The Summerhall Historical Fiction Festival

I am in historical Edinburgh, in a historical building that used to house Edinburgh University's Veterinary School. I'm writing this in a rather handsome cafe, like a certain other writer in Edinburgh. That's where the similarities between us end.

This is the First Festival devoted entirely to Historical Fiction. It is is always nice to be invited to things and to be included with writers of books for adults but I'm here on Monday morning, so I'm guessing it will be some kind of school event. I don't know because I haven't seen the audience yet. You never quite know what to expect which makes it difficult to plan what say. It is a luxury for me to talk to adults seriously about what I do, about the craft of writing, about the process of writing historical fiction. Too often, writers for children and teenagers are regarded differently, at worst as entertainers, at best as being there to enthuse readers: 'Hey, kids! History can be fun!' I've planned for a bit of both. Years of experience have taught me to take a belt and braces approach.

Appearing at a Festival like this, is not as much fun as people think. If one tells friends that one is going to  X, say, or Y, unless they are writers and know what it will be like, they think its kind of like a short holiday, time for sightseeing, a bit of shopping, or to take in the rest of the Festival, but it is often not like that at all. It is far more like a business trip. An overnight stay, do the event, go home. Trains, motorways, hotel rooms. I'm not complaining. Not at all. It's what I do and glad to do it. I just think its funny. But I suppose it is understandable. Writing isn't a like a real job, is it?

Stop press: just been told I'm not in the room it says in the Programme but somewhere else. Heart sinks little bit. How will whoever might be coming find me?

Outside my room there is a knitted tree. A good start, I think. My spirits lift.I like the knitted tree.

When I'm shown into the room, I can't believe it. It's a Dissecting Room. Wooden benches go up in a steeply raked semi circle. There is a space in the middle

where the table would have been. There is a leaded skylight above it. I see Victorian doctors in frock coats standing round a half flayed corpse and am careful not to stand right in the centre of the space. This is one of the most the most exciting places I've ever been asked to speak.. A Dissecting  Room in the city of Burke and Hare. How good is that?  Things are looking up. It's important to like where you are going to speak and I like this a lot. Apart from the freaky ambience, it has very good acoustics. It would be great for a Workshop, I reflect, but I'm not there for that. I'm getting quite excited, looking forward to the event starting, which will be soon.

Then someone asks me where my laptop is.

What laptop? No-one told me to bring a laptop. I only have my memory stick for the Powerpoint Presentation I intend to give. Momentary panic, then a laptop is begged or borrowed. Panic over. But it doesn't work. Not very well, anyway. It splutters to life, then goes blank. By now, the audience is coming in. Not exactly thousands, but just as well as it is a small space. If they spread out a little bit, they fill the benches. nothing more dispiriting that speaking to big empty spaces. That's a relief. There's always the dread that there will just be you and the organiser. Still no Powerpoint, but I start anyway and hey! It goes really well! Perhaps it's the place I'm in, all those lectures, the spirits of dead dogs. The time flies and there are lots of questions. Before I know, it's all over. You never can predict what an event will be like. I'm left with a lightheaded feeling of triumph, knowing that I snatched victory from a number of potential disasters.  

There are plans  to make the Summerhall Historical Fiction Festival an annual event. I hope this happens. I can't imagine a better place for it. 

World Book Day

Thursday, March 7th is World Book Day.

This year, I will be at the Mount School in York doing a day of talks and workshops. On Tuesday, 5th March, I will be at King Edward VI, Handsworth, who are having their WBD two days before because I can't be in two places at once.

 I visited King Edward's, Handsworth last year for a day based around my book Pirates!. If ever a book leant itself to World Book Day, it is this one.

Last year, a whole year group dressed up as pirates, including their teachers and the librarians. Everyone had lots of fun, not least the staff who got to swagger about in boots and pantaloons, moustachios curled and teeth blackened. It was interesting to see pupils do a double take as they tried to work out who it was under the pirate disguises.

It was an excellent day, with plenty of laughs and some fabulous work done, not only writing, but drama, music and art, all based on Pirates!

I'm looking forward to another couple of stimulating days in Birmingham and in York and hope to have more photos to put up next week. 

World Book Day is a chance to explore, to follow where books can take you. It is also a brilliant excuse to dress up...

