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The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop

10/1/2022

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My guest blogger today is author Elizabeth Holland, whose new novel, The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop, is being published on October 10.

Why Do I Write Romantic Escapism?
by Elizabeth Holland
I’m no stranger to having a bad day. In fact, I’ve had a few bad years.

Finally, I feel as though I’m coming out the other side. However, during those darkest times, an escape was what I pined for.

Something to make me forget about the darkness inside my head. If only for a few seconds.

I found that escape in books. Since my teens, I’ve loved to pick up a book and escape into the imaginary world within. As I’ve got older, this love for reading has grown.

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When I was at my lowest, I felt a burning desire to write my own world to escape into. That manuscript sits on my desktop and it’s a reminder of what I’ve overcome. Since then, I’ve continued to create my own worlds and I’ve found the joy of sharing them with my readers.

The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop is a mixture of escapism, romance, and indulgence. Cornwall is a magnificent backdrop for the story, with its dramatic and rugged coastline. The scenery leads itself to support the story. However, there’s more to it than a simple backdrop. I set the book in Cornwall because of its beauty and often romanticised reputation. If you’re having a bad day, it’s the perfect place to escape to (even if it’s just inside your head!). I hope to weave the description in such a way that you can smell the salty sea, feel the spray against your arms, and hear the seagulls squawking above you. Like The Vintage Bookshop of Memories, the shop in The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop is a character and will envelop you in its warmth…


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‘Rosie had spent hours painstakingly deliberating over every inch of the shop.

Her past life as an interior designer meant she knew just how to make the shop into the welcoming time capsule that made her heart soar every time she stepped inside.

There was a herringbone floor, finished with a walnut stain, which was complimented by the dark wallpaper adorning the walls, covered with floral blooms in muted pinks, blues, yellows, oranges, and whites.

It was dramatic - the perfect backdrop to selling snippets of people’s lives. Velvet pink lampshades with tassels hanging from the ceiling flooded the shop with light.

Rosie had displayed the vintage clothes, jewellery, shoes, bags, and accessories in several ways.

From shelves made of driftwood, an up-cycled antique sideboard, and brass clothes rails. Each allowed the items to take centre stage.’

Rosie’s story is one of finding yourself and love along the way. After leaving her cheating husband, Rosie embarks on her dream of owning her own vintage clothes shop. She’s finding her feet when a handsome stranger turns up at her door with a clothing donation. Their lives are worlds apart and his ex-girlfriend will do anything she can to keep them apart. There are moments of heartbreak, sweet moments of friendship, and the odd sprinkle of humour…

‘“What tales do you have for us today?” asked Rosie. She took another sip of wine and settled into her seat. She’d only been living in Ives-On-Sea for six months and yet she felt she’d always been here. Rosie felt as though she belonged.

“I had a man turn up in an actual suit! He read the leaflet and took ‘wet suit’ a little too literally.” The table erupted into a fit of laughter.’


I hope The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop will be an escape for my readers. For those brief moments inside the book, their reality will melt away. We all deserve an escape.



To pre-order The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop, by Elizabeth Holland, click here.

Connect with Elizabeth Holland by clicking here

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Our Love For Doctor Who Will Never Die

8/13/2022

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As you know, I've watched Doctor Who since the very first episode in 1963, and my love for the show will never die. While many fans are ancient like me, the modern era is attracting much younger fans, including my guest blogger today.

So, I'll hand straight over to him/they to explain why, like me, his/their love for Doctor Who will never die.

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Hello, my name is Morgan. I am 21 going on 22.

On July 24th 2022 I came out as non-binary, with the pronoun he/they. At the start of 2020, before the globe was locked down due to a virus, I came out as bisexual.

I remember telling my Mum first, God rest her soul, then my Nan, and the rest of the family. Thankfully, they were all so open and supportive of me.

I also like football, too, and I support Liverpool.

Thanks to Stewart for giving me the chance to write this blog about Doctor Who.

I would like to start this blog by talking about my YouTube Channel “MorganWhovian.”

My channel is a platform for Whovians who need positivity about the current era of Doctor Who, which as from the 11th of July 2022, is the Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall era.

