Captain’s log; Startled date 02/04/2020 Death toll: 2921 Issues: ineffective testing, PPI and anxiety of the rise eugenic speak in the media and beyond. Upside: clapping for key workers. Downside; memories of Tory government cheering the blocking of nurses and fire-fighters 1% wage increase in 2017 Today we entered the second stage of the new normal where the adrenaline drops and the realisation that we cannot return home creeps into our consciousness, creating a gravity echo that leads to a […]
Bat-sick Crazy March 23rd 2020
Last Monday I was on the bus trying not to touch anything with my hands- -which is tricky if you are visually impaired, bus lurching, Mitzie sliding helplessly into the aisle. Back then, hundreds of long hours ago, when we were still living in that other England, a gaggle of pensioners were braving it out in the backseats, muttering, squeaking and giggling like teenagers bunking off school. Across from Mitzie and I, a baby in a pram coughed snottily […]
My April Rebellion: The CULL Launch Film!
Rebellion against April’s hostile environments Brexit extensions and Extinction Rebellions and here we are in April, ducking between showers, whooping at the sight of cherry blossom and grinning up into the lighter evenings. It’s a crazy time, but at least one can feel the coming of summer. I must believe that the days will lighten further and Mitzie is convinced of it! The delightful Mitzie is now six-months into her tenure and is proving a real superhero! There are still a […]
Oh, What A Night!
My Mum was over from France which was lucky. ‘How does this look?’ I asked, feeling 15 years old. My eyes are still bit blurry but I also have NO fashion sense! ‘Emmm… it’s ‘nice”, said Mum with a worried expression. My heart plummeted. You see my Mum can’t lie about things like this. Her using the word ‘nice’ is like a surgeon using the word, ‘hopeful’. Not something you want to hear a few minutes before the op. I […]
CULL Book Launch! Celebrate with Me!
Three years, a PhD, a myriad rejections, eventually an excited agent, an amazing publisher and a torrent of support, encouragement and kicking up the arse and LOOK what happened! CULL has been born and you are all welcome to the party! I have so much to tell you but just for the moment, I wanted to let you know that, as of January 2019, the novel CULL is in the shops, thanks to YOU! Your official invitation to the CULL […]
Grace, CULL and the End (of 2017, that is)!
I have been out-calendared. Seriously. Here is me handing over a pretty (perchance a little dull) South West Guide Dog Association calendar to Grace’s new family for Christmas. ‘Grace is Ms December!’ I twinkle smugly. ‘Ahh, that’s lovely!’, they reply, handing me a calendar they have made themselves. On their shiny calendar, EVERY month is Grace month!!! Grace, and Max her new buddy, Grace with all the balls, Grace camping, Grace eating Grace, Grace…! ‘Holy Bonio, Grace,’ I hiss. ‘How […]
We are fully funded so what happens now…?
CULL is fully funded so what happens next? The first thing I have to do is reread my original manuscript. It’s been several months since I did this and so it seems fresher with all rot, blots, clutter and shoddy bits now fully exposed. It’s my job to prune, clip, zapp and add compost. I have promised this will be done by 20th September, whereupon I shall send it post-haste to the Unbound production team in London. They will read […]
And still we rise…! 84%!
CULL has hit 84% of total and is on a roll! For those of you unsure about what this is all about, what the hell kind of novel it is and why on earth you should pledge and become part of this wonderful project, please allow me to shed some light! CULL is my second novel, a literary fiction set in ‘another England’ where austerity has set the country’s teeth on edge. Hate crime is on the rise and the […]
(Guide) Dog Lovers Should Not Vote Tory
Are you a dog lover? Do you support Guide Dogs and other assistance dogs? Then this is why you should NOT vote Tory. The snap election is nearly upon us. Some of you may even have your postal vote ready but if you are thinking about voting for the Conservative Party and call yourself a dog lover, I suggest you read this and reconsider your vote. It is VERY simple. Guide Dogs and other assistance dogs are trained to work […]
Grace Still In Da House
For those of you who are asking about the wonderful hound… Yup, Grace is still with me at the moment. The re-homing process is longer and more complex than I had originally thought. There were many wonderful people wanting to take her on and yet there are so many issues when it comes to re-homing an older guide dog that, in the end, we decided to hand all things over to the re-homing team. This means I can just pretend […]