Friday 21 January 2011

The Poetry Laureates

With the recent appointment of Liz Lochhead as the National Poet of Scotland, Makar, we have three female Lauureates- Gillian Clarke is National Poet of Wales, and Carol Ann Duffy the Poet Laureate. Gillian Clarke has also been awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for poetry.

It is wonderful to see women in the top literary positions, as women write more poetry than men. Most creative writing classes have more women than men in them,and yet more men get published.

Now we have a triumvirate of women. Let's hope it inspires us all to write and publish poetry.

Saturday 15 January 2011

January

Already half way through the month and I have a new car. It's great not to have to walk everywhere,but this car ,although 10 years old,and a little too big for me ,is full of electrical gismos. Yesterday,I left the lights on and flattened the battery. Got it sorted,but now it tells me that it's Saturday 1st January.

I don't mind beginning the month again, perhaps I'll get down to some writing. It's always hard to get back into routine, and each day I postpone doing things makes it even harder to start.So I need to buy a new notebook. I had a new expensive sketch book I was saving.My daughter found it and has used it for her exam revision. So to the pound shop for something cheap that I won't mind spoiling.The hardest part of writing is the starting.

Saturday 1 January 2011

NEW YEAR

So the new year is here-Blwyddyn newydd dda or perhaps Blwyddyn newydd austere. Over the past years I have tighted my belt,but now the papers are saying it will cost £160 just to cover petrol increases, VAT increases,and higher food prices.

I have spent the morning cleaning out my car,which having failed its MOT is off to the scrap yard. It is eleven years old,but it needs a lot of little things doing to it, and all those little things add up to a lot of money. I paid it last year,but not again. So the option is to go without a car. I don't need one;it is an expensive luxury .

I wonder how long I can manage carrying my shopping home, catching the bus,and giving up things not on a bus route. I didn't have a car until I was in my early thirties, but it is lovely to have mobility.Still the way petrol is going up it isn't the time to think about another car,and I can't drive for another week anyway because of my carpal tunnel operation.

On a brighter note the date 1.1.11 looks like binary code,stark tall winter trees standing to attention.