Wednesday 26 April 2017

Who's Reading This ...?

I didn't realise until a few seconds ago that I have been keeping this blog for almost four years!  That is a lot of blogging, a lot of posting and heaps of writing.  I know people do read it.  I don't know how many and I am not particularly bothered - just a little curious.  To me - this blog is a Writing opportunity.  It has seen me through highs and lows, toothache, funerals, rejections and acceptances. It has seen me through good times and bad and once or twice a month it comes back and taps me on the shoulder, saying "Come on Jilly - Time to Blog".

Blogging is truly a 21st century phenomenon!  It gives everyone the chance to find their inner writer - whether they are writing about everyday life, holidays, exciting events, hobbies.  Being able to reach out to people in this way is a wonderful thing and something I am sure hundreds of writers of past eras would have made a lot of use of it also had the facility been there.  I would love to read a blog-post by Charles Dickens, Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, Agatha Christie or Charlotte Bronte, wouldn't you?  In order to see their work in print they had to wait months and often pay towards print and paper costs.  Even if only six people read my post today, that is six more people I hadn't reached out to yesterday.

Being a writer is a fickle thing.  Like Amateur Dramatics, it is largely done by people just for the sheer love of it.  Many put in hours and hours of work, reading, re-reading, re-writing what they have produced, showing it to loved ones - or maybe keeping it as their own little secret, rather like a locked diary.  It causes headaches and heartache but oh, that sense of joy and excitement - opening a new notebook and writing the opening words, writing The End and everything that goes in between those two crucial points, there is nothing that compares to that rush (although I guess footballers would say scoring goals does it for them, and actors would say winning a role does it for them) and nobody anywhere can strip you of that achievement.

So tonight I raise a glass to Blogging.  I don't know who is reading this - if you want to say hi, say hi, if not - I love you to bits anyway!

Tuesday 11 April 2017

JILLY GETS A CERTIFICATE!!!!

Did I tell you I had been accepted by the BBC as an official judge for this year's BBC 500 Words competition?  This annual competition invites children to send in a story in 500 words or less and these are then distributed to a team of judges to mark.  I was sent around 14 in the 7 to 11 age group to read and mark and I had the best time doing so.  And then last week, after the competition closed, I received a Certificate from the BBC acknowledging my help.  I am so used to handing certificates out that it was quite a shock to receive one myself and I was really chuffed!  Another string to my bow!

I have - over the last couple of weeks - been on an intense training course with the care company I will be working for.  It has been fun and I have met some lovely people already.  But some of it - particularly the section on policies and legislation were really heavy going.  I have now got one afternoon of training left then I will be able to go out and meet my clients.  I have stipulated I can work all day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Friday morning at a push.  And the good thing is that my Mondays and weekends remain completely free.  This is the work/life balance I was looking for and I know it is going to be hugely beneficial to Steve and I because our weekends are so precious.  We are always out somewhere, doing something -on Mothering Sunday we went to Greenwich Market and the weekend just gone saw us exploring Leatherhead, Epsom and Cheam. Some of these areas are so pretty and quaint - and we still have the Downs, Belmont Common, Box Hill, Kingston and who knows where else to visit!

We are away over Easter.  That will be our third Easter running and this year we are heading for Suffolk on Maundy Thursday, getting back on Bank Holiday Monday so really looking forward to that.  

Have a great Easter everyone.  Catch up soon.