I've sat on this drafted blog for a few years now, for reasons that will become apparent. I'm trying to blog more often again, so here's a re-write. I know some of my loyal readers love a good rant! 

This is an actual email I received from a former colleague a few years back. 

--------

Hi,

In view of the cold weather, XXXX County Council are making  one off emergency cash payments from 14 libraries to those in need of fuel on a one off emergency basis:

(Here they list the libraries allegedly taking part)

All libraries are open Saturdays and Sundays as well as during the week. (Hoorah for libraries!)

Customers will need to come with

Proof of identity
Proof of accommodation
A fuel bill or details of your energy supplier

They will receive £20 in cash. This is a one off payment.

………………This hasn’t been advertised but it is legit. There are no criteria only that people are in need of fuel (as in saying you do!). 

(I’m going to my local library for my £20!)

Your Benefit Scrounging Acquaintance 

(Ok, it wasn't signed like that, but I have to make the point - again!)

-------

We do all love libraries and the services they provide, but this is taking the biscuit!

The person who emailed me has a full-time job, lives with her family rent-free and doesn't pay bills. She doesn't even drive to count 'fuel' as petrol. She's just after a quick £20 bonus ("my" £20) at the Council tax payers expense (of which she is not one due to her living arrangements.  

My light-hearted seemingly library-loving reply to my colleague was as follows:

At least borrow a book while you're visiting the library! ;)

Note the wink I added to soften the blow - never mind it's sarcastic! 
Her reply:

Why?! 

I replied:

'Cos that that's what libraries are for and I could recommend a couple of books if you wanted...

...But it didn't go down too well! I think that was the end of our semi-friendly office relationship!

The fact that these emergency fuel payments are for those people in serious financial need, for people who cannot afford to heat their homes, completely escaped her moral compass. She was off to the library to claim the money 'just because' she could.

Obviously, I think the libraries in question needed to ensure they see something that proves the people claiming are struggling to pay their bills (e.g. a final demand). I should have gone along to see what they were asking for as proof, there must have been something. The fact that £20 won't cover half of a utility bill in this day and age is another issue - makes me wonder how legit this scheme was back in 2014... 

And certain people need to get a grip and realise the bigger picture and not take advantage of a benefit they're not entitled because they reckon they can cash-in. The welfare safety net we're lucky enough to have in this country is there to support those who cannot support themselves in their hour(s) of need, for whatever reason. 

This is part of what is wrong with today's "Benefit Britain". Anyone dare to disagree?!

Rant over.

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
... And on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist

Image courtesy of Women Health Info

My Baking Addiction: by Jamie, who self-certifies herself as someone who bakes too much. I love it!

The Environment Agency has a great blog, for scientifically minded people and those who are not so - always hot on subjects affecting the UK's environment and beyond.

A new find: A Cranky Flier. Brett, the blogger, writes regular posts sharing his three favourite links to travel news on the web - among other great content.

A dear friend and past colleague of mine writes a fab mental health blog. Take a look at WYSE THOUGHTS, and say hi to Paul.

Gray (with an 'a') Matter has some great stories, always something interesting to read and learn here. A recent favourite of mine was the post on beautiful metro stations you can find across the planet.

Huffington Post has a Good News blog - brings warm feelings from around the world.

Let me know if I've missed your favourite!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter

Ugly sunsets - there are no such things. 

And I've Googled it.

​There's a photo saying 'I give up finding an ugly sunset'.

There's a song.

And there's an Adobe colour scheme. 

There's no actual sunsets which are ugly. 

And that's pretty un-ugly in itself. 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

I'm currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's 'Flight Behaviour', and I struck a real gem among her words last night, cuddled up in bed. The protagonist, at this point, is going out to check a scientific instrument, showing dedication and interest in a project she never dreamed she'd be working on, right in her backyard (page 323). It's pouring with rain and yo-yoing between 30-40 degrees Farenheit (it's an American book). 

Doesn't it make you shiver? I can remember mornings like that...

It's good writing for empathy and atmosphere, but the real reason I wanted to share this masterful (part) sentence was to showcase the skills Kingsolver has for 'show, don't tell'. The idea of this tool for writing is to create texts which enable the reader to tune into the story through action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings of the characters involved, rather than through description.