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My motto on my page is “Home of the Whovians, haters aren’t welcome” So far, on my channel, I have done 4 videos, mainly on Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, but that’s my passion, as she’s my role model. If you would consider checking it out, if you like my content, subscribe, like my videos and turn on the notification bell to be notified about my next uploads.
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Next, I would like to talk about my love for Doctor Who…

So, we are going back to the year 2005, March to be exact. When the show came back after going off air since 1989, minus the TV Movie in 1996, I was 4, my Mum told me and my sisters about a show called Doctor Who.  So, on the 26th of March 2005, we all sat down in the living room, turned on BBC One and I was mind blown that an alien who is Timelord could time travel to different times and dimensions.

On the 18th of June 2005, I was even more mind-blown, when I saw that The Doctor, this alien, had the genetic abilities to regenerate his own body. My love and passion for this show, truly set sail when David became the Doctor.

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When it was announced that he’d be leaving the show, I was devastated and I didn’t want to say goodbye to his incarnation, so Matt Smith was announced in 2009, and I wasn’t sure.  I watched his first episode in 2010, and I instantly disliked it, switched off the show for 3 years until the Day of The Doctor, then ever since, I have been watching the show.


When Jodie Whittaker was announced as The Doctor, on the 16th of July 2017, I was instantly hooked.

I was excited, thrilled, shocked, and above all, in love with the fact that we had our first female doctor in the longevity of the show’s history. This era of the show brought my child spark back, this involved shit loads of money, last time this happened was in David Tennant era.

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To conclude this blog, I’d like to thank Stewart for this opportunity, also would like to dedicate this blog to my Mum, who introduced me to Doctor Who and changed my life for the better, love you lots, may you rest in peace. 
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So, to finish off, my love for the show will never die, I am happily uploading on YouTube, and I really am happy about it! 😊

Hope you all take care of yourselves and hopefully, I’ll be back on here!

 - - - - - -

Editor's note: check out Morgan's YouTube channel here. 

And follow Morgan's YouTube's Twitter account



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Night Shift Hospital Staff "Ill-Served" When It Comes To Food

3/2/2022

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A special campaign has been launched to encourage NHS hospital trusts and healthcare institutions to provide hot food for night shift staff. 

I must admit, I thought doctors, nurses and other staff working nights would already have access to hot food. Surely that's a basic human right for our wonderful NHS workers. But it seems not.

Dr Dolly Sud and Neely Mozawala run the No Hungry NHS Staff Campaign, and are urging us all to write to our MPs, calling for every hospital trust to provide affordable and nutritious hot food through 24-hour canteen services and dining facilities. 
by
Dr Dolly Sud, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Senior Mental Health Pharmacist
and
Neely Mozawala, Specialist Diabetes Podiatrist and Founder of Baking Medics

Writing on behalf of the:
No Hungry NHS Staff Campaign Team
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​Dr Dolly Sud works as a Senior Mental Health Pharmacist and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. She has special interest in parity of physical and mental health and health inequalities, the lived experience of illness and medicines optimisation and undergraduate and post-graduate education. 



​Neely Mozawala is a Specialist Diabetes Podiatrist. She is founder of ‘Baking Medics,’ a national wellbeing and baking group and she is founder of the ‘No Hungry NHS Staff’ national campaign, to feed NHS staff 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with hot and affordable food.
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In October 2020 an independent review of hospital food was published which made a list of recommendations of how NHS trusts could provide more nutritious meals to both staff and patients.

This review was chaired by Philip Shelley, catering lead for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and led by a panel of advisers and included Prue Leith as an independent advisor.  This review reported that staff on night shifts were among the “most ill-served” when it came to hospital food.

The review highlighted how staff were “often eating from vending machines offering nothing healthy and nothing hot”. The review made a clear call for an upgrade of hospital and ward kitchens to ensure a 24/7 service could be provided for “everyone.”

Furthermore, the report also stressed that if a 24/7 food service was not available to staff, then they “must have access to appropriate facilities to safely store, prepare and eat their own meals at any time of the day or night”. The blueprint added that it was “essential” that hospital environments made it “possible and easy” for staff to choose healthy options. The report stated that: “Poor working conditions, including a lack of access to nutritious food and drink, can contribute to feelings of stress and lack of control in the workplace.”

The report also warned that the coronavirus pandemic had resulted in additional challenges on the access that staff had to food and drink and called for action to address this for the future. The report stated: “Even basic things, like drinking enough water, have been made harder by infection control procedures,” and “We must make sure that hospital infrastructure is improved to tackle these issues for future pandemics.”