I'm changing my Blog. Instead of writing long blogs (which I may do if the spirit moves), I'm going to use it for any news I might have about where i'm going, what I've been doing, or anything else that might be of interest to readers or fans. 

I'll start with my latest History Girls Blog  Shadows in the Cave which you will find at:

http://the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk

It is about my visit to the British Museum www.britishmuseum.org to see the Exhibition

it was good to see friend and fellow author Sally Prue's book, Song Hunter, in the Exhibition Shop!

I blog for the History Girls on the 18th of every month. We are a group of published writers (all women) who write historical fiction for children, young adult and adult readers. We've been blogging for more than two years now. The topics are always historical and sometimes it can be difficult to think of anything to blog about. Luckily, my interest in History is wide and eclectic, so something always springs to mind. 

If you've never seen the History Girls, go visit http://the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk. The posts are extremely wide ranging and often fascinating.  

I'm proud to be one of them!

Arvon Adventures

This time last week, I had just come back from a week at The Hurst, the Arvon Foundation's centre in Shropshire. Like the other Arvon centres, it is a lovely house in a beautiful place, peaceful and tranquil, with lots of space to think and write. It was the playwright John Osborne's house, and so has lots of writerly associations and reminders, with playbills up everywhere and loos sponsored by Maggie Smith.

I'm a bit late blogging about it, but it has taken me a week to:

a) Recover.

b) Catch up on other stuff enough to get round to writing my own blog.

I was beaten to it first by by my co-tutor, Linda Newbery, on the excellent site: Do Authors Dream of Electric Books? To see what she has to say, just click on the link below and while you are there, have a look round, particularly if you are interested in publishing e books.
http://authorselectric.blogspot.com/2011/11/tutoring-for-arvon.html

I was also beaten to it by Jo Wyton who got her blog up on the equally excellent Notes From The Slushpile http://notesfromtheslushpile.blogspot.com/ . Jo was on the course, so her perspective was particularly interesting for me.

I've tutored four Arvon courses now, and each one has been different, made so by the setting and by the people, tutors and tutees, who have been taking part. But they all had some things in common. They were all intense, hard work, but inspirational. There's something about a group of people with a common interest and a common purpose. Wherever you are at: just beginning, stuck in a rut, blocked, putting off the evil day before you get started, a week away on an Arvon course seems to free the spirit and untie the knots. It's an opportunity to be a writer, not a doctor, or a house wife, or a web site manager, or a lawyer, or a student, or whatever you are when you are at home, and to join with other writers, to learn from the tutors, who are all experienced writers, but also from each other. By the end of the week, Arvon has done its magic. Everyone seems to have made significant progress with the work that he or she brought with them, or has started something new.

To find out more, go to:
Arvon Foundation Home
http://www.arvonfoundation.org/

You'll find all you need to know there, but perhaps what it won't tell you is that going on an Arvon course is also extremely good fun.

I'm indebted to Linda for this snap of our last supper.

Edinburgh International Book Festival

I've been away from my own blog for a while, although I have been active on various joint blogs, like the Awfully Big Blog Adventure awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.com and The History Girls: the-history-girls.blogspot.com.

I was reminded of how lax I'd been by the Bookwitch when I met her at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. She was there with her Roving Photographer, taking snap shots and storing away details to blog about us authors so I thought I'd reciprocate and mention her, instead of the other way round.

I was in Edinburgh at the weekend to do a series of events. I flew up on Saturday and my Sunday started at 10am with a ten minute reading in the Writers' Retreat. I could choose to read from any work so I gave my new novel its first public outing. It looks very different: no girl on the cover, no elegant writing. That is because it is very different. It is not historical but a contemporary thriller; the narration shared between a boy and a girl. It will not be published until February 2012. I'll be writing more about it as the date nears.

My main event was with Nicola Morgan, talking about Historical Fiction with Julia Eccleshare, Children's Literary Editor of the Guardian, as Chair. We had a good audience for an excellent session. You never know what you will find out about people on these occasions. Nicola, for example, has a deep interest and knowledge of the gruesome and gory. It does not do to judge authors by what you see. Afterwards we repaired to the Yurt (see below). The yurt is big kind of tent for us authors to hide in. There we met fellow author, Linda Strachan. Linda lives in Scotland, so I don't see her all that often. Edinburgh is a great place to catch up with people.

