More holiday reading



Personal: It’s been a mixed day. I’ve filled in my tax return and paid what the government demands, never a cheering activity. But I’ve also submitted a book proposal (for another volume of Peak District folktales) to a publisher I’ve…

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Holiday planning and holiday reading



Personal: The Buxton Festival Fringe is upon us. I’ll be acting as compere for the two Chapel Arts Writing Group performances (7th July, 7.30- 9.00 pm and 17th July, 2.00-3.30 pm) as well as being in the audience for several…

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Many spinning plates and a bit of sci-fi



Personal: Keeping so many plates spinning is making my brain hurt. I’m too old for this succession of 12-14 hour days. However, I admit that many of the spinning plates are much to my taste. The routine editing can be…

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Political protests



Personal: I don’t often talk politics in blog posts but I’m becoming increasingly alarmed by the present UK government. I’m not usually a Conservative voter, but I know plenty of people who are and I respect their views, and in…

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Time I wrote another blog…



Personal: What with working with my group in Chapel to prepare our Buxton Festival Fringe performances, discussing future folktale performances with colleagues, planning the Glossop Bookfest for November and a series of open mic evenings before it, keeping pace with…

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Medicine and memory



Personal: It’s a long time since I had any hands-on contact with medicine and medical research, but the experience of those years was to an extent formative. One develops a way of thinking, an addiction to hard work and long…

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A landmark moment, and a very amusing piece of American literature



Personal: I have just finished the first draft of The Man in the Mirror, my long-planned “deconstructed Mills & Boon romance”. It features the stereotypical heroine and hero but explores their back-stories and explains how they came to be the…

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Tales of faerie, and a story of personal redemption



Personal: As I said two blogs ago, Dr Kathryn Starnes and I will be presenting the next instalment of our folktale evenings in Glossop on 9th June. This time our theme will be tales of faerie… and fairy-tales. A number…

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Performance of one of my plays… and review of a debut novel



Personal: If you’re anywhere near Chapel-en-le-Frith on Friday-Saturday 10th-11th or 17th-18th June, why not spend an evening watching three one-act comedies in The Playhouse, Eccles Road, performed by the excellent Chapel Players? One of the plays, Bequest, is mine… and…

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Folktale evening… and another novel review



Personal: On Thursday 9th June, Kathryn Starnes and I will deliver another evening of Peak District folktales and discussions in the small upstairs room of the Labour Club, 11 Chapel Street, Glossop, 7.30-9.30 pm. This time our theme will be…

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