Power failure of another kind

I shall be glad when these two weeks of working from home are finished and I can get back to a regular routine at college again. Contrary to expectations, the time has really dragged and I feel disconnected from the course and everything I was hoping to achieve.

I have been reading Brendan Hennessey's book on writing feature articles, thinking I was being conscientious and preparing for the next unit, but now I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered.I think it's more of a book to refer to when you're actually working on things. It's a tough read and made tougher by his references to things I don't understand, never having worked on or for a publication. He needs to decide who his reader is - the book seems intended for the complete novice but he uses jargon they wouldn't understand. The references to appendices are wrong too and it took me a while to figure out that figure numbers refer to the chapter they are in and are not just numerically numbered from the start of the book. All of these small difficulties have made me feel like an outsider and I have lost some of my enthusiasm, which is a shame.

I've also been looking at newspapers and magazines, as per Christina's instructions, and here too I've started to flounder. Suddenly it all seems very hard for a newcomer to penetrate and my inspiration has dried up. The sooner we get started with our new units, the better, as far as I am concerned.

Global warning

We went to see Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth when we were in London last year and I was really shocked by its predictions, especially as I had considered myself well-informed on the issues. Ever since then I have been seeing things which seem to confirm he is absolutely right.

For example, I can't remember ever hearing birds singing in January before - isn't it normally the end of February or March before you hear them again? The olive trees in our yard already have new green leaves complete with beastly caterpillars munching on them. And all the rain and wind we have had this month - repeated gales which have only happened maybe once a winter, if that.

I know some people claim that global warming has been blown out of proportion and that the weather has always been erratic, but I really do wonder. Some friends of ours bought a house with a stream running through the grounds. They knew it sometimes flooded in winter but now the Environment Agency have told them that due to rising water levels, they will soon have part of that field permanently underwater.

I can't help wondering whether people deny what may be happening because they simply can't believe things can change so much and so quickly. We have the privilege of living somewhere that has been temperate and stable for so long. Maybe we just lack the imagination to see it may not always be that way. It always happens to someone else, doesn't it?

A weekend off

We've both been feeling a bit off-colour recently. On Friday at the photography workshop I was the one taking the paracetamol and feeling sorry for myself - the one who hadn't been living it up at the previous night's Burns Night meal. We had three late arrivals in the class, all wearing kilts and coming straight from haggis-chomping!

I've got out of the habit of blogging, it seems, and the inspiration is lacking. I gave myself the wekend off to get over whatever it was and to build up some fresh enthusiasm for next week. Today we went to Truro for a small touch of retail therapy and found some good books and CDs in FOPP. Some shops weren't open but it was nice to wander around such a quiet city centre.

Disconnected

So I arrived home last Thursday, lightheaded with the relief of handing in my work, to discover that we had no phone line. The quality of the line had been getting worse lately and the storm must have been the last straw. They said it could take a week to fix, but I wasn't particularly bothered, as we were going to be away for 3 days. It was a bit shocking, though, to realise the next morning that we had no electricity either! Is this a taste of things to come? we thought. Anyway we set off for Bath a little late, assuming power would be restored shortly.

The end is nigh

Here I am, trying to find constructive things to do as the printer churns out my assessment work. I had no idea it would take so long and I hope the poor machine can cope. I can hardly believe that tomorrow evening I won't have to do any more on all these pieces I've been slaving over for so long.

Sara and I have had a hotline going these last few days - lucky I get free calls. Do you know, I can't think of a single thing to write about, work has become so all-consuming. I promise I will do a lot more as I go on the next study block (crosses fingers).

Well, that's it for tonight, must resume my collating activities. I'm looking forward to that bottle of wine tomorrow night!

Lemon meringue in Padstein

I've just realised I haven't updated this since Thursday! I've been so set on getting my assessment work done and so eager to leave the computer when I've had enough, that I've wandered off and forgotten the poor old blog!