The report added that the difficulties that staff experienced in accessing hot or healthy food along with time pressures put on staff during their working shifts eroded “the culture for taking time out from shifts to have proper breaks with appropriate food available.”  Importantly the report stated that Implementing recommendations for staff catering “should be an urgent priority and an easy win.”

Many would argue that it should not have taken this length of time to recognise the need for staff to have access to healthy and nutritious food during their shift. More than a year on from the publication of this report it is apparent that these recommendations have not been consistently or appropriately taken forward. NHS staff working in hospitals across the UK getting hot food particularly during night shifts is near impossible. Our research has revealed that 84% of NHS staff do not have access to a hot food service from their NHS trust during their 12 hour night shifts. Many staff also report that canteens are closed and facilities where they can prepare their own food have been cut.

The review also added that investment was also needed in technology to ensure every hospital could implement a digital meal ordering system by 2022. This would help staff to not only help staff make food choices but also manage allergies and diets and minimise waste and improve efficiency. Furthermore, the report stated that effort must also be taken to ensure government food procurement standards were upheld and that NHS trusts should also agree a common method of monitoring food waste.

We are currently running a national campaign in the UK to encourage NHS Hospital Trusts and healthcare institutions to put in place the provision of hot food 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The provision of hot food 24 hours a day, 7 days a week would have a positive impact on physical and mental wellbeing of those staff as well as morale across the NHS. Ultimately, this would result in an improved quality of care for patients and their families and informal carers.
​
How can you help? You can help us by writing to your Members of Parliament to urge them to sign an Early Day Motion calling upon the Government to provide the funding necessary to enable each hospital trust to provide a 24 hour hot food canteen service and dining facilities, providing affordable and nutritious hot food to their staff. This proposal is in accordance with the recommendations of the national independent NHS food review.

Our hope is that this is the first in a series of steps that will facilitate recognition of the importance of access to good nutrition to the wellbeing and mental and physical health of these NHS caring staff and to the quality of the care provided to their patients.
 

Please find us at
Instagram: @nohungrystaff
Twitter: @NoHungryNHSStaff

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Well, I'm a Pensioner Now!

2/28/2022

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How did that happen? How on Earth can I officially be a pensioner? Yes, January 16th was my 66th birthday.

Whatever happened to that young man in the photograph below, getting ready to read the news on BBC Radio in 1981 when I was a mere 25? Gulp. That's 41 years ago! A change of career, five books, one wife, two children, a number of budgies, getting ill and getting better, a few cars...that's what happened to him.

Oh, and don't forget the thinning hair, the aches and pains, the diminishing energy, the...okay, my hearing's still good enough to make out the violins you're all suddenly playing. 

How the world has changed in that time. In the days of that photo the studio equipment of turntables, reel-to-reel tape recorders and faders, was absolutely state-of-the-art. But it's probably languishing in some broadcasting museum at the moment, as all programmes are driven by computer now.

Talking of computers, I first started using one in 1989; was almost reduced to tears of frustration when I was unable to control the first mouse to be introduced to my work station in 1992; and felt on top of the world when I invested in my first home computer in 1997. A great monstrosity of a thing it was, all £1,000 worth of it, with its mere 16MB of RAM.

OK, reminiscing over. Nostalgia back in the drawer.

Seriously, though, there are compensations. With age comes wisdom. No, stop laughing. I know now that when I thought I knew it all in those lazy, hazy, crazy days of long ago, I actually knew nothing. So knowing now that I knew nothing then, makes me wiser. Right?
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Passing Through The Top Of The World - Ladakh Diaries

9/14/2021

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Today's guest blogger is Harish Rajora, writing a travel post about an extraordinary experience he had in Leh, the joint capital and largest town of the union territory of Ladakh, in India.
by  Harish Rajora
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"Do you feel anything?", I asked my friend outside the airport.
"Yes", he said.
"Like what?"
"Like I smoked a joint"
This conversation is not regular stuff I ask people when I land every time. This was special. We just landed in Leh by flight. An altitude of 3500 meters is equivalent to the height of Monte leone. A lower oxygen in the air compared to New Delhi and altitude sickness is not surprising at this place. But I had more important things to focus my mind on. The iconic brown mountains that have always been a signature symbol of Ladakh were merely 200 meters from where I was standing. I had not slept for 30 hours but the excitement had overcome sleep in just a few seconds.

