Thursday, February 08, 2007

Let it snow, let it snow. Not.

It has finally stopped here, but we must have had at least three or four inches. The gardens and houses look pretty, but the roads and pavements are becoming treacherous. Hubby did drive to work with few problems, but who knows how it will be later.

My biggest worry in this weather, as you may remember, is always Son 2's journey to school. Today the school bus did not run at all, so I had to keep him home and I have just had a phone call to say that school will also be closed tomorrow. So, no worries about transport. But ( and why is there always a but? ), next week is half term. Added on to the end of half term they have three staff training days in a row, so a one week half term has just turned into a two week half term. Great.

Speaking of snow, the Costa (formerly Whitbread) Book of the Year Award has been won by a snowy covered debut novel, The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney , for the first time since Kate Atkinson's debut won it in 1995. So maybe there is still some hope for us wannabes!

5 comments:

Jackie Luben said...

I was very interested in your previous topic about what to reveal on the blog. I understand completely Anne's feeling that she is more herself on the page than in real life. When I kept a diary, for approximately ten years when I was 14 or 15, I did spill out my real feelings, in a way that would have exhausted most friendships. It was a life saver in some ways and might be for many people with severe depression, if only they could write their feelings down.

But my diary was not available to the public, and since the blog and myspace is, for me it's a case of scratching the surface of my life and activities. I'm not anonymous because my other writing is in my own name (which is far more individual than Anne's) and I hope the blog will introduce people to that writing, so there would be no point. But I therefore must protect my family and friends who don't choose to be written about.

Jackie

Cathy said...

Jackie, I think we are coming from the same place on this one, although I don't yet have anything published to point readers towards ( I live in hope!). It is a subject that was hotly debated on my OU writing course forum and recent things I have read, even on the blogs of very successful published authors, have shown how fragile the sense of community online can occasionally become. I am actually a great fan of the internet and it has been a lifeline for me, but I can also see the potential for misunderstandings in electronic communication.

I *LOVE* Anne's blog and her honesty and humour about her life...and I know she has quite a fanclub. I, however, have two vulnerable children and have to be very careful about what I choose to publicly disclose about our lives.

I am actually very interested in the use of writing as a form of therapy and it is something I would like to find out more about in the future. I know a lot of my own writing is semi-autobiographical and I find it very therapeutic to fictionalise real life, even though I have no desire to actually write an autobiography!

Cathyx

Anne Brooke said...

Now, if only I had Jackie's integrity, I'd be a far more complete person I'm sure! And I'd definitely love her name - mine is soooooo dull!!

Really interesting stuff, both - certainly got me thinking - isn't there a website somewhere where you can actually make up a person to be and then be that person - it was on Richard & Judy last week when I was sick, but I can't remember the name of it now. At last, I could be blonde and willowy ...

:))

A
xxx

Cathy said...

I think it is called something like 'Second Life', Anne. I read an article on it recently.

You mean you are not blonde and willowy? Oh, my illusions have been shattered....

Cx

Jackie Luben said...

Anne is definitely willowy. Take my word for it.

Jackie