New Year's Eve - that day in all the year when we either start brooding over the past year or forming resolutions of doing better in the New Year. I must admit I'm sentimental. Saying goodbye to the old year is almost like saying goodbye to an old friend. I've felt comfortable writing 2012 and now I'll be struggling for the first few weeks at least to write 2013 instead.
My reminiscences on the dying year are speckled with "why did I's?" or "why didn't I's?" as in "why did I let myself be persuaded to buy that pair of shoes that I can hardly take two steps in without falling over?" and the annual lament "why didn't I give up eating chocolate like I intended?" All too late now and I don't think any new set of resolutions I might care to dream up would fare any better when I take them out and go through them at the end of 2013.
Why do we wait until the beginning of the New Year to make resolutions? It's the worst time of all for keeping them. If they are of a dietary nature they'll be broken by the time the wintry sun sets on the horizon. Not eat chocolate? Well, there's just that one box I got for Christmas and when that's finished of course I'll stop eating the stuff. We know where that will end. And the idea that I can become a stronger person well able to fend off persistent sales people in the shops? Gone with the first piece of chocolate. For if I don't have enough strength to resist a box of chocolates what chance to do I stand against a smart sales assistant with "winter bargains" beaming in her eye telling me the dress was just made for me? I'll be led to the cash desk with a stupid smile on my face, fancying I'm doing this because I decided to and not because I am like a piece of putty who can be persuaded to anything, especially when it is tagged "reduced price".
So if anyone asks what my New Year resolutions are for 2013, my answer is going to be that I have liberated myself. I'm going to eat chocolate, drink wine, buy stuff in the shops I don't really need. Wait a minute - isn't that a kind of New Year resolutions in itself? In which case I can be sure I'll keep it.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
Sunday 30 December 2012
Saturday 22 December 2012
Dreaming of a White Christmas
I forgot to mention that I was away last week visiting family and friends in Germany. Apologies to anyone who looked for a new post from me. And I'm afraid this post is going to be short because I have a lot of shopping and stuff to catch up on.
Disappointingly, there was no snow on the ground in Germany, in fact it was mild and rainy. This didn't stop me prowling round the Christmas markets and slurping mulled wine and - my favourite - eggnog with cream. Yummy. I just love the smell of cinnamon and aniseed and the all pervasive aroma of bratwurst (German fried sausage, as I expect you know). And of course I couldn't resist buying some Christmas ornaments and a few scented candles. But a bit of snow and a frosty sky sparkling with stars would have been a nice backdrop.
I often wondered why we like to have a white Christmas. I was reading Jane Austen's Emma for the umpteenth time recently and came across the passage where that pesky vicar gets into the coach with Emma and her father and says "ah,snows a little I see" and then goes on to say "Christmas weather! Quite seasonable!" So all those nostalgic Christmas cards depicting carriages or robins in the snow are not so wide of the mark for us insular Europeans. Snow was apparently wished for at Christmas and was not unusual in Jane Austen's time. And it does give us a warm, safe feeling if we look out the window at a white world as we sit in the warmth.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas!
Disappointingly, there was no snow on the ground in Germany, in fact it was mild and rainy. This didn't stop me prowling round the Christmas markets and slurping mulled wine and - my favourite - eggnog with cream. Yummy. I just love the smell of cinnamon and aniseed and the all pervasive aroma of bratwurst (German fried sausage, as I expect you know). And of course I couldn't resist buying some Christmas ornaments and a few scented candles. But a bit of snow and a frosty sky sparkling with stars would have been a nice backdrop.
I often wondered why we like to have a white Christmas. I was reading Jane Austen's Emma for the umpteenth time recently and came across the passage where that pesky vicar gets into the coach with Emma and her father and says "ah,snows a little I see" and then goes on to say "Christmas weather! Quite seasonable!" So all those nostalgic Christmas cards depicting carriages or robins in the snow are not so wide of the mark for us insular Europeans. Snow was apparently wished for at Christmas and was not unusual in Jane Austen's time. And it does give us a warm, safe feeling if we look out the window at a white world as we sit in the warmth.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas!
Sunday 9 December 2012
Just Looking
I must be every shop assistant's idea of a shop lifter. This was borne in upon me yet again last weekend when I went on a browse. No sooner than I had stopped at the first beauty counter than an assistant appeared out of thin air and honed in on me.
'Can I help you?' she purred. I told her I was "just looking". She ignored this feeble statement and with a practised eye noted that I had been looking at face creams. She picked up a tube of serum guaranteed to iron out even wrinkles you didn't know you had and have you looking younger than you did at 15. The price tag would have done justice to buying shares in the Waldorf Astoria. 'This is on special offer only this weekend,' she said, holding it out to me enticingly 'Try it.' I muttered something and moved away but she kept hovering at my side and as soon as I looked at anything on the counter she was there to tell me what great stuff it was. It was as if she thought I'd pocket something if she didn't keep a sharp lookout. In the end I slunk off without buying anything. I was even too discouraged to try a sample squirt of one of the new perfumes.
