts for me, but I didn't react that well to the facial, so I asked to change it to a pedicure for yesterday. That went much better and I loved the massage elements as well as the new nail painting experience!

The weekend finished yesterday lunchtime, so we decided to round things off with a quick walk round Lacock village. Here they all are just before we made it to the tearoom. Let's just say some people were very good and had sandwiches or soup whilst others (me included) had the full blown clotted cream tea. We also had plenty of time for gossip, laughter, champagne, nibbles and chocolates as well as being pampered, so here's to the next one. Thanks H for organising it for us this year - it's a great way to brighten up gloomy January :D

Frosted Scenes

Well the thaw set in yesterday after weeks of frosts and days rarely going much above freezing point. The coldest start to winter for 30 years they say. Last Friday I went into town just to see what I could see. Threadspider had told me about the river being frozen when she was in town on Wednesday. Sadly I was to late for that, but there was still plenty to record. And little did I know I'd get to see frozen sea the next day...

Poole Harbour on Ice

I know I've already blogged this picture today over at Veg Plotting, but it's my favourite image from yesterday and I feel a larger version also needs to be put in my Box here for later.

Ice on the beach is such a rarity, so I'm glad I was there to see it.

I love this whole area plus the county of Dorset - it always feels like I'm coming home. It holds so many happy memories from my favourite holiday in Weymouth at the age of seven, through various school field trips (geography and geology) based in Swanage, windsurfing holidays and other regular trips to see NAH's aunt in Poole. When we moved down south, we were aiming for Dorset, but fell short by about 35 miles ending up in Wiltshire instead.

At some point I'll put up other Dorset delights in here ready for a rainy day.

Putting Things Finally To Bed

A few weeks ago over at Veg Plotting, I wrote about the creative writing course I was attending at the time and whether writing was the right avenue for me. I had lots of lovely comments and advice as a result. I've continued to mull things over during the Christmas period and I've decided it's something I do want to pursue, but not down the particular route the course was going. I believe feature writing is something I'd like to do and I also have an idea for a book. It's all very exciting.

However, I do feel I need to put my course to bed by typing up the only piece which I feel is up to my usual blogging standard. It's ironic that I was completely uninspired by the course itself and was in danger of not completing my homework one week. We'd been doing a series on 'The night was...' and this was the result.

'Every night was quiet.' I'm stuck. A week's gone by and I still have no story to share. I've stared at the blank page, the wall and mid air willing the next words to come. I've parked them in the back of my mind for a while; I've tried different words; I've gone off and done other things. But there's rien, nada, nothing.

My first idea was to tell last week's tale from the man's point of view. There's so many questions from then with no answer. What's his name? Al, Bill, Chris... none fits the father of Jake. I can't name his wife either, though I can see her as plain as day. Why is she on her own? What-if? I have the start, but I can't see the end. Once more I set my tale to one side whilst we visit my husband's family up north. My niece loves writing, so wants to hear about the course. I tell her my problem and we start with names, going through all the boys in her class. Still no fit, still no what-if, still no end.

It's the 'facing the blank page' which called me to sign up for this course in the first place. I've had a year of tales tumbling out of my head each day. Months of fun and the pleasures of writing, but with a voice of doubt in my head which says 'Ah yes, but what happens when there's no tale there, what do you do then?' Well, each week here I've come very close to that and the one's the nearest yet. But at 3 o'clock this morning - the best time for ideas I find - the light bulb's finally gone on in my head. So whilst the night is quiet, I'm facing the blank page and I'm ready to begin.

That Could Have Been Me

Over at Veg Plotting I've already spoken about how I love receiving everyone's news at Christmas time. However, sometimes that news catches you by surprise and gets you thinking a bit.

I've just had a long e-mail from E and M, the couple who are responsible for NAH (though of course he wasn't NAH at first!) and I meeting. I'd signed up for a photography evening class in Durham just after I moved there to take up my first permanent job, and I'd got to know them well. Over a pint one evening, we discovered a mutual liking for swimming, so I was invited to accompany them to a weekly social swim at Whitley Bay leisure pool. That's where I set eyes on NAH and liked what I saw immediately. However, it soon became clear he was already taken, so I had to put him out of my mind.

The months passed and I became friendly with some other guys from the swimming group. J invited me out, but that was a once-off. It turned out he'd decided that he was going to find a girl to marry and invited a succession of us out one week. I think I was Tuesday, K was later on in the week. That's who he married - I went to their wedding ceilidh. E and M had news of them, having kept in touch and I smiled at the memory I've just told you about.

