gone weird

A brief defection to the humanities (I guess even Einstein read books ... )

Children's Literature

Published Thursday, March 19, 2009 by frances.

Interesting though the creative writing is, I'm not very happy with spending so much time inside my own head, so I really don't fancy the advanced creative writing course. Instead, I've registered to do the new 60-point course, Children's Literature from October. There's a long list of set books to buy, with the recommendation to read as many of them as possible before the course starts!

Alcott, L. M., Little Women - read many years ago, but will have to read again.
Browne, A., Voices in the Park
Burgess, M., Junk - I bought this one and read it - amazing for a children's book!!
Gavin, J., Coram Boy
McGough, R., 100 Best Poems for Children
Naidoo, B., The Other Side of Truth - I bought and read this one - excellent.
Pearce, P., Tom’s Midnight Garden
Potter, B., The Tale of Peter Rabbit !!
Pullman, P., Northern Lights - own and have read this one.
Ransome, A., Swallows and Amazons
Reeve, P., Mortal Engines - reading at the moment.
Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - hub owns all of these. Is this the first one? If so, I did read that one.
Stevenson, R. L., Treasure Island - I've never read this one!
Taylor, M., Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

Looking forward to the course, but I haven't studied literature since I was at school, and this is a level 3 course, so it doesn't bode well!

Comments: 0 comments

Still writing creatively

Published by frances.

I got the Mills & Boone back some weeks ago. I got 88% for it, which is quite extraordinary! It was suggested I get it published. No chance. I've had TMA03 back too, the poetry. 78% - again, quite extraordinary! I wrote 3 poems, 2 of which weren't liked - but the third was given that 'get it published' suggestion again. I might try! At the moment, I'm working on TMA04 (a bio of a part of my Dad's childhood), TMA05 (a wierd story!) and the ECA (autobiography of me at puberty!) It would be fair to say that I'm muddled. But I want to get it all done and out of the way.

Comments: 0 comments

New camera!

Published by frances.

I love my little Nikon, but it's getting a bit old now and people keep looking at me like I'm poor, so I decided to splash out on a new one. A Canon Ixus. It's very pretty (pink), but I'm pretty certain the Nikon takes better photos - I'm not dumping it yet!

Dartmoor ponies

Daffodils outside 42 Commando barracks.

It's been beautiful weather over the last week or so, and this was the Hoe on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the whole city was there.

Art!

Comments: 0 comments

What a Feeling!!

Published Sunday, February 22, 2009 by frances.

Brilliant!

Comments: 0 comments

21C Slavery

Published Monday, January 05, 2009 by frances.

I wrote a (sort of!) poem. Poetry is still a complete mystery to me - but, I'm with Annie. (I gave up on the JanNoWriMo - I'd prefer to spend my time reading others' writing, than struggling to write my own drivel!)

‘Stop looking at me!’
cries the boy in the cage
who, despite being eight
has a face full of rage
and eyes rimmed with
the sadness of one
eight times his age.

He threw a rock, once
or maybe it was two.
Everyone cheered
as over the wall it flew.
It hit a man on the head;
felled down on golden ground;
‘Who did that? Was it you?’

His cage is filled with blood;
his mother’s arms; his father’s eyes;
his sister’s heart; his brother’s brains.
In the corner, his grandmother lies,
and all had thrown not one stone,
though they must be ever dead
as hatred rushes in ‘cross the skies.

‘Give me a cave to live in
and a pond from which I can fish.
Freedom from this slavery
Is all that I wish.
One hundred million missiles
or one hundred thousand stones
cannot break these bars,
don’t you see?
You have your Zion,
but you took it from me.’

Comments: 0 comments

Another New Year ..

Published Thursday, January 01, 2009 by frances.

.. there've been so many of them! This one has dawned grey and cold, but at least the 'festive' season is over with and I'm grateful for that.

I think I've gone stark raving bonkers, as I've signed up to the JanNoWriMo 2009 and have pledged a 30,000 word novel by the end of the month - LOL!

Comments: 0 comments

Wow!

Published Sunday, December 21, 2008 by frances.

Bravo Tom and Camilla!

Comments: 0 comments

Monsters!

Published Friday, December 12, 2008 by frances.

They might look cute

But they take hours to get back into their hutch - I'm going to get them a huge run (aka CAGE).

So what's been happening? I've had the bad elbow, so have had to limit time on the computer - now that's better, I have bad eyes! Blepharitis, my optician told me. Hot flannel compresses and 'washing' in baby shampoo. Great.

I got 77% for my first A215 TMA, which wasn't bad considering the awfulness of the story. I've just finished writing a wiffly Mills & Boone type thing for TMA02. Somebody I know would have apoplexy if they read it. But they won't. And neither will anybody else, apart from my tutor and a couple selected critiquers! Poetry next. Then life writing. I'm going to write something about my Dad's childhood (with his blessing).

Apart from A215, I squeezed in the short science course S187, Forensic Science. Interesting yet boring at the same time. I've kind of sketched out the ECA.

Soon be Christmas. Great.

Oh and we've decided to go to Hawaii next year, a week on Oahu and a week on Big Island! As long as we don't encounter any cane spiders, it'll be wonderful!

Comments: 0 comments