Want to visit Bali?  Read my guide here.

Zostel was the place we thought of staying at because of the vibes and bachelor culture it exhibits. Zostel is unique. No one cares about what you are doing but if it is something exciting, people will ultimately join you. This introduction is just to create the mood and let you imagine a place surrounded by brown naked mountains made up of stones. I know you won't be interested in Zostel and neither am I in reciting about it. This post is actually not about my Leh expeditions but a person who has forced me to hit the keystrokes and dedicate this page of Ladakh diaries to keep him alive in text till this page exists.

When we all had started tasting the air of Leh on a whole-day ride, we decided to return back to the room. Just after I passed the magnetic hill in Leh, I saw a person a distance ahead on my left. His one hand was on his forehead protecting him from the sunlight while the other one waved in front of the vehicles. He was asking for help which I assumed was a lift. I was cruising at around 80-100 km/hr and so did not apply the brakes too hard to stop in front of him. Had I done that, I am quite sure I would have been next in asking for help in this hot afternoon. I stopped 100 meters ahead of him, looked him back and turned my bike towards him.
"You need help?"
"Yes, I need a lift"
"I am going to Leh, is that where you want to go?"
"Yes"
"Come on, then"
He smiled and said, "thank you". A man in his fifties with wrinkles considerably visible on his cheek. He wore a purple t-shirt and was around 5'8' in height. I asked him, "where do you want to go in Leh? I will drop you."
"I have my car parked on the main road. I will tell you. It is just on the way."
"What were you doing here then?"
"I was helping my friend. He is in the truck business. He wanted to unload his truck here. So I parked my car and came in the truck."
I saw my friend waiting for me ahead of a turn. He saw a man sitting behind me and waved me to go on ahead. This man was a good chance to know something about Leh or Ladakh in general. The problem had been that Leh is the first stop for tourists. I will not be exaggerating when I say that Leh is flocked with people who are not locals except for taxi drivers. So, you probably won't get any chance to know any deep insights other than from people who have completed the circuit. Even those our not particularly of use as they speak one single line repeatedly, "Dude, Khardung La jaega, oxygen ka dhyan rakhna."

Here is the view from Leh Palace

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"So, you live in Leh?"
"Yes, 5 km from the Leh market"
"Okay. What do you do?"
"I am an ex-military man. But I am retired now. I run my own business. I sell wood products in my shop."
"That is great!"
"Yeah! I don't like to sit at home even though I get a pension."
"Haha. True!"
"Have you seen everything here"
"Yes, pretty much I have seen all these things."
Then he described a couple of places that I had never found on the internet. Although they did not excite me, still they were worth knowing.
"I am headed towards Leh palace now"
"Oh Okay. I will show you the way"
"Oh! Is it on the way?"
"No, I will take my car, show you the way and then come back"
"That is really kind of you. But don't worry, I will ask people around"
The problem with Leh is that there is no internet no cellular networks and hence no communication. You have to find ways the old-school ways - by asking the locals.
"So, any special food you might want to recommend"
"Where are you from sir?"
"Uttarakhand"
"Ah! You won't like Ladakh food, sir. We only put butter and salt and no other spices. You won't like it. Anyways, there is the only shkyun that is local. Otherwise, there were momos that were local to Ladakh but you probably would have eaten it everywhere else."
"Are you a Buddhist?"
"Yes"
"Have you met Dalai Lama?"
"No. Just a glance once. I wish I can before I die!"
We chatted for 20 more minutes when we finally saw his Omni standing by the side of the road. He got down and asked me to follow him. I insisted, "No, No that's fine I will go by asking people."
"No sir, you have given me a lift I will drop you at Leh palace. Please, sir."
He insisted harder than the relatives who offer money when you go to their homes. People who would say for formality but deep down pray to hear a "no". And I have been accustomed to those people. But he was serious. He put his hand on my left hand which held the clutch of the bike. "Please sir, I insist. The way is not straight. You will have trouble. At least I can do this for your help."