Why is 'show, don't tell' so important? It's essential to good writing, and something I try to achieve on every page I write. The writer is hinting at a subtext, in this case, the personal description and character of the protagonist. She is clearly someone who needs to wear glasses (or perhaps chooses to - but in this case, most people would leave their specs at home if it was raining, should they not require them for more than a fashion statement!), who owns a decent outdoor weather-ready coat, and the character needs to be able to see clearly for the task she's about to undertake. The creative writing leaves it unsaid, unshown, yet obvious about what the character looks like in a basic form. You can get all of that from one little sentence about a waterproof hood. 

The old adage 'show, don't tell' is so important to writing it's now included in Key Stage 2 English classes in English schools. Bravo!

Anton Chekov put it brilliantly:

​However, 'show, don't tell' should be implemented with some caution. According to writer James Scott Bell, "Sometimes a writer tells as a shortcut, to move quickly to the meaty part of the story or scene. Showing is essentially about making scenes vivid. If you try to do it constantly, the parts that are supposed to stand out won't, and your readers will get exhausted." In other words, use with restraint! Joshua Henkin also agrees. The object of the work is to find a perfect balance between a deep, vivid picture conjured in the readers mind, and allowing them to fill in the blanks themselves.

Over half way through the (thick) book, I'm not enamored with 'Flight Behaviour'. Yet, page by page, I notice examples of fantastic writing I hope to emulate one day. And that's reading, not critiquing. I'm reading as a reader, not as a writer (for fun!), but hopefully some of the better examples of writing are drip feeding into my consciousness, day by day making me an improved writer.

Check out these quick and dirty tips on showing, not telling from Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty - well worth the read.

I'd love to hear if you've been struck by a specific sentence or two while reading. What has the text spoken to you?

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist - this week, tips for perfect holiday snaps!

This is a poem I wrote a while back, some therapeutic reflecting - always helps! Does anyone else write through boredom or through difficult times? (Of course, I write this in my own time!)
​

---------

​Time is going backwards
It’s the time of day
I ponder what’s for dinner
And wonder what to say.
 
“How’s your day been, baby?”
The question that I dread.
It’s nice to be asked, very polite
But a grumpy answer’s in my head.
 
I hate that I’m bored stupid
And I’m one for feeling guilty
When I’m not working for my cash
And filling time with tea.
 
It makes it hard to leave the house
Always something to do there
I could be cleaning, baking, reading, cooking,
Do anything I care.
 
Staring at bogus spreadsheets
And looking forward to lunch
Trying to look occupied
Colleagues a busy bunch.
 
I feel like I’m praying
For an email to pop in
Something to action, something to do
And my day could begin.
 
My talents are skills are wasted
In this dead end role
But where do I want to move to?
How do I leave this hole?
 
Keep looking, keep seeking
A better job’s out there.
And when one day I’m happier
I’ll have an answer to share.

​------------
​

If you like what you're reading, why not check out some more of my writing here on Miss Write?

See you again soon!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

To say ‘so shoot me’ seems a little inappropriate, but that’s how I felt this weekend when a friend of mine (let’s call her ‘L’) told me she’d been told by a ‘mate’ that her inaction on changing her Facebook profile picture to a French flag was ‘offensive’.
 
I too haven’t changed my Facebook profile picture to the watermarked French flag. 
 
The reasons I haven’t changed my picture to the red, white and blue in support of Paris and the French after the atrocities, sadness and horror over the last few days is because I refuse to be a part of a minute symbol going viral over social media. Of course I feel angry, scared, horrified, sad following the events of the Paris attack, but I refuse to jump on the band wagon here. Many won’t know Beirut (Yemen) and Baghdad (Iraq) also suffered Isis attacks in the same 24 hours. Where are those two flags on Facebook?
 
There’s been 289 terror attacks so far in 2015. Given 16th November is the 320th day in the year, that’s pretty astounding.Sure, some of them happen on the same day, but that’s still not far off one a day in the world.
 
Where are the Facebook flags for the other countries hit by similar horrors?
 
My point is, as you can hopefully gather, that similar events of terror happen around the world almost every day, yet why do we give special attention to the Paris attack? Yes, France is our next door neighbour. Yes, the attacks are creeping into western nations, not just restricted to ‘dangerous lands’, but this has been happening for decades now, I think it’s fair to say. My awareness of terrorism started on September 11th 2001, news coming in from New York city and Washington.
 
