A few weeks ago I have started a Open University short course in fiction writing. I have never studied with OU before and it takes a while to get used to how it works. You basically have to do lots of really challenging writing activities which you post on the forum -via a software you [...]
Jun
22
Jun
22
Blog has moved
As you can see my blog has moved to WordPress. This is not the definitive layout – I am still looking for one. With the last host I had so much trouble reaching my allocated bandwidth too quickly that it got suspended – often not even before the middle of a month. So I hope [...]
Jun
10
Tropic Thunder
Yesterday we watched “Tropic Thunder” on DVD and it’s one of the funniest films I’ve seen this year. Robert Downey Jr. takes the piss out of Russell Crowe and Tom Cruise, who I didn’t recognise at first, must have had the time of his life playing the nasty, cold-hearted producer. He was really good in [...]
Jun
10
Book challenge
I was so busy with my book proposal and my course work that I haven’t really read much from my reading list. The book I dip into at bedtime these days is a book called “Fur Babies – why we love cats” by Liz Jones and is a collection of articles by celebrities like Ricky [...]
Jun
10
Dealing with rejections..
Is part and parcel of what it means to be a freelance journalist. I try to shrug them off, but sometimes you see a story you pitched commissioned to someone else and you begin to wander. Often it’s just silence or a no with no explanation whatsoever. This isn’t helpful at all. My last rejection [...]
Jun
04
Final driving lesson –for the time being
I had my final lesson (out of a block of 10) on Tuesday. Final – because I can’t afford more at the moment. It took one and a half hours and felt quite long to me! I am not sure if I will ever get used to driving. My instructor was still worried I’d [...]
Jun
03
Bring back the hat
Found this interesting article on the demise of the hat http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8074663.stm I think that hats are a good thing – they make people look nicer and kind of respectable. My dad almost always wears a flat cap, to keep sun and rain off his bald head. When I was 14, I went through a phase [...]
Jun
03
Disturbing documentary of the week
Yesterday I caught “My Monkey Baby” on Channel 4. The programme followed three American couples who bought a monkey as a “Baby” substitute. One couple was young and the man didn’t want a human baby, the second couple was retired and the woman suffered from empty-nest syndrome, in the case of the final couple (not [...]
Jun
02
Cute story of the week
Dachshound Bessie adopts tiger cub in Berlin Zoo. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8079547.stm Awww.
Jun
02
Get well soon Dave.
I was really worried to read that Depeche Mode’s singer David Gahan was diagnosed with a cancerous bladder tumour – hence the band had to cancel most of their tour. According to the news http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8071720.stm he had surgery to remove the tumour. I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery. I love Depeche [...]
Helen's Paws for Thought
- Bobby in a box September 6, 2010Our cat is incredibly nosey and likes small boxes – she even sleeps in them. I thought I share a few photos of her which we took a couple of weeks ago. […]helen
- New layout for my blog September 6, 2010I decided it’s time to change the blog’s theme and layout and I hope you like it. I always wanted to incorporate Bobby’s paw into my blog’s header and thanks to this new theme I found I was able to. I am still working on my new website -hence the lack of blog entries lately. […]helen
- Ukuleles August 2, 2010I am not normally a trendy person, but in March I ordered an Ohana Ukulele from Music Is Life http://www.musicislife.co.uk/ (also called the Southern Ukulele Store on Ebay) which finally arrived a few weeks ago. Ukuleles are very popular at the moment – even the Guardian has dedicated an article to a Ukulele teacher in […]helen