When I'm at a festival, I like to go and see other people if I get chance. I always find it interesting to hear writers talking about their craft. So in the afternoon, I went to see Patrick Ness talking to Moira Young about dystopian fiction. Not my fave genre but a very interesting session. My last engagement for the day was another reading - not from my own work this time but from the work of an Iraqi Blogger who has to be anonymous because he could be arrested or killed for speaking out in his country. This event was organised by Amnesty International and PEN, the writers' organization, which works to promote literature and human rights. There are readings throughout the festival: writers speaking the words and freeing the voices of their brothers and sisters abroad who have been silenced by oppression.

Monday was the first day of the Schools' Programme (Scottish schools start back earlier than their English counterparts). My time in Edinburgh finished with a talk about The Fool's Girl to a large, appreciative and very enthusiastic audience from schools all over Scotland, some of whom had got up at 5am to get to the Festival.

I was sorry to leave Edinburgh. There are so many things going on that I never get a chance to see. Maybe next time I'll get to stay longer.

Pirates! fight another day...

Sometimes interesting and intriguing requests drop into my inbox. A month or so ago I had an e mail from a blogger who was planning a pirate month on her web site. She asked if I would like to take part, she wanted to feature my book, Pirates!, offer some copies for a giveaway (courtesy of the publishers, Bloomsbury) and would I like to write something? She wanted me to write a piece to be called The Brawl in Triton's Tavern. I love pirates, so how could I refuse?

I decided that I couldn't add anything to the actual book. Somehow, a book is a finished thing - it is what it is - and can't have extra episodes added on to it. Besides, there is already a tavern scene in the book, so there is not really room for another. So I decided to write an episode from Pirates!, the phantom sequel. This book has never been written, but parts of it exist, in my mind, anyway. Even though I might never get to write it, I'd certainly thought about what might happen after the end of the book, but would I actually be able to go back to the time, the characters, re-visit a novel that was published eight years ago?

The answer was - no problem! It was like visiting old friends that I hadn't seen for years. They were there waiting for me. You can read the result at: http://vvb32read.blogspot.com/2011/05/triton

I really enjoyed my visit and maybe the girls will sail again one day. Who knows? Certainly looks like they are up for it!

If it's Tuesday, it must be....

Northampton, or that is where I was last week. I was on a Book Tour, organised by my publisher, Bloomsbury, to promote The Fool's Girl, which came out in paperback... last Tuesday. I was travelling up and down the country all week, from Coventry to London via Kettering and Northampton and then back up to Wolverhampton. Hard work, but worth it - you get to meet readers, sell books, spread the word. For children's authors, appearances are mostly in schools these days, or theatre spaces, with children brought in from schools around to hear you speak. The schools involved do not have to pay, they are effectively receiving a free school visit, although the understanding is, stated or otherwise, that the students will have money to buy books. Authors might also be asked to take part in evening or twilight events, in a bookstore or local library, so it can make for a long day but worth it, as I say, or at least that is what we are told. If we are asked to do a tour, we do not refuse. We are contractually obliged to support the publication of a book in any way we can but not everyone is offered the chance of a tour, publishing is going though hard times and budgets are tight. Not everyone feels happy and confident standing up in front of hundreds of children and/or teenagers. Just because you write for them, doesn't mean you automatically have the ability to entertain them en masse. The very idea fills some authors with the kind of dread experienced by stand ups booked to play the Glasgow Empire.

Never fear, there is now a different kind of tour. A Blog Tour. Writers can get out and about, travel the world, without ever leaving their desks. It is all done in cyberspace. Writers go from blog to blog answering questions, being interviewed, writing a guest blog. It is busy out there and getting busier. Gillian Philip is visiting the Bookwitch right now. Kath Langrish was with her not so long ago and expect Mary Hoffman some time soon.

There is nothing like connecting with readers personally, but if this not going to happen for whatever reason, then the Blog Tour is an excellent alternative. The great thing about the Blog Tour is that writers can organise them for themselves, no longer completely dependant on the vagaries of publicity and marketing departments. Just as important, it is a way of making connections, growing awareness, building interest, not just in us and our books but in the bloggers and the sites that they work so hard to keep current and fresh.

