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Living and learning...
Thu 16 Jun 2011
I heard some sad news this morning - a printers that I have been liaising with over the past few months has just gone into liquidation. A couple of months ago, my contact there said that 'times had changed' and that a number of factors were affecting business, including better quality home- and office-based printers, and digitalization. I had no idea how bad things had got. As well as the practical and emotional implications of this business closing, there is also the inevitable loss of a huge amount of skill and knowledge. In terms of print resolutions and design, I have been on a big learning curve on the project I am working on, and my contact at the printers was always patient, friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.
So too with libraries. How much skill and knowledge is being lost during the current library closures? In the area we live, we are blessed with some great libraries - and we try to use them as much as possible. As a family, we all reap the benefits - I am currently immersed in a 'how to train for a marathon' book, my husband has got back into graphic novels, my son has discovered Asterix, and my daughter is currently reading a book written in English and Polish, something she is very unlikely to have come across in a retail environment.
Sadly, lots of areas of the UK are facing major closures. Surely protecting libraries is a no brainer? Students, parents and carers of pre-school children, families, older people, the visually impaired - in fact, all members of our communities - are able to benefit. But the books do not by themselves make a library. Reading and study groups, events and meetings, and knowledgeable, friendly library staff all make a library more than just a space with books. There is an enlightening article in The Independent today about how the library closures are going to impact study groups, such as the ones held by the University of the Third Age (U3A): http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/further/education-the-age-of-uncertainty-2298154.html. The U3A gets no direct help from central or local government, and has never expected it. As the article says, 'it requires nothing from the public sector except a level of infrastructure, and in particular, good public libraries everywhere. Taking that away is appallingly short-sighted and, even in economic terms, it will cost more in the long term.'
I couldn't agree more. Take away libraries and you are stripping away opportunities for education of all ages. Which scares me witless for the future of our generation and the next.
Positive thinking...
Thu 26 May 2011
I'm going to attempt to run a marathon in 19 weeks' time! Eek! I've just started reading The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer which includes a 16-week training plan that I will be starting towards the end of June. Although it's scary, the weekly totals don't look too terrifying (although I'm not looking forward to the two weeks where I have to run 18 miles in a day, after doing two five-mile and one eight-mile run earlier in the week!). What is inspiring and gives me hope is that so far over 200 people who have followed the plan have successfully finished at least one marathon - and when they started the training programme many of them had only run short distances.
I have no doubt that running a marathon is going to test me mentally as well as physically. One of the biggest messages of the book so far is the need to keep positive. No making excuses not to go out because it's raining, too early, too late, or because my legs ache from a previous run. That in itself is going to be tough! I'm in the midst of a challenging work project at the moment and I've been making excuses not to tackle a piece of work for a few days. I tried out the positive thinking this morning and, inevitably, it hasn't been half as bad as I thought. Hopefully, the experience of running 18 miles in those difficult two training weeks will be the same!
There has been some positive news on the library front in the last week, with Random House and Bloomsbury starting 'buddying' programmes to support their local libraries and library authorities: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/publishers-begin-buddying-schemes.html. And it was good to read Alan Bennett's passionate defence for libraries - let's hope the people with the power to make decisions on this start listening: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/bennetts-newsnight-library-defence-becomes-twitter-trend.html.
Have a lovely long weekend.
Best wishes
Tracey
Thanks to all those who have sponsored me so far - I'll be posting updates on my JustGiving page as I complete the remaining Jane Tomlinson 10Ks, and then, hopefully, the marathon! See http://www.justgiving.com/Tracey-Cowell3
Staying power
Tue 19 Apr 2011
It is so lovely waking up to day after day of gorgeous weather at the moment (despite it being one of my busiest working weeks all year and only getting to see the sun from the window for most of the day!). It is also great weather to be out and about for early morning or early evening runs (and no negotiation with family is necessary as the children are staying in Norfolk with the grandparents). So I am really disappointed not to have made it out yet this week. I fell over in the park while I was running last week (in spectacularly embarrassing style, but thankfully on grass!) and my left arm is still bruised and sore.
