Bank Holiday Rollercoaster

This weekend is traditionally the one in which Nottinghill Carnival happens which I have attended in the past. This year, instead, I went to Wales- where (perhaps you might say unsurprisingly) it rained, then the sun appeared.... then it rained again.... and then the sun appeared.

Luckily I had purchased a HUGE UMBRELLA from Sports Direct so as to avoid a repeat of my experiences last week in the Flash flood, when I ended up looking like a drowned rat, and then caught the flu!  So this time, I didn't.

And I caught up with family, some immediate, some more distant ... and indulged in a moment of nostalgia when I had an onion bhajee and some chips from this award winning Fish Bar. 

Sadly the food on this occasion wasn't as good as when I used to live in Cardiff. Major let down!

However having enjoyed the bank holiday I wondered what its origin was and so being a bit of a boffin I looked up its history. If you too wish to know how bank holidays started then here is a link for you.

Now I am back in Berkshire, I am returning to my research and work towards my dissertation. As part of this, I recently read a beautifully crafted novel called Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird. I love Laird's writing style- it just flows wonderfully and I am in admiration at the way in which she is able to tackle issues in a subtle way. If you haven't come across her work before or indeed the book Oranges in No Man's Land, I can wholeheartedly recommend both.

A new look; some new writing

Well I thought it was high time I revamped my blog ... five years on and here it is looking fresh and bright.

Alongside the revamp I have made a silent vow to myself to keep this at least a little more up to date than it has been recently. I blame my laxity on changing jobs! These things will get in our way.

However to talk writing, which is what my blog is all about, I have just taken on a couple of new contracts for a relatively new and small educational publisher called Cross Academe for two sets of resources related to the Scottish play (Macbeth, for those of you who may be puzzled by this) and Romeo and Juliet.


I am also doing some work for National School Partnerships on a project linked to Dickens' bicentenary which is coming up, for the ALCS. And to top it all off, I am submitting my long awaited dissertation at the end of September. I think it's safe to say I'm a wee bit busy!

However, as I said I will try to keep this much more up to date...so until next time, happy writing!