Never had I come across a man so thankful for my help. I could not resist. To my surprise, Leh palace was actually a zig-zag road with tributaries all along. I would have easily got lost at least once. Around 7 km from where we began, he dropped me just 10 metres before Leh palace. That was unnecessary. He stopped his car and all I was thinking was how to thank him for his kindest gesture.

As he opened the gate, I got off my bike. In a moment when you do not know who will utter the first word, he promptly said, "Thank you sir for the lift. This is Leh palace." He had made my day. Even though I saw Magnetic hill, confluence, hall of fame or Leh palace. This guy was all that I recollected in the evening. Maybe, the locals are kind enough to offer everything to someone who helped them. I wish I had a photograph of him. But asking for one just spoils the moment. These moments are best lived through the eyes and stored in the memory of the brain. I could not say, "thank you" to him. I shook his hand and then he went back on the same way.

It is amazing how you meet people that changes the way you think. How your perception towards a small gesture makes an impact on someone's life who met you 30 minutes ago. How these gestures are ultimately imprinted on your own mind. Maybe its nothing to most of us, but it has been one of the most memorable incident of my trip. As far as that person is concerned, even though I could not say it, I am thankful for his nice gesture and his friendlier tone. Even though I know I might not meet him ever again  but as Andy Dufresne says, "Hope is good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies!"

The story was originally published on Meaninglesslife. Please subscribe to read more such travel stories.

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The Magic of Print

8/25/2021

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The picture below, taken in August, 2014, was instrumental in changing my publishing journey. It was a photoshoot with fellow novelists D.M. Cain and Tony R. Cox.
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But do you see the difference? They were published in paperback, whereas my books up to that time were only in e-format for Kindles, Kobos, and other electronic readers.

I'd thought e-readers were the future of publishing, and that print books were on the way out. Then one of my short stories was published in a paperback anthology, and to see my work in an actual printed book was somewhat magical.

Almost immediately afterwards I posed for that photograph as we all had new books out. And it made me feel like the poor relation. I was smitten with the idea of becoming a genuine paperback writer, so began my search for a print publisher. Fast forward to today, I now have five books out in paperback and eformat...with two of them in hardback.

The point of me telling you all this, is to show how technology has changed the publishing world. Two of my books are available in audio format, and a third is in production. Those same two also come in both large print and pocket book editions, and one has been translated into Spanish, as well as being a Spanish audiobook.

A far cry from my early days as a fiction writer in 2012 to that epiphany from this month seven years ago, when an electronic device was the only way to read my books. 

While I originally thought ebooks were the only way forward, I see now that they fit hand-in-glove with print format. For instance, I read print books during the day, and ebooks in bed, where it's easier to hold my Kindle.  
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Kings Of A Dead World

6/25/2021

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​A new book has arrived on my bookshelf - one which I've moved to the top of my To Be Read list: Kings Of A Dead World, by Jamie Mollart.

This looks to be an absolute corker of a read, so I invited Jamie to tell us all about it. But first, a little but about Jamie himself.

Jamie Mollart runs his own advertising company, and has won awards for marketing. He has taught novel writing for Writing East Midlands and is a long standing guest on the influential writers podcast Litopia. He's a member of the Climate Fiction Writers League, a group of global authors raising awareness about climate change through writing.

His debut novel, The Zoo, was on the Amazon Rising Stars 2015 list and Kings of a Dead World has some excellent early reviews:
‘Mollart’s intriguing and timely premise is executed with verve – Kings of a Dead World is filmic in its scope.’
Alison Moore, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

‘A haunting vision of the near-future with expert world-building and rich complex characters, Kings of a Dead World kept me gripped from beginning to end.’
Temi Oh, winner of the Alex Award

‘This is a frightening, thoughtful vision exploring where power lies when even the act of being awake is revolutionary.’
Aliya Whiteley, shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award

‘Kings of a Dead World intrigued me with its title and had me on page one. Mollart’s dystopian vision is as disturbing as it is brilliant.’
Giles Kristian, Sunday Times Bestselling author of Lancelot
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by Jamie Mollart

​My latest novel, Kings of a Dead World, is set in a near-future world where the resources have run dry and the governments have adopted an extreme solution - The Sleep. Under The Sleep, the majority of the population is placed into an enforced hibernation for three months then woken for one month to live their lives. While they Sleep a single person, the Janitor, is kept awake to look over them. 

