Poetry In Store and Well Versed (by sarah)

Just a quick note to say that I am performing/reading at the Waterstones in Cheltenham on this Saturday (7th of September 2013) at around 1 o'clock in the afternoon - before me are a lovely bunch of poets reading. The even lasts from 11 till 2 and there is a Costa coffee in the shop too for the coffee fiends :)

Last night I went to Well Versed at the Muffin Man - I took some blurry pictures on my little touch pad but haven't worked out how to get them onto here yet! It was a fantastic night - the cafe was jam packed with audience! And there was a rich variety of poetry types there, the diversity of works being read gave the event a strong vibrancy and I discovered some poets I hadn't heard before.

The next one is in October which I shall be reading at :)

I've been a bit slack with my poetry recently having gotten the prose writing bug again but in the new year I should have a poetry collection coming out so watch this space (or my poetry and music blog). Also October will see the Launch Party of The Little Book of Spoogy Poetry but more on that later!

Both of the poetry events are run by The Cheltenham Poetry Festival :)

Now She is 8 (by sarah)

Jean's actual birthday is hidden at the end of the summer holidays what with her being born on the August bank holiday - so since she has been at school we tend to do her party in September once she is firmly back at school other wise people forget!

So this year for her actual birthday we went to the Library and had a picnic and went hedgerowing.

We bought the picnic from the Co-Op in order to get more tokens for Mary's Banana toy before the offer ends and then sat and eat it on the grassy bit by the library (think it belongs to the community centre).

Me and Mary sang happy birthday though I have to confess Mary continued with 'clack sheep star!' so not the best rendition ever and she kept saying it was her birthday and 'NO Jean! Mine!' etc...

We went into the library for the putting back of 10 books and the getting out of 14 (just for Jean) and settled in for the creepy crafts that go with the reading challenge they had over the summer known as Creepy House.

Jean finished the reading challenge weeks ago! We have not been able to keep up with her book habit at all - we have tried to encourage more factual books but she's not interested at the moment - she says she wants to be a writer. I pointed out you need to read factual books for that as well which made her pause and she asked me what factual books I was reading and we got talking about tudors and bees and things and she made me do yoda impressions all the way to the library and she mentioned the fact that Yoda and the seer woman in The Dark Crystal sound the same etc... It was a fun outing.

Both of them made bats and got their photos taken for the newspaper - not this photo though that is one of mine.

And she has also decided she wants to do blogging so here is her first book review over on Orange Monster (that being the kids book and illustration blog so it seemed fitting).

Click here to read it :)

Oh and she is getting crushes - she babbled at the 16 yr old at the library about languages for ages - confusing him with Lojban ;)

A Day of Pain and Gain (by sarah)

I woke up early yesterday as in 4:30 in the morning, it was tipping it down and I was in pain, arthritis/joint pain and I had to take pain killers, so I got up and did some writing. Dawn was miserable and grey and you could hardly tell it was daylight if I am honest and I was miserable. I had been planing on walking to the library with the girls.

However, the baby slept in and Jeany was happy to play mathletics so I went back to bed with more drugs and awoke a couple of hours later feeling just a bit achy and sore and the rain had stopped. I got dressed and retrieved an awake but happy MAry from her cott and set the girls up with a film whilst I awaited the boiler service men. They came, had tea, chatted with me about bands from the 80's , said the boiler was fine and went. I packed water and nappy changing stuff for Mary etc... and off we went to the library - walking - I managed this last week with Alaric but knew it was the edge of my endurance.

My pelvis was creaking by the time I got there but I managed it and the girls sat there happily reading the books . for about 45 minutes - all told we were there for about an hour. Jeany has finished the summer reading challenge as of last week but Mary has been getting her little passport stamped and it was her turn to get a certificate. I am hoping to take her to the Tuesday rhyme time there but it is quiet a walk for me still - it took me about an hour to walk each way though I do go rather slowly.

We left ladened with books and Jean navigated us home, I then remembered that I had planned for us to blackberry on the way home as I'd noticed some were looking ripe on the way to the library last week but I had completely forgotten and we had no tubs or bags or anything on us :(

Then Jeany had an idea and we drank the water from her water bottle and Mary's beaker and filled those up with them :)

It worked really well and there were soooooo many berries! I quiet want to make a black berry wine this year so need loads of the things!