The fall, and being so busy at work, has started to make me doubt my chances of running the Kielder marathon in October. Six, even thirteen miles, is one thing, but twenty-seven miles - many of them uphill - is a big ask for me. Can I make the time to do the training? Can I finish the run?
The answer at the moment is that I'm not sure, and feeling out of my comfort zone always terrifies me! In a way, though, being out of your comfort zone is what being freelance is all about. New projects, tight deadlines, new skills and processes to learn in a short space of time, uncertainty, change. But, as with the running, there are loads of good things too - flexibility, variety, meeting new people, learning all the time. And two factors dominate both work and running for me - enjoyment and determination. The enjoyment part might temporarily morph into pain after about mile 10 of the marathon, and often does in the 'birthing' stage of work projects! Being self-employed, determination and staying power are attributes I have to draw on all the time in work, and will hopefully not let me down in the marathon.
Kielder marathon, if I can do it, is going to stretch me to my limits. But, as with some of the toughest work projects, which are, inevitably, always the most fulfilling in the end, I guess I'll never know if I don't try!
Have a lovely Easter break,
Tracey
Spreading the word
Thu 7 Apr 2011
There has been a lot in the publishing press this week about Arts Council England's funding cuts in the poetry sector, leading to Philip Pullman suggesting that the 'biodiversity of poetry publishing in England' is in 'jeopardy'. This particularly resonated with me as I have received two poetry books over the last few days - one for Mothering Sunday (thanks kids!) and the other one from a friend, via World Book Night (WBN). The WBN book was first given out in York, and who knows where it will end up over the years? Each book has a unique identifying number and it will be fascinating to track its journey. The book, The World's Wife, is by Carol Ann Duffy, and it's reignited my interest in poetry. It's one I would never have chosen myself, and that made it all the more special to receive - and read.
My daughter was really excited at the weekend to receive a set of Rainbow Fairy books from her friend at swimming. She had wanted to read them for ages, and it was totally unexpected, which made her all the happier! This week, she's been looking through her bookshelves, wondering how she can return the favour. The problem for her is that all her books 'mean' something to her - either because she loves reading them or they are a gift. We've got a shortlist now, and I know Amy will be very happy on Sunday when she receives Ella's gift (Ella has decided that Amy may want to try a different author so is passing on some of her Jacqueline Wilson books).
I don't think Ella's Rainbow Fairy books will have as interesting a journey as The World's Wife (they're unlikely to move from her shelves for a while!), but sharing books of all genres - via libraries, book clubs, events like World Book Day/Night, etc - is so important to keep going at the moment, particularly in a culture where encouraging literacy in communities seems to be such a low priority.
Have a good, sun-filled, week!
Tracey
The little things...
Tue 22 Mar 2011
I've been really busy in the last couple of weeks. I'm at what I call the 'first stage of labour' with one project - I know that there will be a beautiful product at the end of all the hard work, but at the moment I don't know how I'm going to get through the pain!!
The other project I have been working on is evidence that the hard work is worth it - and the baby is beautiful! In this case, a series of ICT resources aimed at primary children is the result. It's been a great project to work on and I'm really excited about the materials: www.risingstars-uk.com/series/switched-on-ict/.
Going through these different stages of 'labour' and 'birth' in my projects can be hard. When I'm immersed in a project, I have to try really hard to tip the balance the other way so that I make time to enjoy the 'little' things in life. One of my Facebook friends has been posting regularly about the small things that make her happy, and I have found it really inspiring. On this lovely sunny day, here are a few of mine:
- Sunshine!
- Watching the children play happily in the garden (with mud and worms on Sunday - lovely!)
- A cuppa and a good book/newspaper
- Receiving a finished version of a book/product I have worked on
- Snuggling up with my family watching a DVD
- Going for a run with my running buddy
- Cuddling the cat
- Facial/hot stone massage at Alexandra House Spa
- Lunch with a friend
- Cake and wine with the pudding club gals.
Here's to a sunshine-filled week,
Tracey