Elderly Ben is a Sleeper, struggling to survive and look after his wife, Rose, and to try and use the month Awake to experience their limited time together the best they can.

Janitor Peruzzi, on the other hand, has nothing but time, and doesn’t know what to do with it, so he spends his time frivolously, suffering from loneliness and a loss of purpose

As Rose deteriorates and the Creds that they rely on to survive reduce, Ben is forced to resort to extreme measures to keep Rose alive. 

At the same time Peruzzi and his fellow Janitor, Slattery, find themselves out in the Sleeping world and are faced with the temptations of people with no-one to answer to.

Put down like that Kings of a Dead World seems very much a novel of the zeitgeist, discussing as it does the effects of climate change, and during the editing process throughout 2020 it felt worryingly prescient at times, but the novel was born from a number of things that have been bubbling in my mind for a long time. 
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What prompted me to write it?
I wanted to write a post-apocalyptic novel that seemed both plausible and not too far into the future, so that it could allow readers to face the end of the world as something urgent.

The problem with Climate Change is that it is too big a problem for us to imagine, I wanted to bring it right down to the immediate, personal level. 

The book explores the idea of personal culpability; on an individual micro level, but also how they have an impact on the larger world.

One of the aims was to play with the idea of time, how we use it, and the idea that if you have too much of anything then you struggle to appreciate it. Human beings are extreme creatures and it’s always the ends of the spectrum that are interesting, so I deliberately placed Ben and Peruzzi in opposing positions.
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How did I research it?
​Research for the novel was a lot of fun - I spent a lot of time reading classic sci-fi and watching sci-fi films. I tend to read around a subject rather than do intense specific research, so I watched Planet of the Apes, Omega Man and a lot of 70’s and 80’s sci fi, I read a lot of Ballard and Vonneghut. I’m not going to lie, I had an absolute blast, and as a result there’s a lot of easter eggs in there.

Keen eyed readers might spot American Werewolf in London, The Shining, Alien, 2001, Escape from New York and others which I’ve forgotten. 

During the research phase I was sitting in a cafe with a friend (remember that?) and riffing around what human beings are capable of if there are no checks and balances.

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This is where the cult leader Andreas and the unstable Janitor, Slattery, were born from. A recurring theme in all my writing is toxic masculinity and male friendships - I find that dynamic really interesting - and Andreas and Slattery fall in that camp.

My previous novel, The Zoo, was set in the world of advertising, which I know really well, so this time I had the added challenge of world building. This is the trick to a good novel - you need to know the world inside out and backwards, but only show enough to allow the reader to do the heavy lifting with their imagination. 

I ended up using Pinterest to build a visual guide for me to work with, I’m a visual person so found this really useful, and looking back on it now it’s surprising how close the Pinterest board is to the actual world of the book. You can find it here if you’re interested:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jamiemollart/kings-of-a-dead-world/

Equally music is a really important part of my creative process and I like to build a soundscape that I write to, so Kings of a Dead World has got a whole Spotify soundtrack that includes the music that I was listening to as I wrote and edited the novel, along with songs that appear in the book. If you want to have a listen to my weirdly eclectic playlist it’s here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0DDJppJ6FzwnOX9Ro8Z6js?si=f1746d03595049a0

While Kings of a Dead World was born out of some very serious concerns about the world and our place in it I set out to write a book which was pacy, fun and exciting to read. If it stays with people after they finish it as well then I will consider that a job well done.
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A Rogue Demon Fighting Fallen Angels

6/18/2021

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My guest blogger today is fellow author Carl Novakovich, who tells us that a COVID-19-related personal tragedy led to him writing his debut novel. The Watchers: The Tomb.

This is the first book in a supernatural fantasy series. 
by  Carl Novakovich
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Although I have always been a writer, this is the first story that I've published.

When I was in high school I started writing for fun. taking a few classes – theater, creative writing, and journalism. I am a musician as well, playing in a few bands while at  school and writing songs. 

I write both scripts (movies and TV series) and novels. I currently have a few finished scripts that I have been trying to sell, but there hasn’t been any luck there.

It wasn’t until this past year that I really begin pushing my work to the next level.

I spent my time during COVID-19 quarantine writing, and, I self-published the first book in January.

Book two in the series is now finshed, and will be ready for release shortly. 
 
