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 |   A tentative blog to test the temperature. |
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Ten years ago I was writing several blogs on various subjects - F1 motor racing, Music, Classic Cars, Great Romances and, most crushingly, a personal journal that included my thoughts on America, memories of England and Africa, opinion, humour, writing and anything else that occurred. It all became too much (I was attempting to update the journal every day) and I collapsed, exhausted and thoroughly disillusioned in the end. So this blog is indeed a Toe in the Water, a place to document my thoughts in and on WdC but with a determination not to get sucked into the blog whirlpool ever again. Here's hoping.     |
| Review, Anyone? Isn’t it funny how your best stuff never gets reviewed. That they ferret out things you’ve nearly forgotten and don’t think much of, ignoring your beloved babies as though they’d been hidden in a dark corner somewhere. Or maybe it’s just that we like the latest ones, the ones that have surprised us by actually being quite good, that we haven’t had time to grow familiar with and so lose respect for. I know it’s true that I love the most recent ones the most and wish that Read & Review wouldn’t keep digging around in the past. And it’s also true that when someone asks what I’d like them to review, I have to think hard, run through the old portfolio looking for something, and always end up by suggesting the latest thing because I can’t think of anything I like better. Of course there isn’t - I’ve only just fallen in love with it! Still, it’s weird how they always pick the duffers, the ones that would be first to go in a port clear out. Perhaps it’s true that writers are terrible judges of their own work. Word count: 188 |
| Two Strings Like a soccer game, I am a creature of two halves. I was born to a mother and father of solidly working class (blue collar) stock, but grew up in a society that was uniformly middle class. As a result, I found myself in England with a foot in both camps, able to understand and speak easily with both sides of the English coin. I was even told at times that I was the ideal ambassador between the two (at the thought of which, I recoiled in horror). The really odd thing was that I was happiest when with my working class brethren. Though my upbringing had been so middle class, I loved the greater openness and straight talking of the workers. It helped that my colonial accent confused both sides and gave me easy access to their company. And now in America, my dual nature continues to assist. I love the company of those whose accents I can barely understand. It’s music to my ears and they speak of life in terms that I recognise and sympathise with. They are even so uncomplicated that they’ll make no secret that they love my “British” accent. I don’t usually tell them that it’s really a terrible mixture of all sorts of accents. I’m quite sure that people hearing and reading me would think me what the Brits call “posh.” But the fact is that’s a veneer and my heart beats to a steadily working class rhythm. I love both lobster and sausages ‘n mash. So that’s me in a nutshell. You could say that it’s no coincidence that, astrologically, I’m a Gemini. Two for the price of one, I always say. Word count: 280 |
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