But why the media storm and public support for this one? Perhaps it’s because of the British links. We’re more than just neighbours, with 0.8% of the Parisen population being British (17,500 people). There’s been no census taken in Lebanon (capital being Beirut) since 1932, so this kind of data is just not available, but my assumption would be there’s far fewer British people living there. Same goes for Baghdad – I can only find stats for British Iraqis living here, or troops in Baghdad, but no population numbers of British people living there.
 
Maybe that’s the secret: France features strongly on our radar for jobs, second homes, holidays, politics.... From an early age we’re aware of France. History education when I was at school focused strongly on the Allies in the two world wars and the royal family tree, with French ancestry. My school also taught French to all students from the age of 11-16. And how many British people haven’t visited France? Myself, I’ve been to Nantes (French exchange at school), skirted in and around Calais and the surrounding villages (booze cruise), I’ve spent at least three family holidays in and around Frejus, I’ve driven through it on a road trip to Rome, and spent a weekend in Paris with a friend. There’s probably more occasions, but memory fails.
 
Should the fact France is our close neighbour be the reason why we bowed our heads this morning, and leave other nations, like Iraq and Yemen, ignored? The close relationship link does make sense why we may be more supportive to the French, but then why would USA-owned and Latin America dominated Facebook choose France to support so openly over all the nations under the force of terror? No one created a widget for the Yemen flag this week.
 
The two minutes silence today held across Europe was, of course, respectful and supportive. After all, why shouldn’t we show our respect for those who died and support for those who live on? We did the same for the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris in January.  
 
Perhaps it’s the sheer numbers of casualties involved that we feel so connected and shocked? It’s obvious the attacks with bigger impacts will make more of a global media impact.
 
Here are the terror attacked in 2015 (so far) which, as in Paris, killed over 100 people each time:
 
137 people were killed in Yemen’s Sana’a mosque on 7th March
25th June: 148 people died in Syria in a massacre involving car bombs on the Turkish border
In July, 145 people died in a shooting in a Nigerian market place
It’s estimated that 100-180 people were killed in July’s car bombs in Iraq
In Turkey itself, 102 people were killed in Ankara in October, 508 injured, when suicide bombers decided to destroy a peace rally.
 
There’s similar numbers of dead involved in all cases, and it makes it no less horrifying when the attacks happen somewhere most Europeans probably won’t ever set foot in (with the exception of Egypt), and most know nothing about the atrocities.
 
Perhaps terror is accepted as inevitable in these countries? How awful. Just because France is deemed safer than many parts of Asia or Africa or compared to the Arab nations… but those innocents affected by the violence won’t care about that. That’s their town, their country, their family. The one glimmer of hope is that the Egyptian plane bombed last month, killing 224 people, was in the news for weeks, and there were no British people on board for national morbid interest. However, although Egypt is not seen as a particularly ‘safe, western area’, we as a nation have been happy to holiday there. The incident being a bombed flight was also bound to produce more media attention than a terrestrial attack. So that’s why. Horrendous. Still no Egyptian flags on Facebook.
 
I wonder if Syrian, Yemen, Turkish, Nigerian, Iraqi nationals posted their flag on Facebook in solidarity? I don’t have any Facebook friends from these countries, but it sure didn’t make the viral waves the French flag did. (PS. Wonder what Syrians are posting and searching for on Facebook?)
 
It’s all politics. That’s what sucks. Often devoid of human traits, politics is a powerful thing. Egalite, fraternite et liberte, indeed. However, I am no politician. I am a member of no political organisation, but I try to keep up with world events. I don’t watch the news, preferring to get snippets when I choose instead of being bombarded constantly with negative stories.

So, what was ‘L’s’ response to her offended friend on Facebook? “If you’re offended, that’s your problem”, she argued, and pointed out that L’s profile picture is too small to host all the flags of terrorist tormented nations and peoples. Well said. I, like ‘L’, would rather reflect in private, and pray on a wider scale. Pray for the world. 

​I’m a caring, thoughtful, sympathetic person and I don’t need to colour my photo to prove it. I choose to pray for the world and I don't believe it's all French. No offense.

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

P.S. What's worse that posting the flag as a watermark on your face - and I won't go on about this for long, I promise - is when people have posted pictures of them on holiday in Paris, perhaps under the Eiffel Tower. So what, you've been? Show off. 

Life is full of little bonuses, and we British love the thrill. Here are 23 things which send mild thrills through the body of the average Brit. 
​
---------------​

Remembering your bags for life - now more than ever!

