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RichardB started the topic Motor Racing's Blackest Day: Le Mans, 1955 in the forum Blogs 2 years, 11 months ago
First run in 1923, The 24 Hours of Le Mans was conceived as a trial of endurance and reliability for road-going production cars, at a time when breakdowns and malfunctions were still a common occurrence. Its rules tried to duplicate the challenges of everyday motoring of the time, decreeing that weights had to be carried to the equivalent of three…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Comp – March 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 11 months ago
That Pixie gets everywhere. Well done Kate!
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🤣🤣
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Kate started the topic Monthly comp – May 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 11 months ago
You arrive home to find an unmarked envelope on your door mat. Who is it from? What does it contain?
Let me know in less than 500 words.
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Kate replied to the topic Monthly Comp – March 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 11 months ago
Thanks, Alex. It was fun to give Pixie and Gabe an outing! I’ll have a think about a theme for the coming month.
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Kate replied to the topic Story in new collection in the forum Podium 2 years, 11 months ago
Congratulations Daedalus!
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Libby replied to the topic Monthly Comp – March 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 11 months ago
Congratulations @Kate
Another lovely Pix and Gabe story!
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Libby replied to the topic Story in new collection in the forum Podium 2 years, 11 months ago
Congratulations on Action this Day, @Daedalus
I look forward to reading the paperback when it comes out.
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Daedalus replied to the topic Story in new collection in the forum Podium 2 years, 12 months ago
Thanks Richard
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RichardB replied to the topic Story in new collection in the forum Podium 2 years, 12 months ago
Ah, I see Edmund Clydesdale’s at it again. I’ll have to catch up with him. And there’s plenty of scope for drama in those Arctic convoys. One sale made.
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Daedalus replied to the topic Story in new collection in the forum Podium 2 years, 12 months ago
Kindle out now, paperback in a couple of weeks
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Daedalus started the topic Story in new collection in the forum Podium 2 years, 12 months ago
Hi all, just to let you know I have a story in the new collection ‘Action this Day’ – a set of WW2 short stories
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Wow, congratulations, @daedalus! Looking forward to reading this 🙂
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RichardB posted an update 3 years ago
Today, for the first time in my life, I was moved to write to a national newspaper. This was prompted, of all things, by an advert I saw in the Guardian. The letter ran as follows:
‘In the middle of today’s on-line article “Granta reveals its pick of future star British novelists” there is an advertisement that asks, “Looking for a publisher?”…[Read more]
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This research report shows more of the unpleasant truth of vanity publishing
https://societyofauthors.org/SOA/MediaLibrary/SOAWebsite/Documents-for-download/_REPORT-Is-it-a-steal.pdf -
I read the Guardian seeing as it’s the only mainstream media outlet that even remotely approaches my political leanings, but I have to say that the approach is indeed often remote, and I’m not surprised to see them accept that advertisement. That said, they do make quite a big deal about promoting aspiring authors, and organise several courses and…[Read more]
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Libby, thanks for that link. It’s quite damning, and if I’d known about it I might have included it in my e-mail.
Ath, it never occurred to me that the placement of the ad might be random. It’s too much to ask of coincidence. I do hope that the acceptance of it was indeed due to lack of scrutiny. If I were to learn that they were at all aware of…[Read more]
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Just checked the article again, and I have to say that the ad-spot is a set of Google tags; Google is the Advertising Network managing this space, so it will be filled according to a set of priorities partly determined by your cookies. That’s why after checking Amazon for cat-toothpaste, every other page you visit wants to sell you the stuff. So…[Read more]
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Cookies are generally innocuous, but can be a royal PITA. Opt in on a site’s cookie policies and you can easily find yourself seeing advertising that you really don’t want to see, unless the site is particularly careful regarding what is set. I bought my daughter sports socks as a little Christmas extra. Since then I’ve been plagued with ads for…[Read more]
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Ah, so the ad wasn’t actually down to the Guardian, then, and my writing to them was a waste of time. But I get so angry at these vanity publishers (though I gather that phrase is out of fashion now). The way they exploit and trample on the dreams of aspiring authors is downright cruelty, if you ask me.
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Absolutely not a waste of time, Richard. The paper has controls that enable them to reject specific advertisers. Now you’ve brought it to their attention I would expect the least they can do is prevent it appearing again. It’s the Guardian’s choice to use this advertising system, and ultimately it’s their fault entirely.
Having read a bit more…[Read more]
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Re the appearance of ads of any kind, I don’t get any ads, not on the Guardian site or anywhere else. I have Microsoft Edge set to the highest privacy setting, I use DuckDuckGo for all searches unless the results aren’t extensive enough and only use Google for YouTube and maps. I clear cookies every few days and mostly disallow them where I…[Read more]
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It’s worth noting that the Guardian has form for taking money from vanity publishers. Back when I was first getting interested in writing ‘properly’, back in the mid-90s, I remember seeing ads for ‘Athena Press’ plastered all over anything to do with writing or fiction. Their MO was so similar to how you describe Pegasus, I find myself wondering…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Comp – March 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years ago
Dream of an electrician
The day that Colin first fell asleep in his van was as cold and unfriendly as a garden privy in the small hours of a winter’s night. Two long shifts, back-to-back, rewiring the mayoral offices in the town centre, saw him close to exhaustion. He had taken his supermarket sandwich down to the seafront and, with the windows c…[Read more]
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Kate replied to the topic Monthly Comp – March 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years ago
A STRANGE ENCOUNTER
Len slammed on the brakes of his electricity work truck and squeezed his eyes closed. This couldn’t have happened. It had to be his imagination. Too much beer last night and too much coffee this morning.
He peeked open his eyes and gave a screech more usual for his five-year-old daughter.
Pressed against the windscreen was a…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Comp – March 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 years ago
Well, my vote is another month. If you’re up for it that is. If you’re OK with that, I’ll post an entry in the next few days.
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RichardB replied to the topic Close to Home in the forum Blogs 3 years, 1 month ago
That straight road through the village is actually called Roman Road. It’s part of the old Roman road from Neath to Brecon.
I do actually have an idea of what Banwen used to look like when the mine was open, because in the corridor in the Dove Workshop (an adult education and community centre, just visible in the opening shot among the trees, top…[Read more]
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Libby replied to the topic Close to Home in the forum Blogs 3 years, 1 month ago
What a lovely place and beautiful countryside, Richard. I’m not surprised you like it. I can’t comment on St Patrick, being very ignorant when it comes to saints, but I enjoyed watching the re-enactment and the story of the Romans.
So many mining areas have been returned to nature that it’s now impossible to fully imagine what they used to look…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic Close to Home in the forum Blogs 3 years, 1 month ago
Yes, and not least among its attractions is that those houses in the terraces can still be had for less than £100,000.
The Valleys have always been famous for community spirit, though anyone who was alive when the mines were open will tell you that it’s not what it was. The mine at Banwen closed as long ago as 1964 (that pretty pond was once an…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Close to Home in the forum Blogs 3 years, 1 month ago
What a fabulous place. The film suggests a strong sense of community. Do you feel part of it as an “incomer”?
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RichardB started the topic Close to Home in the forum Blogs 3 years, 1 month ago
I have been known to mention on occasion how much I like living where I do. The other day MrsB found (through Facebook, I believe) this short film that gives some idea of why that is, and I can’t resist sharing it with you.
Some ‘footnotes,’ if you will:
The old man, George Brinley Evans, ‘Uncle George,’ is no longer with us, but we used to see…[Read more]
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