Der Narr und das Madchen

Is the title of The Fool's Girl in German. Last week I was on what the Germans term a Reading Tour, going to various schools and venues reading from and talking about my book. I gave up German when I was thirteen, or rather it gave up on me, so it was a good thing that all the groups I met spoke excellent English.

My first visit was to the Franconian International School in Erlangen. It was a full on day of talks and workshops organised by their wonderful librarian, Elaine Smith. As it was my first gig, I admit to being slightly nervous, but the staff could not have been more helpful or accommodating and the students were attentive and full of enthusiasm. From Erlangen, I went to Munich by train. I had a fistful of tickets for various long distance train journeys. I like travelling by train and I had Christopher Isherwood's Berlin novels with me as appropriate reading.

In Munich I met another wonderful librarian, Sabine Balmer, who works at the European School. The reading went well with lots of questions. Afterwards, I was interviewed by a student team for the local radio station. They made me read a few sentences in English. Their excellent English put my stumbling efforts to shame!

I went from Munich to Berlin, which is a six hour journey, but I didn't mind. It gave me time to reflect, write and do lots of staring out of the window. I stayed overnight in Berlin and did a session the next day at the Gruner Salon in Rosa Luxemburg Platz. Then on the train to the Leipzig Book Fair. The book fair was huge, miles and miles of stands spreading across a bewildering number of halls. 'Home' was the Berlin Verlag stand in aisle D, Hall C. I did a couple of events. A reading with a young German actress and a public event at the fair. I was concerned in case no-one showed up. but plenty of people came along to hear me read and talk about The Fool's Girl. I also met a very self possessed group of young readers from Berlin, representing a network of book groups that operate across several schools in the city. I was impressed by what they told me about how the groups operate. They have their own web sites where they post blogs and reviews. They even had their own business cards!

In the evening, I was taken to Auerbachs Keller, a famous beer keller associated with the German writer Goethe and the story of Faust. According to legend, the alchemist, Dr Faust, rode a wine barrel from the cellar to the street with the help of the Devil, or his helper, Mephistopheles. Goethe included a scene in the wine bar in his play, Faust. Mephistopheles was there in person, startling diners and acting out scenes from the play. I couldn't understand a word, but his presence was enough. Thanks are due to Katja Henkel, fellow author, who remembered to bring her camera.

The Book Fair marked the end of my week. I had a great time. I love travelling, seeing different places and meeting different people. I just wish that I'd paid more attention in my language lessons in school!

Swindon Ten Youth Festival of Literature

Last week I was invited to attend the third Swindon Ten Youth Festival of Literature. This is a collaborative venture, co-ordinated by the librarians of Swindon with 11 Secondary Schools involved and 10 Primary schools. If anyone doubts the worth and importance of school librarians, they should visit Swindon in Festival week. This is a huge feat of organisation but the rewards are manifest. The Festival attracted a stellar list of authors, including Charlie Higson and the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, who took part in a celebration of reading, covering books of every kind and genre. The enthusiasm in the schools for both reading and writing are proof of the importance and value of this Festival.



I visited two schools, Isambard Community School and Greendown Community School, and talked to three groups of students about my books, reading, and writing generally. I was impressed by the enthusiasm I met, both for reading and writing. Isambard particularly seems to have a keen group of talented and motivated writers. I hope they get together and spark off each other. Writers don't have to work in isolation, sharing work and writing concerns with others can really help. I've been writing for more than twenty years and at each stage of my career, I've benefited from being in touch with other writers, both friends I've made through having a common interest and through the Scattered Authors' Society.

I hope the Swindon Festival continues and that its success inspires other places to follow its example. It is a wonderful way, not just to celebrate reading, but to encourage writers, too.

Ardingly College

Last week, I was invited to visit Ardingly College in Sussex to take part in a special day dedicated to reading. I talked about my books and then led a creative writing work shop. One of the classes had been studying Witch Child - some of their work is displayed on the board behind me in the photograph. I was impressed by the enthusiasm amongst the students for both reading and writing and would like to thank the library staff and the English Department for making it into such a good day.

By coincidence, the librarian remembered me from a visit I made to a school in nearby Crowborough. It was the early 1990's and I had not long been published. I had been invited to the school as part of the Conan Doyle Festival (I wrote thrillers then). I felt very honoured to be invited but it was my first school visit and I had no idea what to do. I was terrified, but luckily there were other writers there to calm me down and proffer suitable advice and encouragement. I've done hundreds of visits since then but I'll never forget that first trip to Crowborough!