Jean has requested crumble and Mary cake so we shall see, especially as several people have been asking about the hedgerow jam again as well and there are enough elderberries and rose hips and things along the way that I think it should be possible.

It was a hard day physically but I feel I achieved alot and I have at the very least I have gained some blackberries. I am sore today, but not too bad.

Oggy, Babbit and Bubba (by sarah)

I made this story up for the girls on the way down to London at the beginning of the summer - it is based on a typical day (sort of if you take out all the broken washing machines and cats throwing up and that sort of thing).

Oggy, Babbit and Bubba were Mary's special friends, they went everywhere with her. In the morning Mary would wake up hugging Oggy, Babbit or bubba and would then tell them about her dreams.

When daddy came into the room she would stretch up her arms and called 'Daddy! Out! Out!' and once in his arms having a nice morning cuddle she would call, 'Babbit! Oggy! Bubba!' and Daddy would scoop them out of the cot and Mary would cuddle them all the way down the stairs.

As Daddy cleaned Mary's bottom making it shiny and new, Mummy would make biks! for breakfast which were Mary's favourite but Mary was always cross about this and would shout for 'Oggy, Babbit and Bubba' until Daddy picked her up and popped her into the high chair.

There she would see her biks and demand ilk and Mummy would pour on Mary's special milk and crush the biks up. Mary wanted Oggy, Babbit and Bubba but was too hungry to argue and would concentrate on eating up all her biks so she could ask for more.

After biks, Mary would help Jean get ready for school by showing her big sister how to brush teeth - this mainly involved eating the tooth paste off of the brush and hiding it behind the loo when no one was looking and screaming when the flannel and soap came anywhere near her.

Then it was getting dressed time, Jeany would put on her soaks and Mary would pull on hers, then Jeany would pull on her trousers and Mary would do the same, then the shirt and cardigan. Mary would bring Jeany her shoes crying 'shuoosh shush' and put her sparkly pink ones on her own feet even though Mummy said they were only for parties.

Then Mary would hug Babbit whilst queuing to have her hair brushed, the brushing of Mary's hair was really important, not because she had much hair as she didn't but because her big sister had her hair brushed.

Then Jeany and Daddy would put their coats on and Mummy would tell Mary 'NO!' to putting hers on and Mary would cry but then Mummy would cuddle her and they would wave bye bye to Daddy and Jeany.

'Daddy?'

'Daddy's gone to work,'

'Jeany?'

'Jeany's gone to school'

'Mary?'

'Mary play with Doggy why mummy does some work then we go to the park?'

Mary would nod and set up Oggy and Babbit and sometimes Bubba for their special breakfast of play dough. She wasn't allowed play dough in the living room as there was carpet, nor in the library where mummy was working but she was allowed it in the kitchen but there was no Mummy in the kitchen. After about half an hour Mummy would shout at Mary for treading play dough into the carpet and Mary would cry and Mummy would hug her and they would have no nappy time when Mary would have to remember to use bear chair the potty and Bubba would help by sitting on her own little potty.

Mummy would then redress Mary with clean cloths that were in the right way and not back to front. And Mary would get the pushchair and climb into it. Babbit would be held tight as they went for a walk to the park. At the park Babbit tended to stay in the push chair though did get a bit muddy when Mary decided he had to go down the slide with her.

Mary had a great time on the slide and the swings and the snail bouncer and the green bonging thing. Then it was time to go home and Babbit was put in the washing machine whilst Mary and Oggy sat in the garden with Mummy for a picnic. Mary waved bye-bye to Babbit and explained, 'clean!' to him as mummy shut the washing machine door.

Mary cried and cried as mummy carried her up the stairs, it was nap time but there was such a lot of exciting things to do and see and learn. But then her eye lids were so heavy and mummy gave her milky and tucked her in under ducky blanky and she had Oggy and Bubba and Mummy explained Babbit would be drying when she woke up and then Mummy sang a lullaby and Mary sighed gently into sleep (after a lot of wailing and shouts of NO! NO! NO!).

