Literature at Lunchtime

I accompanied my good friend Imelda Reed to a lecture on Virginia’s Woolf’s semi- biographical novel Orlando. I was impressed by lecturer Dr Jane Mackay’s in depth knowledge of Virginia’s work. Orlando is based on the intimate friendship between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville- West. ‘Orlando’ is considered by many as important literature to women’s writing and gender studies. But, I have to agree with Dr Mackay that Virginia’s Woolf was foremost a writer dedicated to her art. I don’t believe she would've like to be pigeonholed for women's studies. She came before Feminism and her work lives on post- Feminism era. Virginia was a woman who took her writing very seriously as a writer.

Her novel/biography Orlando explores the boundaries of gender and sexuality. Orlando was often first read by its contemporary audience as a gossipy portrait of Vita Sackville-West; the reviewer at the Daily Mail entitled his buzz on Orlando, "A Fantastic Biography: Mrs. H. Nicholson and 'Orlando': 300 Years as Man and Woman." It was a hugely successful joke - not just critically, but financially as well, both in England and America.

The sad part toVirginia's life was her husband and many people believed she was mad and that’s why she never had children. Virginia suffered three breakdowns and Anorexia in her life. Regardless of her personal issues, she still went on to write and publish work for Bloomsbury. I find it interesting that most strong, intelligent women at some point in their lives will have been considered mad!LOL!

Summer holidays

Writing has gone to pots since the holidays have begun. I took the kids to Norfolk, to a place called Sea Palling for a week. YES! We did get sun, sea and sand most of the time. LOL! We were the fortunate ones to miss out on bad weather. Summer holidays starts early in the East Midlands. The bungalow we hired was fantastic and close to the beach. Not too expensive and the kids just loved spending all day outside with a picnic.

Why go abroad when there’re some fantastic places to visit in England! Locals were friendly and we had a great time just chilling! Driving to Norfolk was lovely. Some of the countryside was breathtaking.

I went to Edinburgh two years and again the visit was a great success. I think people worry too much about weather and ending up in boring or bad holidays. I think holidays are what you make it. You have to do your homework and I’ve been to some brilliant places in England, regardless of the rain, sleet, sun or snow.

Michael Jackson's death

I’ve been following the media coverage of Michael Jackson’s death. It was a shock to hear of his death. Michael Jackson was part of my childhood. I remember watching him as part of the ‘Jackson Five’. I was so excited when I first heard ‘Off the wall’. I was mesmerized by Billie Jean, ‘Beat it’, and so in awe when I saw ‘Thriller’ for the first time. As a kid I used to copy his every move and he did remind me a little of Peter pan. I always thought Michael was a very handsome Afro -American. That’s the Michael Jackson I remember.

Like everything else in life you loose interest, get busy and then suddenly you hear a news flash of his passing. Being a parent, my heart goes out to his orphaned children. I’m sure the Jackson family will take good care of them and give them the grounding they need.

Cbbc Script Competition

Yes, I’ve been busy doing a Cbbc script for the BBC writer’s room competition. The conditions for the competition was the script couldn't be longer than 30 minutes, and no more than 30 pages. I received the email ten days ago, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to complete it on time. I’m pleased to say I’ve met the deadline before the 1st of July and finished a 6,000 word script.

Phew! It was a slog and I’m quite proud to have done it. But, I hate the waiting part, it always leaves me wondering, was it good enough? Could I’ve done better? etc etc. Why do we self doubt our capability? I don’t know... I suppose it’s the way a writer’s mind works... there’s always room for improvement. No writing piece ever reaches the stage you want it to be at. The funny thing is the other day I was searching the web and I came across this fact page about famous writers who received rejections in their life time. Names like Virginia Woolf , H.G wells, Charles Dickens all took rejections and coped. So who knows if I persevere with my writing where it can lead to.