The Watchers: The Tomb” is the first book in The Watchers series. It’s a story that follows Beth May, a rogue demon who has found a way to regain her free-will and break free from Hell’s clutches; and John Gideon, a former Chicago Homicide Detective turned P.I. after his father-figure, Walter, goes missing. 

While searching for Walter, John comes face-to-face with a terrible truth of the world. Things aren’t always as they seem. 

With the help of Beth, working as his new partner, and saviour, they work to stop a collective of Fallen Angels known as The Watchers from breaking The Seven Seals of Revelations and unleashing Hell on Earth. 

I wrote this book after I lost my grandfather last year to COVID-19. I wanted to write something to help me get through it. It was a way to make sense of a crazy world. He and I were very close, and I dedicated the first book to him, and everyone else that has lost someone from this virus. 

I’m not a religious person, but when it comes to fantasy stories, it’s easy to wrap up the religious texts in the genre. So, I took The Seven Seals, and intertwined what we see in our everyday lives to tell a story. This is what the entire series will tell. 


The Seven Seals tells a story of sickness, war, death, devastation – but it ends for well for the faithful. However, in real-life, things do not always workout well. So, I wanted to write a post-apocalyptic story, starting with the pre-apocalypse. Of course, that meant changing some minor details in the Revelation story. 

Our world lately, has seen quite a lot of devastation. The pandemic has destroyed economies and lives, we see social injustice, wars raging in nations, and in streets throughout protests when people are only asking for equality. 

Last year, there was a two-week period where the only remaining business that were still allowed to be open, were forced to close because of a military presence due to counter-protesters refusing to allow a Black Lives Matter rally protests after a man was killed by a police officer.

I think you said you’re in the UK, so I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the George Floyd case. However, it was just an unspeakable thing that happened. The counter-protests happened all over the country, and some of them took place where I live. For two weeks, my neighborhood was patrolled by our state national troops to ensure citizens weren’t harmed. 

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So, I decided to write a story that spoke to everyone. And I mean everyone. Of course, my perspective is slightly skewed from my political ideals, but that doesn’t change the fact that I wrote it for a reason. 

This series is not just a fantasy series. It’s a story that is currently and will eventually lay out through a wild and epic tale, something everyone is, or has, faced throughout the past year. Hopefully, allowing them to see someone else’s side of the story. My goal by the end of this series is to have at least one person read this and agree with someone they didn’t previously agree with. 


The Watchers: The Tomb  (Amazon UK)
The Watchers: The Tomb  (Amazon USA)

Carl Novakovich, Twitter

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Negativity and Fear Disturb the Balance of our Peace of Mind

6/11/2021

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My guest blogger today is computer science engineer Harish Rajora, writing about his personal take on mental health. As he says, this post isn't about suicide or negativity - it's simply about finding happiness.
by Harish Rajora
On a Sunday morning, a very famous Indian actor, Sushant Singh Rajput, committed suicide in his flat in Bandra, Mumbai. Although there was no suicide note, a lot of theories have emerged regarding his attempt to end his life. I am tired of a new theory coming every day and reading them does not bring us to any conclusion. But the main essence of every theory is, "Sushan Singh Rajpur was lonely and under depression."  
Depression: a word that has taken a toll on a number of patients in the last decades. Except for the pockets of psychiatrists and hospital fund, depression is harmful. Loneliness and depression are often constituted together because of the relationship as the more lonely you are, the more you think and the more you get frustrated.

During our evolution as human beings, we discovered that one man is easy prey, but ten men are predators. This evolutionary process made us what we are today:  
i.e. social animals. We are so social that the hardest punishment of all in prison is considered solitary imprisonment. I remember reading an account when Nelson Mandela protested to the prison authorities about not giving them full pants to wear, he was sentenced to two days of solitary confinement. A very dim bulb lighted in his cell with a window on the top through which the sun would make him feel its presence. He recalled how difficult it is for a man to just be within himself for one single day without any source of positive energy. Two days felt like a week to him. An example of how social we are. 
 
On one side we have done the materialistic development of our society. Buildings are taller than ever and products have flooded the market in every city of this country except maybe Bhutan. Remember my mention of Bhutan here though. But does it really makes sense to be happy with this development?