Where does the summer go?

Every July, I go to this place, Charney Manor, in Oxfordshire on a kind of writers' retreat/re-charge with fellow members of the Scattered Authors' Society. For me, this marks the beginning of the 'Summer Holidays', except they are often not holidays at all. Last year I was working on re-writes for The Fool's Girl; this year, I'm working on a new novel. It is actually set over a school summer holiday, so I can synchronise the events to the changing months. They are having much better weather in the book, but then it is a fiction.

Writing Life

A writing life is made up of many things other than writing books. In June, I tutored a week long Creative Writing Course, at the Ted Hughes Arvon Centre at Lumb Bank in Yorkshire, together with Patrick Ness. We were lucky enough to tutor a talented and enthusiastic group. They worked very hard and rose to every challenge we could devise. It is traditional on Arvon courses to read out work on Friday night and the standard that they achieved was very high indeed. They have gone on the start up their own Yahoo! Group. I hope they stay in touch with each other - and with us.

I went from there to Rimini in Italy. I had been invited to a Festival and was looking forward to a few days in the Italian sun. It rained (it did not rain in Yorkshire), but the festival was well worth the trip. It was run and organised almost entirely by teenagers. I was looked after by the wonderful Cristina who spoke excellent English and sorted everything out for me. A big audience turned out to hear me talk about Sovay, published in Italy as La ragazza con le pistole, despite a spectacular thunderstorm.


The day after I arrived back in England, I went to Kingston-on-Thames for an event with my friend, Mary Hooper, and another Bloomsbury writer, Lucy Jago. We were in the Rose Theatre talking about historical novels. Mary has just had her novel Fallen Grace published and Lucy's novel, Montecute house came out in April.


I ended the week at Haberdashers' School in Monmouth, taking part in a whole week's activities, centred around the life of Charles Rolls (of Rolls Royce fame). his family lived just outside Monmouth and this year is the centenary of his death. On Friday afternoon we were entertained to an Edwardian tea on the lawn - an excellent way to end the week!

Celia's diary: Writers and Artists

Celia's diary: Writers and Artists

Writers and Artists

Yesterday, I went to the Opening of an Exhibition of paintings and photographs by my friend, Chris Lock at the North Wall Gallery and Arts Centre in Oxford. Chris and I taught together a very long time ago at Binley Park School, Coventry and we have stayed friends ever since.

A lot of my friends are artists. I admire and envy their facility. Art attracts me enormously, but I have no skill. I could blame being badly taught, or left handedness, but I have never been able to draw or paint or take a half way decent photograph.

Nevertheless, I feel a great affinity to visual artists and feel that we have lot in common. Our ways of expression may be different, but I can identify with their single mindedness, their interest in certain images, symbols and motifs that they will return to again and again to the point of obsession. They see things that the rest of us miss and look differently. I always feel I can learn a lot from them and that we are just dipping from a different stretch of the great and mysterious stream that is creativity.

For details of the Exhibition go to:
http://http//www.thenorthwall.com/moreinfo.php?ref=194&type=x&start=0

Churches and Gardens

I've spoken in all kinds of places: classrooms, school halls, libraries, theatres, tents, even on the deck of the Cutty Sark, but never anywhere where the audience were sitting in pews and up in a gallery. This is St George's, Edinburgh, and it used to be a church. I was there to talk to students from various schools in Edinburgh. The space took a bit of getting used to, but it worked very well. Viv French, friend and fellow author, introduced me. I was there to talk about Fool's Girl. She's acted in Twelfth Night several times so I was really pleased when she said she loved the book.

Sunday, May 2nd

On Friday, May Day Eve, I was filming for a podcast in the garden next to Shakespeare's Birthplace. Flowers and herbs from Shakespeare's plays were all growing there - violets, pansies for thoughts, rue, bitter herb of grace, and rosemary. I was reminded of my mother, these were plants we had in our garden.

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance

pray you, love, remember.

- Hamlet

Today is her birthday. She loved Shakespeare. She named me for Celia in As You Like It and introduced me to his plays through his flowers, his songs and his verse that she could quote from memory. People ask where do ideas come from - I don't know, but sometimes I think that that come from a very deep place indeed.