Being in the quicker moving queue in a motorway jam

When you discover two people you know have the same birthdays. Maths Geeks: 99.9% probability is reached with just 70 people, and 50% probability with 23 people, but still... exciting!

Biscuit dunking perfection - playing roulette with the strength of the bake before it becomes too soggy and drops off

When someone you know has the same name as a famous person - I knew an 'Anne Robinson' a few years ago! 

Shops with clever names. This is my favourite, in a town from my previous life, Towcester, Northants

​
​Remembering it's the "2 can dine for £10" deal weekend at M&S

A risky, brave BBQ in April

Watching your Lottery numbers not come up - one day it'll happen...!

​Knowing the answer to a University Challenge question

Having the exact change

Seeing somewhere you've visited on TV - "Been there!!!"

Receiving a Council Tax or HMRC Tax refund through the post

Eating cake while watching The Great British Bake Off

An interesting date (e.g. 10/11/12, May the Fourth - Star Wars Day, Pi Day)

Arrival of your latest installment loyalty card vouchers

A brand new, unwrapped DVD box set

Discovering town names which are rude or funny

Finding a petrol station with a couple of pence off the fuel price compared to your 'local'

Lighting a fire 

Finding a fiver in last year's winter coat 

Managing to eat a scone in company without someone discussing the two ways of saying it

Paying for something entirely with points

---------------
​
Love it...or is it just me?!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

I was brought up in a church-going Christian household, and I don't like the taste of pumpkin. We never had any form of Halloween celebrations, other than the odd bit of on-theme 'art' we did at school. We didn't give sweets to kids in the neighbourhood (one year got egged because of it!), and I was petrified of horror movies into my early teens. My mum even used to take us out to a friend's house on Halloween to avoid the trick or treaters. It goes without saying we never traipsed the streets dressed up, looking for a sugar high from familiar doorsteps. I remember thinking I was missing out, and as the years passed, the excuse that the event was for kids kind of stuck. 

Halloween just didn't happen in our house. 

Fast forward 20-30 years, and I am planning to wrap the house in Halloween gear ready to bring in the 31st October. I'm planning gross looking food (e.g. 'mummy' croissants, 'pumpkin' fruits - you'll see!) for a little ghoulish cocktail get together, I'm entering Halloween themed writing competitions, and I'm trying to work out when I'll get the time to pumpkin carve. In my previous Northamptonshire life I enjoyed the annual zumba 'spooktacular', really getting into the spirit of the thing. 

After a hesitant and discouraging start, why do I now love Halloween so much?

Firstly, I don't need much of an excuse to get into fancy dress. And, I plan, when I have kids, to make Saturdays 'fancy dress day'. They will be (forcibly?!) dressed in outfits from Snow White to the superheroes while we carry on our way through regular Saturday activities. We'll brighten up our local grocery shop! Complex and well-thought through or eBay specials and simple hints - love those costumes. I can't wait to take my kids trick or treating!

Halloween is a great time to try something different. I mentioned I'm baking goods with a spooky taste, making me attempt new things in the kitchen. Same goes for cocktails. If it wasn't for Halloween, I'd never have discovered raspberry liquor. I'm also trying new ways to decorate our home. I love a bit of craft - there's more to Halloween decor than pumpkins!

Some of my favourite films are in the horror genre. I love a good (or bad!) zombie movie - the best being Dawn of the Dead - The Shining is in my top ten, I think, and I'm looking forward to the forthcoming Frankenstein movie, Victor Frankenstein. 

Maybe Halloween's not just for kids. Maybe I've grown into Halloween - and I'm having a great time of it. Never liked apple bobbing though. Water, up nose, not good. I'll stick to toffee apples. 

Stay tuned for my week of Halloween planning - spooky edibles and decorations, cake and BOOze!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as three hundred words, while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction.

For some reason, Flash Fiction has worked for me this week, and I have had the least busy week in months! Take a look at some of the tiny stories I've created and let me know your favourites. 

-------

The capital letters in his name seemed too direct, too harsh; she didn’t intend those sentiments on this one final letter.

The presence of a lasagne cooking in the kitchen charged over as she entered her parents’ house, deep, welcoming, and appetite tempting… Something wasn’t right.

All night wasn't enough, morning came too soon. 

The first orange on the tree gloated an ironic gleam as us that summer; fertile, bright and new. 

I feel like the hunter but i'm looking for a place to hide. 

