@squidge
Active 1 month ago-
RichardB posted an update 1 year, 3 months ago
Christmas spirit was alive and well at our ‘local’ this morning when we turned up for a drink on the house ‘as a thank you to our regulars.’ The landlord (yes, really: it’s a free house) was wearing a teeshirt saying ‘You scumbag’ and the landlady one saying ‘You maggot.’ Pity I didn’t catch them side by side…
Merry Christmas, all, what’s left of it.
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Athelstone started the topic One Christmas in the forum Coffee Shop 1 year, 3 months ago
Back on the WordCloud I started a group called Advent for Christmas-related posts. It was slightly popular, but back then we had an active wall and plenty of other groups, so it never flew especially high.
I posted a short children’s story. It needs a good edit that I might give it one day, but i think it’s quite fun, so if you’re in need of some…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Happy Christmas in the forum Coffee Shop 1 year, 4 months ago
And many thanks to you, Libby, and to the other happy few who make this place worth keeping. A very happy Christmas to us all.
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RichardB replied to the topic Monthly Competition – December 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
I salute you, Ath. The last time we had a kitchen makeover we had it done professionally, though to be fair to myself that was an intregal part of the deal. To show my respect I am actually responding to your prompt, for a change.
Modelling Therapy
I’ve always been a sucker for a nice model. In my youth I used to build plastic kits (Airfix and…[Read more]
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Aha! Yes, having it done professionally was always part of my view of things as well. Then we both agreed to spend more than we probably should on the various bits and pieces. The chap in the shop said, in confidence, our fitting is expensive and you might want to get your own fitter. He hit some keys and offered us in excess of Ā£4.5k for…[Read more]
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My God, i salute you again. Fitting tiny bits together that are already the right size, as in my entry piece, is one thing, but I’ve never had the skill to do DIY to such fine tolerances. Now I’m old and can usually find the money to pay for work to be done professionally I try to avoid DIY altogether, though I did manage the other day to mend a…[Read more]
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I think it was the number of surprises that wore me down. We looked at finished units in a showroom and it never occurred to me that the various pieces wouldn’t be supplied ready to fit. So when the parts arrived it was a shock to see several 4 metre lengths of aluminium lying amongst them, together with endless bags of anonymous and unexplained…[Read more]
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You are right Ath, paying for installation is rather expensive so I’ve opted for Christmas at daughters and have been gutting the kitchen myself. Also sourced some of the new items myself, although, like you, have gone for integral fridge and dishwasher.
So far I’ve emptied the cupboards and removed all the upper ones the extractor fan…[Read more]
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Janette posted an update 1 year, 4 months ago
Phew, Winter comp story posted. Hope it may be forgiven that this is an old monthly comp entry that I have torn apart, expanded and reassembled. It is all I could come up with given my other obligations, and I now hope errors and amends don’t leap out at me!
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I hope you may be forgiven too, because my entry was conceived in a similar way. I don’t even have your excuse of being too busy, but the story asked to be written and so I wrote it.
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I look forward to reading yours, Richard.
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Me too to a large extent. My entry very much a side/back story of two or three other comp entries all of which stemmed from one or more of my ‘Love triangles with murder series. I did hope for something different but the characters have taken up permanent residence in my head.
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RichardB posted an update 1 year, 4 months ago
Just had two days without power, courtesy of Storm Darragh. By yesterday afternoon the house was so cold we were wearing our outdoor coats indoors. The mobile network went down too, so what with the landline going digital we were completely isolated. The power finally came back on just before midnight, and the house is still warming up. The mobile…[Read more]
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Afterthought: when ‘they’ were planning the change to digital landlines did they consider the possible consequences of running the system via broadband routers, dependant on the national grid, or did they simply not care? If I’d had a heart attack or something during those two days I would have died. We had no way of calling an ambulance.
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I hope things are back to normal now, Richard. The lack of means of communication is frightening.
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Yes thanks, we are okay now, though the boiler had to work non-stop for 48 hours to get the house back to normal temperature.
Our ‘local’ pub (about four miles away) were in the same fix. They had hundreds of people booked for Saturday night dinner and Sunday lunch, and the guvnor had to drive five miles to a supermarket car park to get a signal…[Read more]
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Athelstone started the topic Monthly Competition – December 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
I did the first one of the year. Here’s the last. I’ve been fitting a kitchen. Plumbing, carpentry, stuff to a standard I’ve never managed before. Came close to giving up once or twice.
Up to 500 words on doing something really difficult.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
Thanks Seagreen. Glad you laughed. Well, Terrie, there’s a coincidence. I’ve barely been able to write for the last month having been fitting our new kitchen. Completely new from top to bottom including having to rebuild joists under the floor and fit a kitchen to an accuracy of 1mm per metre. As I’ve never done anything to that accuracy except by…[Read more]
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Terrie replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
I popped in a few times but sorry, didn’tĀ managed to postĀ anything forĀ the monthly comp . I’ve been really busy sorting and emptyingĀ the kitchenĀ as sparkly newĀ units,Ā Ā sinkĀ and otherĀ gizmosĀ are being fitted in the newĀ year. the old one is over 20 years oldĀ and it’s turned into a major refit having toĀ move pipes, wiringĀ and other thin…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
Sea,Ā I well remember, a couple of years ago admiring your shorter haircut when you picked me up at Markinch station, Promise I wasn’t thinking of the competition we might meet at Craigievar! I did hope to do something more inspired for this great prompt, but ran out of mental space, so well done Ath.