Fool's Girl and Shakespeare's Birthday

Last Monday I was at a schools event at Crosby Civic Hall, organised by Tony Higginson of Pritchards in Formby, Merseyside. Here we are outside his great independent book shop, with The Fool's Girl just visible in the window behind us. This was my first big schools' event talking about Fool's Girl but the students who had come from different schools to listen to me were hugely welcoming and very enthusiastic. I signed lots of books afterwards and one boy told me he bought the book because he really liked the idea - just what authors like to hear!

Friday, 23rd April. A special day. It was Shakespeare's birthday and I was at the Birthplace Trust in Stratford-on-Avon, talking to students from King Edward Sixth Grammar School (Shakespeare's old school) and Stratford Girls' Grammar School, which is in Shottery, Anne Hathaway's village. I was in Shakespeare Central and when you are talking about a book which has Shakespeare as a character, you can't get much better. It was an excellent day all round. In the afternoon, I attended a lecture given by James Shapiro about his new book Contested Will: Who wrote Shakespeare? This time it was my turn to get my book signed.

The spirit of Feste is alive and well and was with me on Saturday. I encountered this street performer on the way to the Central Library to give my talk for the Cambridge Wordfest, and was careful to put money into his hat. I'm superstitious like that. To walk by would have been to court disaster. It was the first time that I'd really spoken about The Fool's Girl at length, more than giving a sneak peek of a work in progress, and I was anxious for it to go well. I needn't have worried. He must have been with me. My writer friends - Yvonne Coppard, Julia Jarman and Anne Rooney - had come along to support me and there were other people, too: some young, some older: readers, librarians, fellow writers. I read a bit, talked a bit, showed them some pictures and then they asked questions. It's always hard to know what people want to know about a book. What fascinates you, as the writer, might not necessarily interest other people. There's so much that you could say that it is hard to decide what to include. That is why I always try to leave plenty of time for questions. It is the most interesting part for me and I suspect for other people, so when a writer asks 'Any questions?', don't be shy.

Yesterday was publication day for The Fool's Girl . Easter Bank Holiday - a bit of an odd choice of day. I didn't do anything special to mark the book's entrance into the world. It is already 'out there' anyway, or as 'out there' as it is going to be. I did have a nice surprise, however, when I discovered a wonderful review on a web site
Rhiana Reads at http://rhiana-reads.blogspot.com/ This is an excellent site, with loads of reviews, comments and recommended reads. My fellow writer, Kath Langrish, has also posted a review and interview on her site Seven Miles of Steel Thistles http://steelthistles.blogspot.com/ . I'd like to thank these two and all the other bloggers who take the time and trouble to read and review books and share their opinions with others. It seems to me that this is the way to keep reading dynamic and vibrant. It means that readers can find books that they might otherwise miss, as well as getting the chance to say what they think. It is good for writers, too. We all want our work to be recognised. There is nothing worse than having a book published and for there to be absolutely no reaction. Now, thanks to the internet, that doesn't have to happen.

Message from the gods...

If they do come through, then they come in mysterious ways. On Tuesday, I was at the Society of Authors for a talk about blogging, given byRhiannon Lassiter and Mary Hoffman (seen here with me on the left - photo c/o Helena Pielichaty, who was chairing the meeting). The talk was entitled To Blog or Not to Blog - the worse thing you can do is to half do it - I was in the front row looking shifty. The message was encouraging rather than daunting and I went away feeling suitably chastised for having a blog and not keeping it up (or keeping it up fitfully and from the guilty looks about - I'm not alone in this) but also energised, determined to do better. Then I got a message from my publisher saying that they had nominated me for a blog award at: http://www.completelynovel.com/author-blog-awards . My first reaction was, 'you've got to be joking!' there are real bloggers out there - like Mary and Rhiannon and Helena - go to their sites, look them up. They are proper bloggers - I'm not - but you can't be unnominated, apparently, so my next thought was maybe it is message from whoever the god of the internet may be (my money is on Hermes). A message to me to keep it up and now's a good time. I've got a book coming out on Monday and some visits lined up, so I should have something to blog about. Even if I stand no chance of winning (that's a given) at least I can have a go and take on board what Rhiannon and Mary taught me - blogging and following other people's blogs - can be fascinating fun.