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Monday 16 June 2014

Che Faro ?*

Good Afternoon Dear Friends! 



This is a writing hut; I do not have one  - yet! 
Well what a surprise this is; it must be nearly six months or so since last we spoke and I have to say what a joy it is to be able to natter with you again - and with such consummate ease! The old study at Myrtle House has been having a bit of a revolution technology-wise and so now, instead of battling with the vagaries of dear Blogger via the touchy-feely-lovliness of iPad, I can now communicate more directly via a proper keyboard and an operating system that a) I adore even more than iOS and b) this program feels comfortable with . . . I'm so glad that you've managed to trudge across the virtual fields to find me here; the kettle is, as always, singing on the stove; pull up a chair and tea and cake shall ensue ! 

So what has occurred in the intervening period? Well, aside from the continued - and some would say positively fevered - production of a range of short stories, not to mention yet another longer piece that is proving equally as elusive as the one I began some time ago, the greatest step forward is the aforementioned technological leap which should allow for the phoenix that is Myrtle House Creative Publishing to arise and dust itself down from the ashes . . . which means that somewhere, probably in a parallel and more zen-like universe, people (like your good selves, for example) would, when the whim took them, download for a very small, almost insignificant fee, a story or two of mine to while away the lonely, tortured hours of their existence.  A huge problem I have with the process of becoming rich and famous is that the main marketplace for this kind of thing is the Devil known as Nile or Limpopo - or some huge river, anyway - whose marketing and workplace practices I very strongly disagree with and so I am looking around for alternatives . . . in the meantime Twitter continues to present me with some lovely friends, including several in the publishing business, and so you just never know as a dear Great Aunt used to say once upon a time; she was of course quite mad but totally correct in her assertion! Interestingly enough, if each of my Twitter followers were to buy a book from me for 99p I would be a very happy writer indeed  - what price happiness? Well, just under a quid evidently! 


Our Kaff - looking very glamourous!
Another project I've been mulling over for about three years now - and which received an unexpected and most - welcome boost from Twitter, is the concept of a one-woman play with music based on the life of Kathleen Ferrier. I've always been a huge fan of this unique lady whose career and life were so tragically foreshortened by cancer and have been spending the said three years or so trying to find the correct way - and, of course, person - to present it. I mentioned this on Twitter and was contacted by The Kathleen Ferrier Society (@KFSoc) who kindly offered their help and expertise in my researches - a lovely gesture and one I hope to be able to utilise fully very soon . . . as for the right person, well I know a very lovely Mezzo Soprano who I believe would fit the bill perfectly !


Our May - The Old Duchess 7.9.23 - 17.6.11
Another amazing lady I have spent a not inconsiderable amount of time writing about and to whom I owe everything - quite literally - is, of course the Old Duchess who departed this life three years ago tomorrow; time is a very strange beastie and, when I get together with The Uglies (my two older and, it has to be said, quite beautiful sisters!) for our weekly tea and cake sessions, we often remark that it seems only yesterday that she was with us but equally forever since she's been gone. She of course lives on in our memories and there isn't a moment when she isn't in our thoughts ! 


And so the afternoon drifts on and I am lost in the consideration of the lives of all the wonderful people I have known and who have made - and continue to make - life worthwhile; you all know who you are ! 

As Our Kaff sings (and can be heard doing so in the tiny link below):

"What is Life? What is life without thee? What is life if thou art dead? 

well, I suppose the answer is  - for me at least  - a life made richer by your presence and your understanding and your love - and for that I thank you all! 

I hope your week is wonderful and full to the brim with Love and sunshine

'til next time


Be Seeing You ! 










*What is Life? An aria from Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck and sung most beautifully by Our Kaff