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Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
Anyone else got ???? Supposed to be a smiley face š
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Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
Sorry for being so late with thisā¦
Sandra and Ath, thanks for entering – and both with a hair-related topic! ???? Alex, no worries. Iāll catch you next time.
Sandra – your chosen article left me gobsmacked. Clearly, I have been a victim of this. Brainwashed into keeping my hair short because my good looks are a threat to other women. Iāll be on…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic The latest in vanity publishing in the forum Marketplace 1 year, 4 months ago
I’m not surprised by this. For some time there have been AI editing features available with Prowritingaid, Grammarly and so on. I have the former, and although I seldom use the AI features, some of which are behind an additional paywall, I have given them a spin in the past. What you get from one of the reports does appear to be a reasonably…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
Argus 26 November 2024
Brighton man grows hair for five years for special reason.
I remember the blonde hair on the windowsill. My hair’s brown, so it must have come from Taz. Her hair is, or was, I should say, long, and rich, and blonde. Curious, I ran my fingers through my hair a few times and then examined what had come loose. Not a lot,…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic The latest in vanity publishing in the forum Marketplace 1 year, 4 months ago
Yes, it’s rather chilling, isn’t it?
One doesn’t tend to think of Roald Dahl as a sci-fi writer, but he foresaw something like this. Over seventy years ago one of his early adult short stories, The Great Automatic Grammartizator, told the tale of a nerd who invents a machine that generates stories at such a prodigious rate that he takes over the…[Read more]
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Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly competition- November 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 4 months ago
5 days left to give me the lowdown on what really happened behind the headline!
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Athelstone replied to the topic New BBC Radio 4 book programme in the forum Blogs 1 year, 4 months ago
Looks very promising. I shall be donning the headphones when I set about cooking dinner.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Is a social media Christmas appeal worthwhile? in the forum Blogs 1 year, 4 months ago
If it has any impact at all on the publishing world, I would be pleased. I can see that it is galling when an author with a genuine passion for writing, say for a young audience, hones their craft and achieves moderate success, and then watches a celeb waltz in like an unoriginal bargain-basement Roald Dahl, have a small fortune spent on…[Read more]
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I wholly agree, though in a fit of madness, I thought that an increased gathering of writers might at least get our voices heard, if not have any bearing on sales. It would be a start if some regulation was brought in regards being able to blatantly claim someone else’s work is your own – but too many influential people are on the opposing side to…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Is a social media Christmas appeal worthwhile? in the forum Blogs 1 year, 5 months ago
My view is that publishers are in it for the money, and celebrity sells more – and more reliably – than as-yet-unknown novelists (potentially supplying a profit which might enable them to take more chances on unknowns?) It might be seen as ‘not fair’, but in my view is more honest to trust readers’ appreciation of well-written novels than bombard…[Read more]
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Sandra, it isn’t so much a bombardment campaign, rather a sharing of a meme to ask for support. I appreciate the view that regular novelists are enabled to be taken on because of the success of celebrity books, but the avalanche of them in such an unlevel playing field is instrumental in creating this huge imbalance, and I think the dishonesty is…[Read more]
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I suspect, lacking conviction in my opinions, I’m not a campaigner.
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I have bowed out of this. My intention was to be supportive, but the feelings stirred and opposing views given have me concluding that I should leave it to published authors and their representatives to fight the battle. Lesson learned.
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Janette started the topic Is a social media Christmas appeal worthwhile? in the forum Blogs 1 year, 5 months ago
Recently, @Philippa East posted a copy of her letter to the Society of Authors on facebook:Ā https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2364405197250152&set=pcb.2364405367250135
It refers to the unfair bombardment of celebrity books and their many promotions, especially during a holiday season. Though I am not (yet) published, I wholeheartedly agree…[Read more]
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Hi @janette, thank you for sharing this. As I’m not on FB I can’t read the whole letter on screen. Are you able to copy and paste it here?
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Hi Libby and @janette.
Here below is a copy of my original letter to the society of authors.
I think that a āChristmas appealā letter, encouraging readers and book-buyers to support ordinary authors by avoiding celebrity titles would be great! Iāve been chatting loads about this issue in my various writing networks, so I think that if we were…[Read more]-
I saw your letter, Philippa, and I’m really pleased you voiced what so many of us are feeling.
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Thank you, @philippaeast for posting this. @Libby hope you agree with the sentiment.
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I’m happy to join any communal effort. I’m an associate member of SoA, because I haven’t sold enough books to classify as a full member. Our Monmouth branch of SoA is very active, and as you can imagine, the subject of celebrity authors comes up a lot, particularly in relation to children’s books. A good friend, Claire Fayers, has just scored a…[Read more]
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On listening to other opinions, both here and on Messenger (FB), I concede that I have perhaps not worded my intentions very well and may have come across as too confrontational. I also apologize to those who feel ‘bombarded’ and will happily remove names from the list of those I have shared into the conversation, or remove the message altogether.…[Read more]
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I’m sorry you’ve had a bad experience trying to get the message out Janette. I share your and Philippa’s frustration with the celebrity Christmas book, especially now I’m truing to get my funny children’s book under people’s noses. An unfair situation, but one I doubt publishers will be interested in rectifying.
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And to you. We’ve just waived 14 guests away after hosting a Boxing Day buffet. I enjoyed it, mainly, but glad it’s done.