Practice Makes Progress
The proverb practice makes perfect has in my mind been superseded by practice makes progress, which the Strictly star dancer Katya Jones uses. It’s just more accurate. However much time I spend at the driving range, my golf is never going to be perfect, but it is...
Sharing Work
I mentioned in my last post on chess that this month’s talk in my writing circle was on sharing work. It started with a discussion on how nervous we felt about sharing our work. Most of our writers seemed very nervous about sharing work. Their reasons ranged from...
Chess
When I’m not writing the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, marketing, or attending to chores, I amuse myself in a number of ways. Golf, sailing, dancing, and walking are my active pursuits. Wordle and Sudoku are ways to limber up the mind, and I’ve also recently been...
Words in Conflict
Conflict is central to creative writing, as of course, are words. I can’t remember why I looked the word liege up this morning. I think it was something I heard on the radio. I already knew perfectly well what it meant. It means lord or master, as in my liege. Except...
Writing, Dying, and Insults
I came across two lists recently, which caught my attention. The first was a list of insults. Winston Churchill was a master of insults. Apparently George Bernard Shaw wrote to Churchill saying “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a...
Getting Back in the Saddle
The only problem with a long holiday is getting back to work afterwards. After almost a month touring South America my brain is imbued with the Inca empire, the plants and animals of the Amazon Rainforest, the thunder of the Iguazu Falls, and so much more. But what...
Inca Gold
It’s been over a month since my last post: we have been on holiday in South America. Machu Picchu was on Claire’s bucket list, and it did not disappoint. We were blessed with a wonderful guide for most of our almost four week tour, Berner Torres. Berner told me that...
Persian New Year
Last night we celebrated Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. Neither I nor Claire have any Persian connections, but we did attend an Indian street food cookery course with Vaughn’s Kitchen and Cookery School and they run pop-up evenings in a barn near us. The theme...
Saint Patrick
I’ve never really celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. I’ve visited Ireland twice, the first time as a baby, and the second time on a one day business trip to Dublin. Claire and I have talked about going, but Ireland is the Emerald Isle, and what we’ve learnt about places...
Practice Makes Progress
The proverb practice makes perfect has in my mind been superseded by practice makes progress, which the Strictly star dancer Katya Jones uses. It’s just more accurate. However much time I spend at the driving range, my golf is never going to be perfect, but it is...
Sharing Work
I mentioned in my last post on chess that this month’s talk in my writing circle was on sharing work. It started with a discussion on how nervous we felt about sharing our work. Most of our writers seemed very nervous about sharing work. Their reasons ranged from...
Chess
When I’m not writing the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, marketing, or attending to chores, I amuse myself in a number of ways. Golf, sailing, dancing, and walking are my active pursuits. Wordle and Sudoku are ways to limber up the mind, and I’ve also recently been...
Words in Conflict
Conflict is central to creative writing, as of course, are words. I can’t remember why I looked the word liege up this morning. I think it was something I heard on the radio. I already knew perfectly well what it meant. It means lord or master, as in my liege. Except...
Writing, Dying, and Insults
I came across two lists recently, which caught my attention. The first was a list of insults. Winston Churchill was a master of insults. Apparently George Bernard Shaw wrote to Churchill saying “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a...
Getting Back in the Saddle
The only problem with a long holiday is getting back to work afterwards. After almost a month touring South America my brain is imbued with the Inca empire, the plants and animals of the Amazon Rainforest, the thunder of the Iguazu Falls, and so much more. But what...
Inca Gold
It’s been over a month since my last post: we have been on holiday in South America. Machu Picchu was on Claire’s bucket list, and it did not disappoint. We were blessed with a wonderful guide for most of our almost four week tour, Berner Torres. Berner told me that...
Persian New Year
Last night we celebrated Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. Neither I nor Claire have any Persian connections, but we did attend an Indian street food cookery course with Vaughn’s Kitchen and Cookery School and they run pop-up evenings in a barn near us. The theme...
Saint Patrick
I’ve never really celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. I’ve visited Ireland twice, the first time as a baby, and the second time on a one day business trip to Dublin. Claire and I have talked about going, but Ireland is the Emerald Isle, and what we’ve learnt about places...