Scarecrows and other stories

A lovely break away was made even more special when I discovered that not only was this year's Newburgh scarecrow festival theme 'books', but I'd also get the chance to see some of the fantastic competition entries while there.

Many of the entries were characters from children's books, brilliantly recreated by some of the local children, as well as older groups, businesses and residents.

We had fun finding the scarecrows and guessing the characters.  The creativity behind each character was amazing. Paddington was a special favourite, complete with his furry legs and marmalade sandwich.

Julia Donaldson's books are clearly loved in the town -  The Smeds and the Smoos, The Gruffalo, The Singing Mermaid and The Scarecrows' Wedding were all wonderfully represented.

My favourite was the gorgeous The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which very deservedly was one of the prize winners.

Altogether it was another brilliant way to bring books alive for all ages.

A week of anthology news

What a week! Amidst submitting work to anthologies, I received some really good news on previous submissions and my work being included in several forthcoming anthologies. 

I'm delighted to see that The Dirigible Balloon will be publishing a third anthology of poetry for children, and I'm deeply honoured to have a poem selected, particularly when I see the list of poets selected. Having had a poem selected for inclusion in the second anthology too, I'm very excited to watch this one progress. Thanks to Jonathan Humble for all the work he does on this fantastic poetry resource. 

You can read more about this here:

https://northernjim.wordpress.com/2026/06/11/this-is-your-captain-speaking/

I also heard that I've had two poems selected for a separate anthology - more news on that in due course.

The biggest and most exciting news I received was that my story 'Pineepple Delicht' won the Open Story category in the Federation of Writers (Scotland) annual writing competition and as a result will also be published in a special anthology celebrating their twentieth anniversary. I can't wait to read all the other winning entries.

Books, books and more books

It's been a lovely weekend enjoying events at this year's Belfast Book festival. With another great line up this year, I was lucky to secure tickets to some of the more popular events.

Yesterday it was inspiring to hear Ronan Hession and Louise Nealon talk about their writing processes and their most recent novels.

This afternoon at the YA showcase event, Jenny Ireland and Kelly McCaughrain launched their new novels. Chaired by Shirley McMillan, the panel also featured Sue Divin and Stephen Daly. All four local writers have new novels out this year, which is a huge inspiration for other local kidlit writers.

And of course, like any good book festival, I came away with a bundle of new books, leaflets and goody bags.

Along with this haul, what made this weekend special were all the bookish conversations that took place. Whether it was writing friends who I bumped into unexpectedly in the cafe, writing friends who were volunteering at the festival, chats with friendly bibliophile strangers, or the supportive encouragement from writing pals who I'd arranged to meet there, they all contributed to a lovely book-filled weekend.

A garden and a library

Cicero is attributed as having said, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need". 

This afternoon our writing group was treated to a tour of Kilmacrew House and garden in Co. Down, where local writer Helen Waddell once lived. Lovingly restored by her family, we saw artefacts and curios from her life, heard about her literary connections and saw the comprensive curation of her works, along with those of her extended literary family.

After enjoying coffee outside we had a guided tour of the garden. We were lucky to see the tail end of the many azalea and rhodedenron blooms as well as the spectacular candelbra primulas.

With a soundtrack of birdsong and buzzing bees, we left this truly idyllic place, our heads full of books, art and flowers, energised and inspired.

I can't imagine what else anyone could need in this beautiful place.

In the footsteps of writers

While I took a break from writing on holiday, I found myself inadvertently following in the footsteps of writers as we enjoyed a break from the routine. Glorious Lake Garda has many literary associations including Virgil, Byron and Tennyson. DH Lawrence was apparently inspired by beautiful Gargano and Limone writing his collection 'Twilight in Italy'.

Arriving in Sirmione by ferry, we were greeted by a statue commemorating the Roman poet Catallus who wrote much of his work in his villa in the town.

As we made our way round the town considered to be one of the prettiest on the lake's shores, we stumbled upon a garden commemorating Italian Noble laureate Grazia Deledda.

Now, back home with piles of ironing to attend to and deadlines looming I'm ready to get back to writing.

Drama Critiques

It's been a great run of theatre trips over the last few weeks in a range of theatres with both amateur and professional productions.

At the recent Ulster Drama Festival finals at Ballyearl Theatre we heard the adjudicator's constructive and generous comments which were very insightful into all aspects of what makes a successful production.

The two performances we saw were 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Bouncers'. While both were very different, it was easy to forget these were amateur productions, such was the high standard. It was great to hear that 'Bouncers' took the title of best play during the festival.

At Belfast's Grand Opera House we saw Agatha Christie's 'Death on the Nile', a production touring the UK and Ireland.

During the interval I overheard someone in the row behind us critising the acting and the use of the stage - a would-be drama festival adjudicator perhaps! They seemed to be unjustifiably negative and were also very critical of the captions for the hard of hearing! I felt sorry for how miserable they must be feeling to be so negative of such a spectacular production with superb acting, authentic set and fabulous costumes.

On a smaller stage at The Santuary Theatre we saw 'A Bomber's Moon' and 'The Hop on Hop off Bus'. Both plays are set in Belfast, though very different again. While the stage and cast may have been smaller in these productions, the acting was excellent. Thankfully no one was sitting behind us critising these productions and spoiling our enjoyment as they were a very welcome escape from other dramas going on in my life! 

Breaks from Routine

It was good to meet up with fellow writers yesterday and exercise my writing muscles again after a short break. Fuelled by coffee and apple and cinnamon muffins, we caught up on news and did some spring themed writing. It was amazing what we all developed from the same prompt.

After a few lovely days away in Scotland it was good to get back into a routine again. While there was little opportunity to write while I was away, I did manage a few museum visits - including seeing the last letter Mary Queen of Scots wrote (currently on display in Perth museum) as well as making time for a return visit to one of the palaces she lived in at Falkland. 

It was also great to have time for some reading - I enjoyed Tracy Chevalier's 'The Glass Maker' over the Easter break and I got the chance to dip into a lovely anthology which includes a short story I wrote. 'Spring at Bluebell Wood' is in 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me'.

Now to get back to writing - with some new projects on the horizon, it's going to be an exciting few months ahead.