Something I forgot to mention last year was that I did complete NaNoWriMo again, though it was probably the most difficult time I’ve had of it in my four successes. This time I was a rebel in that I produced my 50,000 words in unconnected short stories rather than as a single novel. This was because I’d just finished an early draft of a novel and wanted to try out all the ideas that had sprung up in my head while I was writing that, ready to clear out my brain ready to go at the next draft.
(And don’t get too excited about me finishing a draft, as it’s still a really rough version and needs lots of work and a complete rewrite before anyone’s going to see it)
But the point of this post was to plug something else that arose from that. For the first time in my knowledge there were some NaNoWriMo write-ins here in Colchester (at 15 Queen Street) where a group of us got together to write, talk about writing, share experiences, drink tea and eat biscuits. As that was a positive experience for everyone who attended – and not just because of the biscuits – it was decided to carry them on as a regular thing and thus, Writenight was born. It’s a roughly fortnightly meeting taking place at 15 Queen Street, open to all and the first meeting of 2012 is tomorrow night. Why not come along if you want to know more?
For that very small subset of people who read this blog but don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter, may I recommend the new Colchester Chronicle blog? It’s a ‘hyperlocal blog for Britain’s oldest recorded town’ run by Jason Cobb – who interviewed me last year – and looks like a good way to keep up with what’s happening across the town and borough.
Just to let people know that I’ve had notice from Essex County Council about roadworks that are going to be carried out on Westway (the A134) between the Balkerne Hill and Colne Bank roundabouts. These are some important safety works, centred around fitting in a proper barrier system on the central reservation, but they might cause delays while they’re happening.
They’re scheduled to start next Monday (the 9th January) – weather permitting – and will continue for about six weeks, though the work is only scheduled to take place during the day from 9.30am until 3.30pm, so it should hopefully not be causing delays during the rush hour.
So, there haven’t been many posts here for a while, and this is probably the year I’ve done the least posts ever here, but I am still alive. And on that note, as ever, I’ve donated money to Shelter instead of sending out Christmas cards this year, so I’d like to take this opportunity to hope you all have a good Christmas and a great 2012. I might even post more then, but don’t hold your breath in expectation.
And here’s a scene of how it’s not looking down here this year:
There’s just a week until the 2011 version of National Novel Writing Month kicks off, and as with all my previous attempts at it, I haven’t decided whether or not I’ll have the time to do it this year.
However, one thing I can report is that there’ll be write-in events taking place here in Colchester to support it, so if you want to take part and give it a try why not come along? They’ll be at Fifteen Queen Street on Thursdays from 7.30, or if you want that information in the form of an image:
There’s also a Nanowrimo Essex group on Facebook with details of events all around the county.
October 25th, 2011 in
Books,
Colchester | tags:
fifteen queen street,
nanowrimo,
writing |
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Oops, haven’t written here for a while, and have also slipped behind on the regular reading too. Only three books finished in the few weeks since my last post, and they were:
30) A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin
The longest part yet of A Song Of Ice And Fire, and would perhaps have counted as two books if I wasn’t reading the single Kindle edition. Still very good, and an interesting depiction of a world descending into hell, with each chink of light ruthlessly extinguished as another plot comes to light.
31) Rule 34 by Charles Stross
The sequel to Halting State, Stross returns to near-future Scotland for a crime story that’s equal parts Brookmyre and Orwell. A very interesting extrapolation of current trends in society and policing, laden down with the usual rapid-fire of ideas that you expect from Stross.
32) I, Patridge: We Need To Talk About Alan by Alan Partridge (Armando Ianucci, Steve Coogan et al
The autobiography of a broadcasting legend, whose career I’ve followed since he burst to national prominence on Radio 4′s On The Hour and Knowing Me, Knowing You. It reveals just how this major talent’s career has been blighted by the jealousy of lesser talents and the short-sightedness of broadcasting management (usually at the BBC). Includes a harrowing account of his descent into Toblerone addiction – I, for one, will never look on their chocolate-honey-nougat prisms with quite the same innocence from now on – though needless to say, he has the last laugh.
You can tell when the first couple of links were found, and then when the last three found their way onto the list, can’t you?
B-Movie Posters for Classic Films – Good stuff from Cracked readers, and some excellent artwork in there
Idiots – From Who Rules Where, “a table for idiots who think the death penalty is normal.”