I've had enough of work tonight as well, so I'd rather concentrate on what's been happening away from the keyboard. Last night some friends took us along to their gym for a workout. I haven't been in a gym for ages and wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Just about the only downside of this course is that I spend so much time sitting on my backside. I need to get moving again.

Which I did today by going up to Padstow and walking out towards Wadebridge on the Camel Trail. I did spoil things rather though by sharing a pasty and lemon meringue pie from Rick Stein's patisserie with Andy. Great pasty and excellent lemon meringue. And very cost-effective, the only cheap way of eating anything by Mr Stein. And the sun shone! Which was wonderful after all the rain - it felt like a special treat.

Full speed ahead

A long day today - out for nearly 24 hours, dark when I set off and dark when I returned. A good day, though, as days with Bill always are. And I think being in a different room , especially for the course meeting, really helped. The one we usually have is far too hot and everyone starts nodding off which is disastrous if a guest speaker follows.

So now I have 4 days at home and I want to get my assessment work out of the way as soon as I can. It's been hanging over me too long already. There's my MA project to crack on with now, as Tom approved it yesterday. I could make a start on case studies and getting together some material for the text and the information boxes I want to put in to liven up the pages. No time to waste - any more!

Sweet and sour birthday

It was good to be back at college today, see people again and get the brain cells working. A slightly odd day too, starting with Derrek talking about his play and promoting books in a rather surprising way for a Tuesday morning. And the room was laid out differently and we didn't split into two groups as usual.

And then Matt forgot to come to the IT session, so I got home early after all. A good thing is that I discovered that almost everyone is as clueless as me about getting their website completed and nobody could do anything without Matt. In my usual IT inferiority complex way I had assumed I was way behind everyone else, but apparently not. Which is a relief, but I'd still like to get the wretched thing out of the way.

We managed a perfunctory celebration of Andy's birthday with a Chinese takeaway from the new place in Bugle. Early January birthdays are miserable - no one's that interested after Christmas and New Year and it always seems to be raining. I've suggested an official birthday might solve the problem, but he doesn't seem that keen.

Back to school

My clothes are laid out ready to grope for in the dark, the sandwich box has been unearthed from the cupboard, and my bag packed with books and papers, not forgetting the all-important assignments - yes, it's the start of term tomorrow!

I don't know where all that time has gone. It's amazing how quickly you forget about routines that seem all-consuming when you're in the midst of them. The traffic queues in Truro, for example. Didn't miss those.

It's a bit weird to go back for just two weeks of the old timetable, then have a break, then start a new timetable. Never done that before. I'm looking forward to starting my options, they are what I joined the course for. Also to hearing what Christina and Tom make of my MA proposal. I don't really have a clue at the moment, I'm working in the dark.

Blog on

I've forgotten to write my blog a few times lately because I've been so engrossed in my MA proposal and the assessment work. Particularly the 12 page story for Derrek, which sounds, oh so simple, but in fact has been a killer. I haven't kept count of how many hours I've spent on it, which is probably a good thing. I've now decided that enough is enough and to stop aiming for perfection. If I could produce the perfect story, I'd be in Hollywood, right? So I've done my best and will just have to await the verdict.

I've also been reading the readable bits of the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook - in other words the pieces by successful authors, not the listings. There's a huge amount of information in there, a lot of it new to me, some encouraging and some despair-inducing. 20 years of poverty, anyone? That is the writer's lot according to some. I tell myself that only refers to novelists singlemindedly committed to their art and plod doggedly on. No, I am really not a novelist. Death struggles with story structure and the prospect of 20 years of poverty confirm it.

Victor's at it again

A friend dropped in this morning to show us the new DAB radio he'd bought in the sale at Homebase, and to test it here to see if we can get digital radio. Silly idea, of course we can't, it's like the Lost World down this valley. When we moved in, we couldn't get a TV picture until someone came to put a powerful aerial in the loft. We can just about get a radio signal if we put the radio in the bedroom window and point the aerial in exactly the right direction.