When Jeany came home from school she zoomed straight up the stairs to wake Mary up, Mary cried, 'Cuggle!' and Jeany cuddled her out of the cott and they played in the bedroom dressing up as solders and pirates and princesses and space men and lizards and cats. Then Mummy called them and they played out side in the paddling pool, Mummy changed Mary into her mermaid swimming costume and Babbit was pegged to the washing line by his ears, Mary reached up her little hands to try and reach him but was far too small.

'No lovely he's not dry yet,' Mummy said and then Jeany helped the sad Mary into the pool where they played with dollies and boats and splashed each other until they giggled and giggled and it was time for an ice lolly. Mary got very sticky and juicy from the lolly but Mummy didn't mind as she went back to play in the pool.

After a while she came and sang inkle inkle ittle star to Mummy and Mummy and Jean and Oggy sang lots of songs together, incy wincy spider, baa baa black sheep, Mary had a little Babbit and the Little Chicken Song.

When Daddy came home he removed Babbit from the line and gave it too Mary who put Oggy, Babbit and Bubba in the bucket seat of her chu chu train and scooted around the garden. Daddy made them Mary's favourite dinner of pasta and peas for dinner with a special treat of Jelly for desert.

Then it was bath time and tooth brushing and snuggling on the settee for film time. Mary was sat on Daddy's lap with Babbit and Oggy and stared wide eyed at the adventures on the screen. And then it was sleepy tired time and Daddy carried Mary up the stairs and Mummy made up a story about Babbit and Oggy and Mary and Bubba.

Then Mary tucked Bubba in and sung her a lullaby and Jeany tucked Mary in and Daddy tucked Jeany in and read them a Mary book and then a chapter of a Jean book and then said nun night and left.

Jeany read to Mary from her book and climbed out of bed to make sure Mary had Babbit and Oggy and re-tucked her in and then Mary was snuggled down and cuddling her friends. Eventually after a few 'oh Mary's' and 'Dean! Dean!' Mary and Jean and Babbit and Oggy and Bubba and Bed Bear and Panda (who was Jean's) were all snoring softly and Daddy quietly turned the light off and removed any books in danger of being drooled on. And with that the moon light and stairs twinkling in from the window and Mary dreamed of Babbit and Oggy and Bubba.

Of Trees and Dreams (by sarah)

This is the first crop of apples from Mary's apple tree we have in a pot in the garden, I been producing alot from the garden this year but it is frustrating as it is all pots and grow bags and we are still waiting for an allotment, which also means I can't make the garden nice either at the moment but that will all come in time.

I am however really missing my fruit trees that me and Dad planted at The Bakery - two apples (which technically belong to Cranham Scout Group), a golden plum and a cherry. The apples were producing from the first year and they were large sweet watery green things - normally only one or two per tree a year, the plum had only started producing a few here and there when we left. If they are still there then they will now be starting to crop properly. However they were not in the best place for water and I wonder if anyone has watered them.

There is however a community orchard opening up near us so I am hoping to be able to get onto that - but it is being restricted to the houses around the space which we just miss being - so we will see.

The final death nail has gone into the coffin of the dream we had - I was still thinking we could save up and buy it all back and then be in control and do good things like the balcony and conservatory and the orchard proper etc... 6 yrs of wasted effort, time and money (the rent (which we wanted to be a mortgage) - we paid and did alot of structural repairs and things and tried to buy chunks of it at various points, paid for and did a hell of a lot of gardening) - but it was not to be. However it is also a relief - we didn't have the sort of money that was needed to sort the place out - mainly because we were there and Alaric did not take work deals that would have taken him out of the UK to live - I know he feels incredibly frustrated over this. But now we have the practical house and not the dream house and we can achieve everything but the goats and hydro-electricity (for which some of the infrastructure is already in place down there thanks to Al and the work men after the flood), and it just won't look as pretty.

There are no ifs and buts now, as we are too far down the line there are only happends - but I do wonder how things would have been different if we had stayed in Essex - I would have had a science career, I think, which would have slowly mutated to a communication role so in some ways - I think it has just been a different path to the same thing.

Maybe one day we will have our tumble down farm to do up with various out buildings to turn into workshops and art studios - though we are pretty happy here. In my opinion we moved here to Gloucestershire, too young whilst we were still formulating careers and so money was up and down and I was ill etc...

Dumped in the same situation now I would do things very differently indeed.