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Archives for December, 2016
2016 Stats for Themself – a review of the blog
The Garden Bookshelf in my potting shed, which is the real life equivalent of Themself During 2016 my blogging was patchy, I had some spells of not blogging frequently (notably in November & December). However I managed to write 81 blog posts, of which 77 have been published. That's over 47,000 words of new blog posts, not to mention the pictures. Not all of my blog writing was for Themself, some of it went on Cold Steel and a little went on a new fork of my leadership and work-related material called Red Leader. I've not really had time to do much with Red Leader, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually. The two forks took some of the traffic away from Themself, but that gives this blog a little more focus, and it still has by far and away the most material of all…
Henley Fort WW2 Experience with Year 6
I went to Henley Fort with my son's Year 6 class earlier today. Year 6 at Furzefield Primary School are just finishing their WW2 history module, they've studied WW2 since September. So today was a WW2 experience for them all to get a practical feel for what it was like being a member of the Home Guard or an ARP Warden. Henley Fort do both, and we split into two groups and had an hour and a half taster of each one. About Henley Fort Henley Fort is one of the outer London defences built in the late 19th Century, similar to Reigate Fort. It's up the hill behind the city centre in Guildford. The Forts were originally built as mobilisation centres, and artillery batteries, if the UK was invaded. They saw a bit of a revamp during WW1 and…
Early Writing (aged 7) – My Kitten
Alexander asked me how tall I was when I was his age, and I found this piece of my early writing in the book that my mother recorded such things - a story entitled 'My Kitten'. It's not precisely dated, but it refers to my baby brother, and that gives it a window for when he was a baby. So I was seven when I wrote it, in the very late 1970s. My Kitten My kitten is called peper. It drinks whisky mixed with beer and brandy. Sometimes it runs away with with my action men but it plays with the baby. It's basket is under Michael's cot. It eats 3 meals a day. It likes going out. Sometimes I play with it. Sometimes it goes on my bed and it likes watching television. Commentary 'My Kitten' is definitely a piece…
Noren the Strong – new Fantasy Novel – #NaNoWinner2016
I am still alive, all through November my writing time has been used on writing Noren the Strong, a new novel rather than blogging. I've managed just over 50,000 words, although Noren the Strong (working title, very likely to change) is not yet complete. So, I'm still writing even though November is finished. Noren the Strong An alley in Bryggen, this was the inspiration for the main buildings in Straven, where Noren and Yngvild grew up. Noren the Strong is a fantasy novel set in a world inspired by my recent visit to Bergen, Norway. The key point of view character is Yngvild, who has more than a bit of a crush on Noren. She's a few months older than him, and they've grown up together in a small community of about 50 people. I wrote 50,128 words for Noren…