Wasting Time

Wrote this in 2010. How things have changed in the world since then... 

Well, that's the school holidays finished and did I do anything I'd planned to do? No!  As usual...  I began a new Creative Writing course, did the first two hours of the thirty hour course then stopped.  I Studied A Level Philosophy curriculum to help some lovely people at school, but not in as much depth as I'd intended.  The weather stopped me doing as much in the garden as I'd wanted, but I could have done more.  I never got to County Sligo to unearth some family history, nor did I visit Wellington in Shropshire to do the same.

We did take Sarah and Ethan to Scarborough for a few days but never made Blackpool or Southport and didn't get to Diggerland!  Got to go to Diggerland before Ethan's obsessiveness ends!

Nice day in the garden for Ethan's birthday while his mum spent her birthday in London.  Tim's extending our back garden to help keep out weeds coming from the back field, hence the uplifted fence panel, but there's a steep drop down to the bank of the stream.  He's built me a staircase to heaven using old railway sleepers.  Bit tricky getting down there even with them!

I also had a great time with two old band mates Martin and Bill.  We are all proud owners of Martin guitars and I decided we should be called "The Three Martineers".  Wish I could play as well as they do, or sing as well as Martin does.  I can't even claim to be the beauty of the bunch :-)  A rose between two thorns I certainly am not. What do you think?  Please don't answer if you're not going to be kind.

The Three Martineers:

Mine's more shapely than the dreadnoughts owned by the boys. And mine is "diminished" by being an electro acoustic, something Martin believes should never have been produced by the great guitar brand!

And yes one of my intentions was to improve my playing by beginning to play every day for at least an hour - did I do it?  What do you think!

What I did do, which was not really on the planned agenda that failed, was to spend more time investigating the new atheism that is being attacked by many Americans. I listened to many of the debates on YouTube and have decided that I am a humanist.  But I don't want this to turn into another form of religion - more research to do on the topic I think.  Science has caused many problems albeit not as many as religion; but why do we always have to set things in opposition to each other?  The debate shouldn't be science versus religion, there are good and bad sides to both.  I hate fundamentalism in all forms and I believe it should be down to personal choice, not tradition, if one is to join a religion. 

Must stop getting on that soapbox!

In 2017 I now believe I should have got on it much sooner... 

Back to writing - at last!

Standing at the patio doors enjoying the views of the back garden close to the best time in the year. The rhodedendron is just beginning to flower and for two weeks it will look glorious. But then the flowers go and it becomes hard work as I spend a whole day taking off the seedheads. My husband Tim doesn't like the rhodie but I think this little corner of the garden looks delightful. What do you think?
Well I haven't posted in the blog for over a year. I couldn't find it! And me, a worker in the IT industry for over 27 years - I can't get used to how easy it is to publish your life.

Recently I was privileged to be able to read my aunt's diary, written in 1954 - two years before I was born - when she was in hospital being treated for TB, a disease that is rarely heard of in Britain today but back then, and for centuries before, a killer that took the lives of many people.

I have to give the diary back soon and need to write it up. I am also on the last leg of the creative writing courses. I'm doing OK on them, but not getting enough marks to think about publishing yet. Why am I always looking for approval from others?