Of course I should have had more back-bone and kept on browsing, but with a shop assistant keeping a sharp eye on me - or so it seemed to me - I just didn't feel comfortable. And yet what are all those glass counters for, if not to browse what's on display and maybe buy something that catches your fancy and doesn't bankrupt you? Half of the fun is window-shopping and in these days of cold austerity it takes longer than usual to decide what you want to buy and what you can afford. Oh for someone who says "if you need any help let me know" and then goes off and leaves you to it. Nine times out of ten that's when I make a purchase. On the rare occasions when I really need advice the assistant is usually out of eye-reach attending some glamorous, well heeled customer. Ah well, that's Murphy's Law, I suppose.
To be fair, I guess many of these sales ladies are bored. They've learned all about the products and are dying to impart this information to prospective customers. The only trouble is that prospective customers like myself prefer to browse in peace and quiet. Otherwise we take ourselves off to the unmanned counters where we can look all we like.
'Can I help you?' she purred. I told her I was "just looking". She ignored this feeble statement and with a practised eye noted that I had been looking at face creams. She picked up a tube of serum guaranteed to iron out even wrinkles you didn't know you had and have you looking younger than you did at 15. The price tag would have done justice to buying shares in the Waldorf Astoria. 'This is on special offer only this weekend,' she said, holding it out to me enticingly 'Try it.' I muttered something and moved away but she kept hovering at my side and as soon as I looked at anything on the counter she was there to tell me what great stuff it was. It was as if she thought I'd pocket something if she didn't keep a sharp lookout. In the end I slunk off without buying anything. I was even too discouraged to try a sample squirt of one of the new perfumes.
Of course I should have had more back-bone and kept on browsing, but with a shop assistant keeping a sharp eye on me - or so it seemed to me - I just didn't feel comfortable. And yet what are all those glass counters for, if not to browse what's on display and maybe buy something that catches your fancy and doesn't bankrupt you? Half of the fun is window-shopping and in these days of cold austerity it takes longer than usual to decide what you want to buy and what you can afford. Oh for someone who says "if you need any help let me know" and then goes off and leaves you to it. Nine times out of ten that's when I make a purchase. On the rare occasions when I really need advice the assistant is usually out of eye-reach attending some glamorous, well heeled customer. Ah well, that's Murphy's Law, I suppose.
To be fair, I guess many of these sales ladies are bored. They've learned all about the products and are dying to impart this information to prospective customers. The only trouble is that prospective customers like myself prefer to browse in peace and quiet. Otherwise we take ourselves off to the unmanned counters where we can look all we like.
Saturday 1 December 2012
The Next Big Thing - Tag
Janet Cameron, whose novel Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World will be published by Hachette in spring 2013, tagged me to answer the questions below on my current novel Spate of Violence which will be published as an e-book also in spring 2013. See link to Janet's website under My Blog List.
So here goes:
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Driving home late one night I saw a gang of kids roaming the streets, intent on no good by all appearances, and I started thinking about these kids, their families and what would happen if someone tried to stop them.
What genre does your book fall under?
This is a difficult one to answer. I guess it's a contemporary fiction novel.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I would like all roles to be played by unknown actors because I think that would suit the nature of the story.
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
The Bartels move to the town of Bitterfeld when Sebastian lands a super job in nearby Frankfurt but his family are torn apart when he joins the local vigilantes whose avowed aim is to restore law and order to the city streets.
Will you be self-published or represented by an agency?
I plan on publishing Spate of Violence as an e-book.
How long did it take you to write the first draft?
It took me over a year. I revise as I go, so I kept changing and editing scenes.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My inspiration to write comes from every day experiences, conversations with strangers and a generally overactive imagination.
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
Spate of Violence is the story of how a a family walks the tightrope between self defence and obeying the law. It also provides an insight into the world of the gangs.
Normally I should now nominate at least one other writer but will have to do this at a later date.
So here goes:
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Driving home late one night I saw a gang of kids roaming the streets, intent on no good by all appearances, and I started thinking about these kids, their families and what would happen if someone tried to stop them.
What genre does your book fall under?
This is a difficult one to answer. I guess it's a contemporary fiction novel.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I would like all roles to be played by unknown actors because I think that would suit the nature of the story.
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
The Bartels move to the town of Bitterfeld when Sebastian lands a super job in nearby Frankfurt but his family are torn apart when he joins the local vigilantes whose avowed aim is to restore law and order to the city streets.
Will you be self-published or represented by an agency?
I plan on publishing Spate of Violence as an e-book.
How long did it take you to write the first draft?
It took me over a year. I revise as I go, so I kept changing and editing scenes.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My inspiration to write comes from every day experiences, conversations with strangers and a generally overactive imagination.
What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
Spate of Violence is the story of how a a family walks the tightrope between self defence and obeying the law. It also provides an insight into the world of the gangs.
Normally I should now nominate at least one other writer but will have to do this at a later date.
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