The Joys of Writing

As much as I love a good book, I also love many other beautiful things. Like the picture above for instance, I think it is stunning. I wish I could create pictures like that. I do try, with my little camera and I quite like some of the images that come forth. I have dabbled with a paintbrush too but know I'm not very good. Which brings me neatly to my new project. ( The Book!)
I am trying to write a novel, inspired by all the books I have read and all Anita's work that I have helped to publish. Whether I will be any good at all remains to be seen, but I am determined to give it my best shot. After all, I think I am a good editor/proofer, and I always got good marks for English, so what do I have to lose?

Anita started wrting when her life was at a low ebb. Losing herself in creating fictional plots and characters turned out to be very therapeutic- not to mention relaxing and soothing, the list of advantages seemed to go on and on. Also, knowing you are in control of this brave new world and control everything that happens must be a very special feeling.
Anita tells me that sometimes the characters take over and tell her what they want to do. That must be truly amazing!

As Anita's editor, the process worked for me too. It was bliss to immerse myself in this newly discovered world.
Mostly tired (or sick) of the way the ordinary world is, what better than to create a world where literally everything can be the way you want it? A chance to show the world that life doesn't have to be like that. A chance to experience what your heart desires, if only for a while.
But do it well enough and it will be remembered.

I can see a small similarity with what Anita does and my bonsai hobby. Some of them I have grown from seed and tended and cared for, trained, encouraged and celebrated as beautiful things. Some people laugh at my 'little sticks' but I can see the end result. Hopefully my efforts with the pencil will be just as rewarding for me...


"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." Maya Angelou.

Worth waiting for!

Hello everybody,  may I introduce you to my favourite bonsai. (see above, as promised)
You could say that it is just an ordinary red Acer, but not to me. He is 45 years old and stands about 50cm in his pot. I have owned him for about ten years and we have moved house several times, but as you can see, it hasn't bothered him in the slightest.

I wait patiently every Spring for the tiny buds to open, and the first growth is always this striking scarlet, followed later in the summer by a greener hue. I take great care of him and all my bonsai, (much to my family's amusement) but even they are impressed by this amazing performance!
When you consider that his counterparts in Nature are huge by comparison, you can understand the care needed to keep him healthy, but I am happy and proud to do it.

Some people think that keeping bonsai is cruel, that I am depriving a living thing of its natural heritage and maybe I am in a way. But this much I know, if my trees were not happy they would die or look sickly, and none of them do, because they all get so much more love and care than trees in the countryside.

One fact you cannot get away from is that you are responsible for them, no matter what. It is like having pets or children, you don't get to have a day off. I am a gardener too, and with careful planning you can leave most gardens for a time if you go on holiday. But not bonsai. In the summer months they need you every day, sometimes more than once if it is very hot, but I don't consider that to be a downside. They give me so much more in return and I love them all for it.

All of this post spells out 'dedication' and in fact that is exactly how I am beginning to feel about this blog. Writing is a serious business and I am approaching it with all the love and care I can muster.

Will what we write be around in 45 years time?