A few more weeks passed and I was convinced either P or M from swimming would ask me out. In the meantime E and M arranged a pub lunch (at The Cock O' The North pub!) and walk around Durham one Sunday. That afternoon NAH and I talked to each other non-stop, even though his girlfriend was there. Somehow we contrived to exchange phone numbers and for the first time I contemplated taking the initiative and asking a boy out instead of the other way round. In fact I geared myself up to do so - 'if he hasn't rung up by the time this side of the record's finished, I'll do just that'. The record was City to City by Gerry Rafferty. He phoned during the last track. The rest is history.

What of the girlfriend? Well, just after NAH and I got together, she started going out with M (yes, one of the guys I thought would ask me out) and married him. Sadly this Christmas' news includes M dying from leukaemia this year. I'm not saying I would have ended up marrying him had we gone out together, but you never know. So I'm counting my blessings an extra time this Christmas. Strange how you think things will happen one way, then fate lends a hand to completely reshape them isn't it?

What Timing

The wand of good fortune has waved over us this week, not once but twice. We've both had one of our Premium Bonds picked out for a prize. You can always tell when these arrive in the post, so the envelope gets oohed and ahhed over until the ceremonial slitting open by the winner takes place. It's almost always the minimum prize, but welcome nevertheless as the spoils get shared for us to spend on whatever takes our fancy.

I feel the need for a little light shopping over at Amazon coming on...

What's in a Name?

This has got to be one of the best headlines ever in my view. EmmaT seems to think so too. However, I think Skimble and Jess would be a little peeved if I did get a dog.

Namewise the past couple of days have been a little trying - Victoria's in agreement today. Blotanical has had one of its revamps (sigh) and as a consequence we've had to re-sign in with our user names. For most people it's not a problem as their name is more than 4 characters and there aren't that many duplicates even though membership's over 1,000 strong. However, I've had to leave go of VP in there and it's been quite a wrench. VP is me!

I've got very fond of her over the past year even though VP came about by accident. When I signed up for a blog, I was soon faced with a decision on what I was going to be called. Being totally naive in the ways of blogging and the internet, I was more than a little nervous about being my true self. Also Veg Plotting was a bit of a mouthful and I imagined people not wanting to type in my whole name when leaving comments, so it seemed sensible to shorten it to VP. It immediately reminded me of the hilarious cartoon strip Bill Tidy used to do for CAMRA called Keg Buster. The main character's name always got shortened to KB in the strip itself, so VP's also a bit of a homage to Bill Tidy's sense of humour and characterisation.

Having read Victoria's piece today, it's been great to see the speculation from others on what my new Blotanical name would be. It actually mirrors the thought process I went through. Veg Plotting? No, that's the blog, not me. VeePee? Better, but I might get a few jokes about the Pee bit! So, eventually I plumped for EmmaT's occasional name for me - Veep. It retains the quirkiness of VP and rhymes with beep. What could be better?

If only VP or Veep had been acceptable to Emma's revamped Indyblog - it's the full blown VegPlotting on there nowadays. Help - I'm in danger of developing a multiple personality in here!

Secret Santa!

We offer a 'Secret Santa' service to our neighbours at this time of the year. We take in their larger presents which they might find difficult to keep hidden from excited, prying eyes. This year we're looking after this very pink motorbike which I'm sure E is going to love - don't worry, she's only six and doesn't read this blog. Until yesterday it was a very large box in our dining room, but then M came round, put it togther after E had gone to bed and returned it to us for safe keeping until the big day. Do you think she'll let me have a go?

How Far Can You Make Coffee Go?

How far can you make coffee go? In my husband's case much further than you think. We have a bit of a weekend ritual, the kind of thing that marks it out as different and more special than the rest of the week. Part of that ritual is a pot of freshly brewed coffee. This morning was no different. Except he caught the pot with his sleeve and in rescuing the coffee, our favourite mug fell to the floor. The one bought on the last day of our holiday in Australia 5 years ago.

It may not seem much to anyone else, but that little mug has bought so much pleasure. I can clearly remember us deciding to buy it in the gift shop close to the Central Station in Sydney and wrapping it up carefully to survive our trip home. We don't usually go for china mugs, never mind one by a wildlife artist, but this one reminded us of the trip to the koala hospital just outside Port Macquarie on the first week of our holiday and a whole host of other things about that magical trip. I smiled at the memory of such happy times every time I reached for it when the kettle was boiling. Ah well.

The coffee went all over the floor, cupboards and a wooden trolley we keep the television on. Even the insides of drawers and cupboards weren't immune to a touch of coffee grounds. All needed cleaning ready for the Christmas holidays, but I wasn't expecting to do so quite as soon, or as thoroughly - coffee grounds are the pits to clean up! Until we go to Australia again, this picture of our little broken mug will have to suffice.

One day I'll write up the diary of our trip I kept whilst we were on our travels. Perhaps then you'll understand just what I'll be missing from now on.

