My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
A young man I know in his thirties was talking to me recently about the huge responsibility of having children. He believed that in these times of political upheaval and change, it was unwise to bring another being into the world. He certainly couldn’t justify doing it. I had a great deal of sympathy and …
Continue reading Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em. And We Wouldn’t Change A Thing…
http://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DRXeLdGFU/ If you can access the clip, please have a look at the film for my new book Golden Girls on the Run. It was made on location, and in the Haynes Motor Museum, and edited by the fabulously talented Ivor Abiks at Deep Studios. Huge thanks to Ive, Jane and Big G for starring …
It’s November now and hopefully everyone’s starting to settle into the cold months and feel the benefits of the nicer things that come with it; baked potatoes and hot drinks and fireside evenings. Am I the only person who’s had a tough October? I don’t think so. Lots of people find the decrease in sunlight …
Here's a short story I wrote for my writers' group. It was inspired by photos from a book a friend gave me, called Wild Folk by Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott. It's a bit of a folk tale. I have no title for it yet. Any ideas? .................................................................................................................................................. That night I couldn’t sleep, because I …
Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Think of strangers as friends you haven’t met yet.’ The other day, Keir Starmer said that the UK risks becoming ‘island of strangers’ without more immigration curbs. Some politicians claimed that his words had echoed Enoch Powell’s notorious rivers of blood speech, which imagined a future multicultural Britain where the white population …
Can you keep a secret? For the last few weeks, I’ve been sitting on this one, not saying anything to anyone. But now it’s ok to speak about it – the silence was up on April the eighth. So I had an email that I’ve been shortlisted for the Historical Romantic Novel Award category with …
I’ve never told anyone this story. It’s not the most pleasant or impressive story in which I feature, and I’m not proud of myself. I was young – that’s my only excuse. It begins with my dad in his arm chair shouting: ‘There’s a bloke at the front door for you. He looks like a …
It’s creeping up a bit quickly now, isn’t it? The 25th. How are you getting on? Tree up yet? Presents bought? Cards sent? (Do people still send cards through the post?) A friend of mine is way ahead in terms of planning for Christmas – his tree and decorations are always up on the twelfth …
I've taken to writing poems to take to the writing group I am part of, Solitary Writers. The group is held once a month; they are some of the loveliest and most talented people who meet to share their ideas. I always feel inspired by their writing. They are a diverse group, some already published, …
On Friday, I had a lovely evening out with fourteen other people, friends, family. There was food, laughter, much hugging and kissing. On Saturday I went speed dating. With foreign language students. So not dating exactly. And definitely no hugging and kissing. On Sunday, I went to see my brother and his wife and we …
That quintessence of dust 