The Nanny Diary…
I’m going to be a grandmother.
‘The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea.’
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Life sometimes makes me anxious.
I’m sure it makes everyone anxious. But the one place I feel content, free and at peace is in, on or by the sea. I wish Mum was still alive so that I could ask her how old I was when I was introduced to the sea.
When did I learn to swim? My memories go back to a time when I could swim and dive, perhaps I was six. After that, the memories come thick and fast…
Wow!
2018!
Already!
Is there anyone else who thinks this year has passed at the speed of light?
As I hugged my dog tight at midnight, trying to ameliorate the effect of fIreworks on him, I thought on my year.
Was it good? Could it be better?
Writing can be so demanding that it swallows one whole.
One can spend days sequestered with the doors firmly shut against the world. Even a day’s writing can leave one tired, eye-sore, with fog on the brain. We writers can look up from the computer, see family members and say, ‘Wha…, huh? Who are you?’
It’s a double life. One has mistresses, lovers, enemies and friends that no member of the family has any idea about. A secret life…I tell you, spooks and MI 6 have nothing on a writer.
So how do we anchor ourselves in reality and at the same time, fuel our creative fires? Inspired by Writers’ Unboxed, I decided I’d ask a few writer friends what they do to unwind and yet fuel their creative fires…
My involvement with the beautifully crafted Winters’ Edge Anthology came late, courtesy of my friend, Paul Murphy. He and I belong to a group called Inkslingers Veterans, where anthologies are written to raise money for cancer research. (See Tales from a Carboot Sale, Historical Tales etc on Amazon)
I’ve just been reading my cousin’s biography.
Nick Riewoldt is the well-known and well-regarded ex Saint Kilda player (football on a par with soccer in Australia, an iconic game) and Allen & Unwin released his autobiography earlier this month after his retirement
Nick’s young. Close to my son’s age.
Catherine Kullman’s opening description of Ireland caught my attention when I realised that Tasmania, the tiny island on which I live, a state of Australia and to the south of the mainland continent, is actually larger than her whole country. Like Catherine, I live on the fragrance of the sea and its many moods. It was with interest that I read her choices of books for her castaway time. Even more intrigued when at the end, she eschewed Ireland for somewhere quite remote…
What prompts an historical fiction/fantasy writer to want to see the Dior Exhibition?
Silks, satins, embellishments of beads and gold thread. It’s that simple…
I met speculative fiction and historical fiction writer Richard Abbott through Facebook. Both of us belong to an excellent writers’ (and readers’) group called The Review.
The desert island that Richard chose charmed me straight away. He says: ‘The “desert island” is actually the north end of Bryher, one of the Scilly Isles. Since these are only 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall, calling it a desert island is perhaps stretching a point, but I would happily be stranded there! Some of the Scilly Isles are inhabited, others not, but they’re all within an easy row of each other. Each is a little different in character, but they all have splendid views of sky and sea.’
Over to you, Richard…