Timing is Everything

December is always a busy month - so much going on in the run up to Christmas, and this year has been no different. Despite not feeling so festive this year, preparations started early with cards being written, treats baked, presents made, bought and wrapped (with special cards for writing friends!)

This left time to enjoy Christmas catch ups with friends, theatre outings, Christmas dinners. There were writing group catch ups - online and in person, with writing friends from across Europe, to much closer to home. There were a few opportunities for writing exercises, but with so many other activities happening, my writing time was squeezed out. Rejections continued to be received as editors tried to clear their backlogs before the holidays.

But amidst the rejections there has been perfectly timed writing joy during the last week. My story, 'Class Writing' was published in this week's Sunday Post's, 'PS' bumper Christmas supplement. I didn't think I could be more delighted to see my story in print, until I saw the accompanying artwork. It could not be more perfect for my story.

And today I received a perfectly timed Christmas delivery through the post. Despite a few glitches, Jonathan Humble at The Dirigible Balloon worked tirelessly to send out this gorgeous anthology of children's poems 'Sky Surfing'. All proceeds go to the Juvenile Arthritis Research project.

It's perfect timing to read my poem included, 'Calendar Countdown' with the book arriving just in time for Jolabokaflod (the Icelandic Christmas tradition that involves exchanging books and reading them together on Christmas Eve (while eating chocolate!))

You know what I'll be doing later. Is it any wonder I still believe in Santa? Merry Christmas!

Defying Darragh

All year we look forward to our writing group's Christmas get together. Last week,  we were putting the final preparations together, anticipating the fun we would have, catching up, sharing stories and enjoying our Christmas meal together.

So, with a Yellow weather warning turning to an Amber warning because Storm Darragh was on its way, we were anxious as to whether our festivities would go ahead as planned. During the night as the storm arrived, I listened as the rain battered the roof and the wind grew stronger tossing bins and their contents round the garden. Fearing what storm damage daylight would reveal, we knew rescheduling our Christmas get together was an option. 

Thankfully all of us had got off relatively unscathed and our routes to Coney had not been impeded by fallen trees. We expected some debris from an early high tide, but were very fortunate that was all that Darragh had left behind. It was a strange experience watching the wind blowing the tide out, as the the tide was coming in.

The wind continued to deliver an icy blast while we were there, but surrounded by good company and food in cosy surroundings we ignored it. We tucked into seasonal cranberry and orange muffins over coffee, catching up on news.

Later we completed a short writing exercise, creating some memorable characters and sharing our work. It didn't take long for all of us to clear our books away and set the table for our much anticipated festive lunch.

As always, everyone pitched in to the preparation of this delicious meal. We left Coney very full and very thankful for a delicious lunch shared with good friends and another year of being part of this group of supportive writers.