Childhood, Revisited

My Grandma and I always had a very special relationship.  First grandchild and all that.  Growing up in Canada while she was thousands of miles away in England seemed, if anything, to strengthen the special bond we shared.  She was exceedingly thoughtful and generous, and it is partly to her I give credit for instilling in me a love of literature and storytelling. 

And here is why:

Does anyone else remember a serial magazine that came out in the early 80’s in the UK, called Story Teller? 

It was produced by Marshall Cavendish, and was a fortnightly publication of magazines with cassette tapes, filled with some of the best stories and poems... some classics, some contemporary, but narrated by an assortment of the UK’s finest stars of the stage and screen.  Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Hayley Mills, Bernard Cribbins, Tom Baker, Tim Curry... I could go on and on.

My lovely Grandma used to buy these for us from the newsagent, and send them to Canada for me.  I used to listen to the stories for hours and hours; magazines covering more space on my bed than the duvet, cassette tapes strewn here, there and everywhere, headphones on.  These stories were just magical, and those tales are so tightly woven into the memories of my childhood that even now, I can recall them to astonishing levels of detail.

Today, I stumbled upon a website dedicated to the Story Teller books and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you:

http://storytellerwebsite.wordpress.com/

If you have kids, run – don’t walk – to the ‘Videos’ section, where you will find an amazing collection of You Tube links; someone has taken the trouble to scan the stories and turn them into videos.

I have spent most of the night listening to these; what an incredible treat. 

Here are a few of my very favourites:

Rapunzel – beautifully narrated by the enchanting Hayley Mills – this was always my favourite favourite.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=498366050332&ref=share

Timbertwig and the Caravan of Surprises – the voices in this one are amazing! I dare you not to laugh at the sound of Granny Knot blowing her enormous nose...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idky4UVziw0

Scarlet Braces – hypnotised by the Irish accent in this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PTxLZbm9Kk

Abdullah and the Genie – a peasant outwits the might of a genie in a bottle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRS6o6ogN3o

The Great Big Hairy Boggart – about a farmer named “Jude” (!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n47CjPnm3GI

Jester Minute – a court jester who lives in a toy castle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G19roNvf8to

If you have kids, grab your laptop, snug up on the sofa and make your way through these stories.

Thanks so much to the makers of this website – just magical.  I can’t wait to make my way through them all with my kids!

Enjoy.

SLUTTY MAMMY?!?

A few months ago I sorted myself out with a Google Analytics account.  It basically looks at the traffic to my blog and produces a handy report every once in a while which tells me statistics about where my traffic comes from.

One of the best bits about it is the 'keywords' function, which tells me what people Google in order to find my site.  These are usually hilarious so I thought I'd share my favourites from this week:

• "Is it selfish to have a lifelist?"
• "slutty mammy"
• "slutty bra"
• "hot toon mammy"
• "myth behind mammies and pyramids"

Love it.  However you arrive here, welcome one and all!  Keep clicking!

Happy Birthblogoversaryday!

Well, well, well. This morning I was feeding the baby and realised that it was about this time last year that I wrote my first post on what started out as a pregnancy blog; a quick check revealed it was THIS VERY DAY, 5th November, that I first started blogging. This will be the 51st entry – so I’m averaging about a post a week.

NOT BAD, though I say so myself.

Thank you, dear readers -- all nineteen of you -- for allowing me to force you to poke your nose into my life for a whole year. And because I’m an idiot and let last Friday pass by without giving you a song to read by, let me give you a gift -- oh, isn't the gorgeous Johnette Napolitano JUST LUSH?

Concrete Blonde -- Happy Birthday

Not Just Yet

Do you ever feel like you’ve always been supposed to do something? Like there was some pre-ordained task or purpose that you know your life’s path will lead you towards that just sort of looms in your future, sometime, but you’re not there yet? ‘Bride’ and ‘groom’ know that one day they will metamorphose into ‘mother’ and ‘father’ but just not yet... that kind of thing?


I’ve always been a writer. My formative years are well documented by the diaries I used to keep. Forage around in our loft long enough, you’ll find boxes of them. Never intended for any audience, in the majority they existed purely for the purpose of a medium for my ‘will-he-won’t-he-call-me’ debates peppered with the occasional poignant observation about the state of the world/my life, etc. But the act of writing is something I have always done; this blog being testament to that fact when I swapped a biro and notebook for monitor and keyboard.

I’ve always wanted to write a novel. A voracious reader as a child and through to the present day, I always read anything and everything I could lay my hands on; happily diving headfirst into a world of someone else’s creation for three or for hundred pages. Always following up a recommendation from a friend: “Nick, you HAVE to read this...” But always, I have to admit, with a small pocketful of envy along for the ride reserved for those authors that were doing what I really always wanted to be doing. I like when authors put their photos in the back of their books. Why? So I can try to discern whether I might one day look like I belong amongst them.

For years I’ve (half) joked: “When I’m on maternity leave, I will write my bestseller so I don’t have to go back to work.” A lofty ambition, to be sure. But I am happy to report that I am actually doing it. Finally! I’ve always had a basic premise for a story... that is to say, for many years I have known a bit about the personalities of the people that would make up my novel, but it is only in the last few weeks that these personalities have started to come a little more alive in my mind. That the doors of the houses in which they live have opened themselves to me, and that the conflicts and twists and plots and subplots have started to materialise as an actual narrative. I never had a rock solid world for these people to live in – until now.

I’m writing this now because I’m celebrating the fact that is finally the time to start. But I’m also suitably petrified about the amount of work it is going to be. It’s not just a case of ‘once upon a time...and they lived happily ever after.’ I’m in a whirl of contrasting emotions – excited; daunted. Calm; anxious. Confident; small. AGH! But I may as well give it a try.

Watch this space.