Rae of Light

It's that time of year again. I love celebrating my birthday and have never placed much store in chronological age. I'm as old as I care to feel. My annual birthday list has become a bit of a feature, particularly on my Facebook   page. But this year, as I’m celebrating a significant birthday – half a century – I thought I’d up the ante and ask for things I really really want. For some of you who’ve been following the blog for some time now, you may recognise a theme and also see a recurrence of past sort after gifting ideas. Buy Books - Review Books Firstly, buying and reviewing any of my books is always a terrific present to give me.  I am after all a self-published writer and every sale increases my current single figure royalty total. Secondly, as can be seen from my pre-birthday 2014 post , the humble gift voucher still remains a firm favourite for me.  And I feel will remain so until the day I’m packed off in my fully recyclable cof...

Shortly after Lambeth Council shut Carnegie Library and before I became a trustee with the Carnegie Library Association , I felt such utter helplessness in the face of a government body and its relentless disregard for what local residents actually want and need.  Yes, I’d supported The Occupation.  Yes, I’d gone on the marches.  Yes, I’d inundated my Twitter feed with anything and everything to do with loving my library.  But I didn’t feel it was enough. As a tutor with Ruskin Readers I was in the midst of the plight faced by community groups ousted from Carnegie Library.  While I tried to assist our lead tutor Caroline Knapp as she emailed and made Facebook appeals for us to secure a suitable venue, I quietly seethed within. I wanted to do SOMETHING . Then I got a notification email from my Google Calendar to renew my library books.   I made a sudden resolution.    I would not return any of the library books I c...

I managed to finish ahead of time which was a small miracle to be sure So last year I foolishly set myself the challenge of reading 100 books in a year.   I wasn’t really thinking clearly and the number 100 just popped into my head when I spotted the challenge on Goodreads .    I won’t be doing that again because it was an almost impossible task and I hate setting myself up to fail.   Luckily, I didn’t fail but that was predominantly down to the help of my wonderful students. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but I do try to do something different or learn something new every year if at all possible. This year I’m opting to do things a little differently.  I’m giving myself a very practical challenge combined with one I know is going to be filled with fun.  So firstly I’ve decided that if I want to fulfil my ambition of eventually retiring to an Italian island I’d better improve on the smattering of Italian I currently ...

I’ve done it.   And I'm ahead of schedule.   I can scarcely believe it myself.   I anticipated a scramble towards the end to get it done but I was wrong.   However, w ithout the numerous children’s books loaned to me along the way I would never have achieved this at all.   So massive thanks to all my students who lent me their darlings. So here for you, are my top 10 reads this year: Best Adult Reads of 2016 Snuff This book reminded me yet again of why Pratchett is one of my favourite authors.  It covers world and local issues with insight and great wisdom while making me guffaw at the very top of my lungs.  I have yet to read a Pratchett which doesn’t make me howl with laughter in several sections.  I loved, loved, loved it.  And am delighted there is still much of this great genius’ oeuvre for me to discover as well as all my favourites to reread. The Crane Wife In this wonderful book by Patrick Ness, Geo...

If you’re a long standing follower of my blog you’re well aware of my views on Christmas and Christmas presents.  But if you’ve only just joined this happy band then please refer to the posts Christmas Cheer Episode 1 & Episode 2 of this blog to find out my true feelings on the festive season. But now I’d like to get down to the serious business of discussing big store ad campaigns.  I’ve never really followed them much in the past but found myself inadvertently drawn in to the midst of the debate on which is the best one this year. The first ad I spotted was by House of Fraser - this is the ad with all the dancers and the distinctly Thriller style dance scene.   That’s the main reason I noticed the ad.    Ads in my opinion are an opportunity to get up and wash the dishes, make a cup of tea or pop some popcorn to enhance my sofa surfing experience.   But I spotted the musical reference (indeed a rare thing for some...

Ten months into my self-imposed reading challenge on Goodreads and I actually find myself 8   books ahead of schedule.  For those of you who think I’ve lost the ability to count – I didn’t actually start this challenge till February. The reason I'm this far along though is primarily due to books loaned to me by several fabulous students: Ari, Tobi and Tianna as well as the magnificent collection of Jacqueline Wilson at the charity where I teach.  It’s a difficult thing entrusting your beloved darlings to someone else but my students have faith in me and I hope I’ve not let them down by spilling spaghetti sauce all over the pages of their precious books. In quick summary: the way I’m attempting to get through this challenge is by reading 3 books simultaneously.   I read one #bookatbreakfast), the second is my #bagbook and the third my #bedbook. Reading this at bed time  makes for very exciting dreams My summer holiday in...

Photograph courtesy of Elisa Tomassi Despite the fact I’m a summer baby and love nothing better than sunshine beating down on my bare skin, I’m rather taken with autumn.  I love the turn of colour in the leaves, the gusts of wind that steal my hat and give me earache, the scurrying of squirrels hastily storing food for the oncoming winter, the leaf litter piling up ungathered on my unkempt lawn. But these are only a smattering of the reasons why I think autumn is awesome.  Here are a few more. I start looking longingly at my winter wardrobe and anticipate the hats and scarves I’ll soon be able to reclaim from my accessories shelf. Many are birthday gifts from friends and others are gifts I gave myself.  I love a new hat or two.  And then there’s the jacket I bought while in Edinburgh in September.  I’m on tenterhooks as I wait for the weather to turn cool enough for me to don this fabulous garment. Then there’s the steamy baths aft...