Tag: stories
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52and40/40 No Brief Candle
Burning out and burning bright, my family’s in a Change Rocket, hurtling through spacetime, much outside too blurred to see. I’ve known for years that when the kids started talking futures I’d have to already be in my next chapter, lest I helicopter-parent or self-destruct. I’ve also seen as the kids mature they need, more than…
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balance, Black Panther, calm, change, cinema, Family, Fearless Femme, feminism, frenzy, George Bernard Shaw, International Women’s Day, IWD18, Lady Bird, life, movies, next chapter, novel-writing, parenting, postcard blogging, Scotland, self-actualisation, slow renovation, stories, storyteller, The Grantidote, work, writing -
Gallery Series: A Life’s Work
I first met Norman Gilbert’s work in Edinburgh’s Sutton Gallery in July 2016. Knowing my enthusiasm for accessible Scottish art, Norman’s son Danny, a fellow writer and Twitter friend, had put me onto the event. I’d hoped to meet the artist at the exhibition, but I guess I hadn’t quite understood at that point that…
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52and40/18 National Treasure
A treasure trail of research lead me to Jessie Kesson and now I can’t believe her name wasn’t always part of my frame of Scots reference. Jessie was born in 1916 Inverness to a loving single mum who worked as a prostitute and knew challenge intimately. At eight, Jessie was relocated to a children’s home in Aberdeenshire and denied further…
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52and40/9 (Shop) Local Hero
I’m dreaming of a non-line Christmas Just like the ones we used to know Where purses jingle And footsteps mingle And we all go shopping in the snow. I’m also dreaming of a socio-political re-org for Scotland which ejects a Daily Mail state of mind for the rest of time. And a plan for my big…
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52and40, art, beauty, Christmas, craft, Creativity, Donna Tartt, Dutch painting, Edinburgh, Fabritius, Levels cafe, life, light, love, Philosophy, politics, Sass & Belle, Scotland, Scottish National Gallery, self-actualisation, shop local, stories, The Goldfinch, The Squid Ink Co., weaving, writing, Xmas -
52and40/7 Revise, Run, Roll Again
Dear Sixty Year Old Me, Saturday was that day of sliding down a long snake after a clear climb on a few recent ladders. You felt low afterwards. Low and relieved. Relieved because I wasn’t chosen to read out. Two hours after emailing the intro to my submission to the novel writing workshop I could see holes in it, after all. Huge holes. Leerdammer…
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52and40/5 Foreground Focus
I don’t rage against the dying of the light in a Scottish Autumn. I like putting on lamps in the afternoon and seeing into people’s windows from the bus; stealing details for stories. I relish the warmth of the house in contrast to the new chill outdoors. I’m letting the idea that, ‘what’s in the way is…
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Runaway Stories
This time last year I was all geared up for a new job that was going to include part time writing- HURRAH! Life goals securely on track! And then…. SPLAT. The company’s plans to set up a base in Edinburgh folded and I was in receipt of yet another email telling me my details would…
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Abraham Maslow, Amy Schumer, art, Creativity, don’t come here to be convinced, feminism, Girls, learning, Lena Dunham, life, literature, maslow, Maya Angelou, Mental Health, Philosophy, positivity, Psychology, rejection, runaway stories, self-actualisation, shit-lit, sorrynotsorry, stories, storytelling, tabloids, time, Trainwreck, work, writing -
52and39/30 What’s The Story?
I’ve been reading a book and listening to a podcast I wouldn’t normally choose. Both stories are crime based; one’s real, the other fictitious. Both stories are painstakingly, expertly told. I’ve been intrigued by the acute effects of this different ‘entertainment’ material; I’ve been more alert and somehow quieter. My dreams have gone mad with threats, high risk puzzles, gasping…
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Little Red Tap Shoes
I have a story in Product Magazine this month. You can read the story here. It’s about identity within the normal day and thoughts of a mother and child, a theme that’s a constant in my writing over the last few years. The Mum in this story is a composite of my Mum and myself. The…
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52and39/23 Pursuing Coffee and Light
On a damp, cold morning in February I drove across the ‘burbs of Edinburgh to walk the dog at Portobello. I needed light, air and coffee in my face – nothing unusual there. Near Cameron Toll, I thought, ‘why not…’, and spontaneously picked up charity hitchhikers. It was a great opportunity to hear a story and throw a positive…
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