All you had to do was stay. 

He broke my finger that morning, and healed my heart.

Sequins and lace say more than flowers. 

Say you'll see me again, and not just in the queue for unemployment benefit. 

"I'm gone forever if I leave now", she said calmly through the cigarette smoke. 

I've decided the love I gave away I want back, yesterday.

"Perambulate" - the first word I learned at university scared me beyond academically. 

His warm hands closing around mine calmed trembling and promised all. 

Champagne flutes played like tinnitus in my ears.  

The bottles clanged like bells for Mass as Paulo wobbled down the footpath, ignoring his religious duties for the fourth Sunday in a row – he had better things to do, better things to drink.

"Sooo... three months in, Ana, how has marriage surprised you?" my sister prompted.

Drip, drip, drip; the house had never sounded so lonely.

The crack in the window played a tune not unlike a U2 single – any U2 single – from Simon’s childhood; two decades ago, but still, the blood stained his conscious thought. 

"We thought she'd be better off with second years - you can't gamble on who you'll meet in Freshers' Halls."

------

See you soon - busy weekend ahead so it may well be next week before I post here again, but why not come over to Born to be a Tourist and see what's been happening on my travel blog?

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

No, I've not fallen into a dark hole... You might think I was losing it from my most earlier post, "Tuesdays Suck". Now I'm going to lighten your moods, thoughts and encourage some creativity among us!

Let's go!!! <--- happy colour

-----

I’m definitely happier when I’m creating, and more creative when I’m happier. It’s a guaranteed positive self-perpetuating feedback loop!

So why does this happen? What are the drivers for this? I’m getting more and more interested in psychology lately, possibly due to the extra material I saw flying around the internet for May’s mental health awareness week, so I thought I’d blog about this today.

I am creative in a few ways. I never really excelled in art at school, but played the piano to a pretty decent standard. This isn’t creative as such, but it has the bones of it, especially when studying music and composition at 15-16 years old. And as I’ve grown into my adult self I’ve discovered other ways I am creative.

Card making                               

I’ve recently started a new card making company, aimed at the expat market. It’s called Everyone Loves Mail and has the beginnings of something pretty exciting as word is spreading and people from around the world are becoming interested in my services. I find it incredibly relaxing to sit down of an evening and create cards for people I love, and more often, for customers. When we work as a team, ideas fly around and it’s energising. Energy is another thing which amplifies the feedback loop; the right amount of energy leads to more good feelings.

Surrounding myself with positive people

This is an obvious way to increase happiness levels. Having positive people around you rubs off on you and makes your day a little lighter. I have changed jobs in the past because I didn’t like the negative attitudes of people I worked with, and have since found a team which are more of a smiley bunch. When these people are supportive of your creativity, you can thrive even further. I do get the chance in my day job occasionally to be visually creative, and I love days like that. I love to see an image I have created in which the colours and shape are pleasing to the eye, and when it’s clear to the client it’s tailored for them.

Being amongst other creatives

This is a more difficult thing to achieve. Having moved to Bristol recently (January 2015), I have lost a lot of the regular meet-ups with creative I have spent the last few years building. Sure, social media, blogs and phones are useful for keeping in touch, but it’s nothing compared to sitting down once a month with a well-loved group of writers – see the Towcester Writers website for such a group! I am working on building another network of local writers to share experiences, writing and ideas with, but it’s not easy. I still have to find a date I can make a meeting for Bristol writers, but when I remember the energy and positive emotions I had coming away from my previous group meetings, it spurs me on. Creativity breeds creativity, and I look forward to making more friends through it.

Planning trips

You probably know by now I consider myself ‘born to be a tourist’. However, fewer trips abroad are being taken and to a much more limited geographical space, due to a large portion of my family (through marriage) are living in Central America. This has led me to become more creative with day trips and long weekends away. It’s been fairly easy because I’m new to the Bristol area, but the challenge of finding interesting trips is  becoming more fun as time goes on, and I love finding ways to be creative in it. Planning a one-way train trip and biking home. Building in local landmarks and sights not visited before. Working out how to get affordable accommodation. Thinking of Plan B ideas for when it rains. All this pre-trip immersion and learning about a new place could count as being creative. Besides, planning a trip is proven to make you happier – even if you don’t end up going! There is a true art in anticipation. See no. 8 on the ‘Ten scientifically proven ways to make yourself happier’ from Buffer.