My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
I'm not a fan of meals such as fish and chips. I am one of those strange people who don't like chips, deep- fried or greasy foods, and so I seldom make anything that involves frying. However, I'm so pleased with this recipe, which isn't greasy at all, that I'll make it again. For three …
Continue reading My plant based fish ‘n’ chips recipe… Friday nights won’t be the same again.
It's rare that I write about myself. In my novels, characters and situations are imaginary. I rarely bring myself into what I write, although I include what I know and if I don't, my ideas will be inspired by other people or based on research. Many of my older characters have something of the inspirational …
Here's a short story I wrote recenty about lockdown. I know a lot of people are by themselves, in flats where they have no access to outdoor spaces. Thinking of what it must be like to be in that situation, I wrote a few lines. The First Floor Flat Outside is bleak. Inside is quiet, …
My novels have often been described as uplifting or feel-good, and I like this epithet very much. While I enjoy a good gothic tale or a thriller as much as anyone else, the idea that my stories entertain and make people feel positive about life is a great compliment. Recently, I was sent a message …
Continue reading My top five living-life-and-loving-it feel-good films
Perhaps every writer dreams of seeing her or his work produced on film. After all, great stories make good theatre and good television, or good movies. I love to imagine who’d play the major roles in my novels if they were made into films. I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology of casting and, whenever …
Continue reading If The Old Girls’ Network was a film, who would play the roles…?
I have worked in schools where Drama, Music, Art , Dance, Writing, Media and Performance thrived. I used to teach theatre. I taught students between the ages of 11 and 18 usually but sometimes I would be invited into primary schools to help smaller children fall in love with Shakespeare, and once in a while …
Remember the moment in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, where she falls down the rabbit hole? Or the wardrobe door that opens to Narnia? Or Platform 9 ¾, leading to the Hogwarts’s Express? Or the Doors of Durin in Lord of the Rings? Literature is full of enchanted doors that take us to a secret …
I don't like puddings but everyone else I know seems to love them. At this time of year, when it becomes a bit damp and cool, puddings are a go-to comfort food. There are a lot of apples around at the moment and blackberries are in abundance and free if you're prepared to pick them …
Continue reading Guilt-free bramble crumble (and dutch apple cake)
The sharp scent of autumn has been on the air for several weeks now; it began before the first of September. My social media feed is inundated by glorious russet-coloured photos, pictures of damsons and apples, posts rejoicing in autumn, the cooler weather, the beauty of falling leaves, the abundance of berries and fruits. It …
Continue reading As the year grows older, is autumn everyone’s favourite season?
Much of what we think, feel and do, I suppose, is acquired or learned, nature or nurture, and goes a long way to make us who we are, to make us happy or sad, to define us in some small way. Along life’s paths, we acquire some good patterns of behaviour and some we’d be …
Continue reading How can we change patterns of behaviour through practising self-nurture?
That quintessence of dust 