We toyed with the idea of going to Homebase ourselves, as there's an extra 10% off today and tomorrow and we need some garden tools. In the end we just couldn't find the courage. We both hate DIY, and DIY shops particularly. They are so depressing; the heart sinks on going throught the door. Nothing these days seems to be made of a proper material - have you noticed? It's all wood-effect and stone-effect and marble-effect. Which means that it looks just like what it is - plastic. The people who did this house up were very into -effect, but there's not much point in doing anything about that unless and until we decide we're staying.

So we spent the afternoon getting photos for Andy's passport application, queuing in the Post Office and being told the photos weren't acceptable because there was a tiny bit of glare off his glasses.

This blog is becoming more and more like One Foot in the Grave. It's a good thing I'm going back to college next week. I obviously need to get out more.

Jukebox Judy

I feel shattered this evening. I think it's the yoyoing of my emotions over the last few days. One minute I feel panicky about the amount of work that has to be done,and then I do some and feel quite confident about it, then I do something about my MA proposal and start to get excited about pulling together the material for a book - a book! Then I get panicky again and off it goes again. Exhausting. I'm glad I'm not in college this week and surrounded by people all going through their own versions of the same thing.

Anyway, putting work to one side for a moment, I have been to see a friend today for a pre-birthday visit, and I have been playing his jukebox, which is great fun. The buttons are all big and chunky and make a very satisfying click as you push them down, not like buttons these days. Then a pink mechanism rolls across and picks up the single to play. I can just about remember them, but I don't think I've ever played one before. The songs all sound so innocent and hopeful, even the ones about lost love. Life now seems so grubby by comparison. Oh dear, I think these dark, wet days are having an effect on my mood. Roll on, spring.

Blog off!

I keep getting this New Blogger thingy brandished in my face every time I come to the site - and I don't want it! I just get used to the system and they want me to change again. Why can't it stay the same? Seems perfectly fine to me. That's the trouble with these IT people, they have to keep fiddling about with things, just because they can, no thought for us poor users who like our little routines. There is one thing though - why is the time haywire so that when I do a blog in the evening, it tells me it's 4pm? Most disconcerting.

Well, that's my grumpy old woman moment over with - for the next half hour or so, anyway. What shall I write about today? I know, I saw a quote the other day I really liked. It was by Elvis. He apparently said something like 'Talent is being able to sell what you are feeling.' I really like that, it's absolutely right, and very appropriate for us writer types. It was in a tiny book of quotes by and about Elvis and was the only reading material I was able to get my hands on in Pinky Murphy's, the cafe in Fowey we like. Their coffee cake is amazing, it actually tastes of coffee, which is very unusual, and I've tried plenty. A bit on the pricey side at £2.95 a slice, but we shared, being fat after Christmas anyway. I wonder if the MA powers-that-be would let me do a book about coffee shops for my MA?

Happy New Year!

Well, surprise, surprise, I didn't get round to doing my blog on New Year's Eve! Actually, I've never been a huge fan of New Year. Although of course it is the start of another year (I'm quick on the uptake, me) it has never really felt like that to me. Being in full-time education from the age of four till twenty-one meant that my new year always started in the autumn, with the new academic year, and January was just the theoretical new start.

I've never been keen on New Year's resolutions either. I can't remember actually making any, apart from a few years ago when we lived in Newlyn and my resolution was to become a member of the Garrack Hotel leisure club so I could use their pool. And I really kept to that - I used to swim a couple of times a week until we moved.

I heard about Lakeside Country Club when we moved here, but never got round to going to see their pool because a friend put me off. He takes wedding photos and had been there to do some. He said it was a collection of garden sheds occupied by oiks in football shirts and white trainers. So I never bothered. But now some other friends have joined the gym there and they say it's great. So soon I'll go along as a guest and try the pool. When I've bought a new cossie - the old one has been stretched beyond endurance and appears to be disintegrating. I'd like to blame the chlorine but I know it's my bulges that have done for it really. Happy New Year!