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Going back to basics

Wed 1 Sep 2010

Along with many others, my world is heavily reliant on technology - for work, for social networking, for all of my creature comforts. Life is also jam-packed - ironically it's only when I go running that I feel at a standstill!

So it was a breath of fresh air to read about the life of the author Hope Bourne (thank you to Tim Kevan for posting the link on Facebook). She lived a simple life in Exmoor, near my childhood home - much of it outdoors and in isolation.

At times her life was clearly harsh. As the obituary in The Telegraph says, 'untamed nature was not just something she desired, it was also a means of testing human resilience and ingenuity'. Her mother died when she was in her thirties, and their house had to be sold to pay off debts. Hope was left with no home, little money and no income, and no qualifications. She decided to become as self-sufficient as possible, in the area of England that she loved.

She hand wrote (in pencil) her manuscripts and a weekly column for the West Somerset Free Press, and walked three and a half miles to post each article. Archaic? Maybe. But I find it quite refreshing - although I'm not sure my clients would!

She was undoubtedly a very tough cookie - a lady who loved life, loved the land on which she lived, and was extremely self-disciplined and resourceful. What an amazing woman.

You can read the full article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/7968464/Hope-Bourne.html

Have a good week,

Tracey

Why I run

Tue 24 Aug 2010

Yesterday I received a newsletter with details of the half marathon I'm running in next month - the Run to the Beat race held annually in London. It included a short video showing the highlights from last year's race, accompanied by Ministry of Sound music: http://www.ministryofsound.com/Competitions/CompDetails.aspx?id=66 I was quite excited to find out that Ministry of Sound tunes are going to help inspire all of us around the course. However, it was also a reminder that I need to start upping my training, as there are only five weeks to go until the race.

Why do I put myself through these races? On a day like today, when the weather is dark and gloomy, and I'm knee deep in work, I find it hard to remember why I signed up! But - despite the effort of hauling myself out of bed very early this morning - as soon as I get into the rhythm of a run, I remember why I love it so much. It's great being in the fresh air (even when it's raining!), it's great conquering the Calderdale hills, it's great feeling that I'm getting fitter, and it's also great to 'download' - it's amazing what an hour of time away from the distractions of work and home can do for the mind!

It's also great to have a running goal to work towards once or twice a year. I always look forward to seeing my family at the finish line of a long race - that last hundred yards can sometimes be the hardest, and their encouragement helps!

Caitlin Moran's article on 'how running can make you happy' is a humorous take on the benefits of running - and a great read: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/diet_and_fitness/article6994253.ece

I'm finding parallels between my running and work again at the moment. I'm trying to have the same attitude to the half-marathon and the current project I'm involved with: work as hard as I can to achieve my goal, focus the mind, and break down what often seems like a massive undertaking into smaller, manageable chunks.  

Have a good week,

Tracey

Playing with words - or fire?

Wed 18 Aug 2010

A couple of weeks ago I read an interesting and insightful article by Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, where I discovered that Hodder Children's Books are in the process of 'subtly' updating the language of the Enid Blyton Famous Five adventures. This is apparently being done to prevent our children from being put off from reading the Blyton stories.

I was saddened to read this news on a number of levels.

From personal experience, my 6-year old reads the 'original' Enid Blyton books very happily. She enjoys their narrative drive, and if she's not sure what something means, she asks! Surely we have to give our children the opportunity to think for themselves? Isn't the learning and discovery aspect of reading part of the fun?

These stories are clearly not going to be for everyone, but there is a vast choice out there for children. As Mangan points out, there are commercial reasons for Hodder's decision to update these books. However, I'm not sure that making 'subtle' language updates is going to make much of a difference if a child is reluctant to read this style of writing (I'm pretty sure they will never be my son's cup of tea, language updates or not). 

Finally - as Mangan comments at the end of the article - where will the updating end? These stories surely need to be read in context. As she says, if you 'root out all the oddities... you'll be left with an awfully queer set of books indeed'.

The full article is at http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/31/enid-blyton-lucy-mangan

I'd be interested to hear what other people think.

Have a good week.

Tracey

Letting go...

Tue 10 Aug 2010

For me, this week has been all about letting go:

• Letting go of the children while they stay with Granny and Grandpa. Tougher than I anticipated to wave goodbye to them, but, happily, not so tough for them, as they were happily immersed in chasing butterflies around the grandparents' garden at the time!
• Letting go of author deadlines and publishing schedules, that, despite my best efforts, I have been unable to control over the past two weeks.
• Letting go of my running for a few days so I can recharge my batteries.
• Letting go of the usual daily routine with the children, which means switching off my PC before 9pm and having some 'grown up' dinners with my husband - hurrah!

Have a good week,

Tracey

Never too old...

Tue 3 Aug 2010

There are big changes going on in publishing at the moment - and, like it or not, e-books, e-learning and social networking via the Internet are here to stay.

I've blogged about the power of social networking before, and this week I read another inspiring story about the impact of social networking sites.

Ivy Bean died recently at the age of 104. At the age of 101, she had moved to a residential care home, and an IT company helped her and other residents to get online. She soon gained the maximum number of friends possible on Facebook, and then switched to Twitter, where she had more than 50,000 followers. She posted over 1,000 tweets, with updates ranging from the very ordinary, to the very funny, to heart warming.

Her social networking skills (via Twitter) enabled her to develop a rapport with Peter Andre (she was a fan!) and he was so taken by their friendship that he telephoned and visited her. She also met Gordon and Sarah Brown earlier this year. 

As the 'Other lives' article in The Guardian says, she 'proved that old age need not necessarily mean fading quietly away'. In my opinion, she was also a shining example of the potential of networking from a distance.

You can read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/30/ivy-bean-obituary

Have a good week,

Tracey