Wiltshire Without

Click on View All Images if you'd like to see an enlarged version of this Slideshow.

Here's 42 pictures taken this year which haven't appeared on Veg Plotting. I hope you enjoy them. The show's called Wiltshire Without because all the shots were taken outside of this fair county. A lot of the parishes around here have two main components: a Within part - the central area, which is in turn surrounded by a Without one. This often extends well beyond the built up area.

Guess what the Wiltshire slideshow's called...

Wiltshire Within

Click on View All Images if you'd like to see an enlarged version of this Slideshow.

Here's the sister slideshow to Wiltshire Without! 31 photos taken in 2008 around Wiltshire and not posted over at Veg Plotting.

Introducing Your Messages

The Garden Monkey's always a good source of entertaining or thought provoking material and yesterday I was delighted to be sent this link to the intriguing Your Messages project. The challenge is to write a 30 or 300 word response to a thirty word theme and a different one is posted each day in November.

My regular blog is just on a year old and although I have posted more than 1 post per day during that time, I live in constant fear I'll run out of things to say. That's why I signed up for a WEA creative writing course at my local Arts Centre recently. It mentions fear of the blank page and is aimed at both fiction and non-fiction writers, so I thought I would give it a go. I'm finding I'm well outside my comfort zone. For me the class exercises are quite trying - we have 5 minutes or so to come up with a response to an idea, write it down and then talk or read to the class about it. That spontaneity is very hard: everyone busily writes away and I stare into space looking for inspiration. It's my transition from logical, informative viewpoint to a more creative world that's getting in the way. By the end of each class I find myself close to having a panic attack.

So I've decided to try Your Messages as my own class exercise to get over the problem. A quick read of the theme, then 5 to ten minutes to come up with a response. I'll be trying to avoid cliche whilst keeping an awareness of what if and the element of surprise. My responses are posted as Comments on the website - but I also want my own record of what I've come up with - where better than here in my Box of Delight?

This post forms the start of the series, but of course will be published as the latest one posted, even though it's the first. Ahhh, the joys of blogging!

Here's the explanatory blurb from the website - together with my commented response to it. Using 30 words of course!

November 2008 and Your Messages is Back...

...by popular demand! But in a different incarnation because there’s no way we could duplicate November 2007’s amazing project that culminated in the launch of Your Messages at the Poetry Café in London in February this year.

Every day during the month of November 2008 we will post a writing prompt of exactly 30 words and you’re invited to respond, via the comments box, with your own original piece of writing which may be either exactly 30 words or 300 words long.

At the end of the month we’ll be choosing one response as the overall prize-winner (although we may well comment on one or two others as well) and the writer of that piece will receive signed copies of our books: Leading the Dance, Learning How to Fall, Something Beginning With and The Oven House.

And how will we make our decision from so much fine writing? Here are a few things to bear in mind:

1.There should be some kind of link to the prompt, e.g. theme, image, word or phrase
2.It should be a stand-alone piece of writing.
3.It has to be brilliant! :-)))

We look forward to meeting up with as many old and new ‘Messagers’ as possible online from 1st November.

Let the writing begin. Again!

Sarah & Lynne

My Comment (the 17th to the original post):

What a brilliant idea! I'll get my thinking cap on now. And if that doesn't work, I'll enjoy everyone else's contributions. A great way to brighten our dull November days.

And then I looked more closely at the two organisers and realised one of them is Sarah Salway, who kindly donated to my Open Garden fundraiser. Even more reason to keep on trying with this during November.

Snowscenes

Your Messages - prompt for Day 30

He calls them his little worlds. With one shake, he can change everything - not just the weather but the way their stories end. He lines them up. Which one today?

It's the last prompt for the month and this year, so I felt it needed more than just my simple response. I'd also pointed out on yesterday's prompt they'd called it Friday again rather than Saturday, hence my thanking them for the mention in the introduction for today.

Thanks for the mention! I've thoroughly enjoyed my month here, especially reading everyone else's efforts. It's been so much better than the creative writing course I've been attending locally. And no, this is not a shameless effort to sway the judges - it's what I think! Good luck to everyone and here's my final effort:

My nephew often lives in his own little world and whispers conspiratorially to his special companion. My niece teases him mercilessly. He emerges from his reverie shaken but not stirred.

Now to add my responses to last weekend's prompts here (I missed them because we were away in Leeds) and to add some of the stuff from my creative writing course as a record for posterity!

Just One Cornetto?

Your Messages - Theme for Day 29

He wants a banana split with ice-cream, strawberry sauce and chocolate. And he wants it now. Otherwise he will scream. His mother sighs, sees too much of herself in him.

My response:

Knickbocker Glory's always been my favourite. A last day treat at Forte's on seaside holidays. With a spoon as long as my arm and eyes much bigger than my tummy.