Let’s not bring in the army – David Allen Green on why calls for the Army to be brought in to ‘sort things out’ should be resisted.
Just another country – A typically interesting post from The Gaping Silence on the riots
David Cameron’s new best friend – Wings Over Sealand discovers some disturbing information about the person behind the ‘support the Metropolitan Police’ group on Facebook
A Rocket To Nowhere – Setting out the case that the Space Shuttle programme has been a wasted opportunity. (via)
In the depths of some men’s minds – The Gaping Silence on some of the causes of the Norwegian mass-murder.
Western culture still very much there, say experts – The Daily Mash deadpans another direct hit. “The bus is filled with a variety of people. None of them try to undermine my values. They mostly just sit there.”
Bad Habits, Bad Days – Sophia McDougall on addiction and eating disorders (warning: “This post discusses addiction and eating disorders, particularly the dangerous appeal of the latter. If you are likely to be harmed by reading such content, please don’t read on.”)
Raised expectations – Brian Kellett dissects the latest piece of idiocy to emerge from the head of Liz Jones
I think this may be the first time I’ve read a novel by a blogger (as opposed to reading the blogs of novelists) but if others are up to this standard, then I might have to find more.
The Ministry Of Love is, as far as I’m aware, only available as an e-book from Amazon (and for a ridiculously low price), but it might be a good reason to get a Kindle, or at least a Kindle app for some other device as it’s the sort of book that will definitely appeal to the sort of people who read this sort of blog. O’Mahony’s like a benevolent version of Christopher Brookmyre, most notably in the fact that one The Ministry Of Love‘s subplots has wandered straight in from A Snowball In Hell. However, while Brookmyre’s attitude often seems to be that the whole world is going to hell and is only held back by the work of a few decent people, O’Mahony takes a somewhat more optimistic view of the human race.
More after the cut, but there be spoilers for the novel there so don’t read if you want to approach it with fresh eyes. I definitely recommend giving it a try, though – it’s easily worth £1.14 of anyone’s money.
Read the rest of this entry »
With the Tour de France over for another year, I decided to stretch out the experience of it a little by reading Boulting’s behind-the-scenes account of reporting on the Tour from 2003 to 2010. He’ll be familiar to viewers of cycling on ITV4 as the main field reporter for the Tour de France, and also as the presenter of the Tour Series and Tour of Britain (which means he gives Colchester the briefest of mentions late in the book).
This is the story of how Boulting went from being an out-of-his-depth football reporter dispatched to cover the Tour (the ‘Yellow Jumper’ of the title comes from his disastrous first Tour broadcast) to a passionate fan of cycling. It’s the sort of book that could have descended into Partridgean anecdotage, but while I haven’t checked, I don’t believe ‘needless to say, I had the last laugh’ features anywhere in the book.
Rather than going into the day-by-day minutiae of each Tour he’s covered, Boulting instead presents a series of vignettes about life on the tour, most of which go on to reveal a much wider picture of one of the world’s largest sporting events. We get to see what goes on to bring the Tour to TV screens worldwide, from how Gary Imlach keeps his clothing crease-free to how much of a task it is to feed a small army of journalists every day. In the process, we see how Boulting goes from being almost entirely ignorant of professional cycling to an experienced and somewhat cynical reporter. Indeed, it’s his honesty that helps to lift this book above the humdrum, and you suspect that if he was working in a sport that wasn’t as routinely scandalous as cycling, his candidness (about doping, the personalities of some of the sport’s stars and the somewhat bizarre world of Team Sky) might see him uninvited from future events.
Boulting’s an amusing writer, and one able to keep perspective on his situation. While there are complaints about what it’s like to live on the road in France amidst a moving army for three weeks, he knows that most of his readers will envy him his job and the privileges that go with it, not pity him for it. The one thing the book lacks, though, is a definite ending. When he talks about the first rumours of Team Sky’s launch in 2008, it’s almost a foreshadowing of the end of an era, but the Tour remains on ITV4, with many of the same team who started covering it on Channel 4 in the 80s still there. For those of us who’ve been watching during those twenty-five years, it’s a good read and recommended.
July 26th, 2011 in
Books,
Reviews,
Sport | tags:
cycling,
ned boulting,
tour de france |
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