Happiness comes from within. A very popular Buddhist and Hindu belief that you all must have heard at least once in a lifetime. The only contradiction to loneliness is happiness. Happiness comes from satisfaction. 
But, satisfaction has changed its meaning over the years in our society. For you, satisfaction might be earning a lot of money but keeping this attitude towards satisfaction disturbs the peace of mind. So can we conclude that peace of mind is the power source for satisfaction? 
 
Peace of mind can easily be disturbed by anyone. Friends and family being a few of the factors. Is there a way to maintain this peace of mind? The balance of our peace of mind is disturbed by two things. Negativity and Fear. What happened to Sushant Singh Rajput is yet to be found. But the main reason that I believe is the negativity that people create.

There are a lot of bad things going on at every place like Bollywood, but there are a lot and a lot of good things going on there too. But the competitive environment in which we live today isolates every one of us at many points in our life. This fear contradicts friendship and the brain says "NO!" to such feelings. This competitive fear brings jealousy in each one of us, jealousy gives birth to distrust, distrust brings frustration and frustration leads to loneliness which ultimately leads to suicidal thoughts.

This post is not about Sushant, but about decoding the manner in which we find satisfaction today. The 
self-centred attitude of many people leads to destruction, like in Bollywood. If a producer is so self-centred that he thinks he is the mafia in the game, it brings destruction. 
 
This post is not about suicide and definitely not about negativity.

This post is just about happiness and finding the meaning of it through many readings and books. As I said, remember the account of Bhutan at the beginning? It is the happiest country on earth. Maybe because it lacks infrastructure and development and just focuses on personal development. Loneliness is very common today.

But it disappears when we are happy. At last, I just can say that loneliness is not the creation of our environment, but the creation of our own mental attitude.  
 
Harish Rajora loves to read, and says he's a writer "by luck."

 www.themeaninglesslife.com.
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Leicestershire Police COVID Response:  "Committed and Magnificent"

4/6/2021

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As we start to tentatively come out of lockdown, the Government's COVID guidelines will continue to present challenges to police forces around the country.

They are expected to enforce the law, and I'm sure all right-thinking people will support them on that.  But they'll still face criticism from a small minority who, no doubt, will be bleating on about civil liberties, and "heavy-handed tactics."

Some forces have, quite rightly, in my opinion, been slammed for what appears, through video footage  broadcast by the news media and on social media channels, to be completely unacceptable behaviour. But we must remember they are only human, and doing an extremely difficult job in very trying circumstances.  They would need to be super human not to react to some of the deliberate provocation thrown at them.

But it can be done. I'd suggest that forces around the country take a leaf out of my local force, the Leicestershire Constabulary's book.  Only the other day one of their cars was damaged as they dispersed  a large gathering which broke lockdown rules. But officers carried out their duties efficiently and respectfully, as they have done throughout this entire pandemic.

What makes Leicestershire Police so much better than many other forces?   In my opinion: leadership. Our Chief Constable, Simon Cole, is the best there is. And it shows, not only in how his officers conduct themselves, but in how they're perceived, as well. And this makes all the difference.

For officers and staff at Leicestershire Police, the past year has brought many challenges - both professionally and personally - as they have continued to work throughout the global pandemic, adapting to new laws, adjusting to new protective clothing and equipment and working in environments and circumstances which have never been experienced before – all, while continuing to fight crime and protect our communities.

Our Chief Constable, Simon Cole, has provided the following guest post for my blog. 


by Simon Cole QPM, Chief Constable of Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland
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When lockdown came in last year it confirmed more widely what had been a gathering storm professionally for some while. I chair the Local Resilience Forum for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and we had been watching the clouds gather, all the time checking our contingency plans and trying to ensure that we were all as ready as we could be and coordinated across agencies.

It was clear that the health service would be needing support.  I sat in demanding meetings about epidemiology and mortuary capacity. When the Director of Public Health for Leicestershire and Rutland told me on 6 March 2020 that we had our first case, it became all too real.


I then had an on call incident in the middle of the night where the deceased appeared to have just travelled back from China; discussing PPE and safe ways of working in the wee small hours brought it all home to me – the storm had broken. It still hasn’t finished.

Away from work I think it’s natural to think about your family and friends. Can I see Mum? How will my sister, not long clear of leukaemia after a three year battle, do? My wife and both children all work or study in schools and at university; what does it mean for them with GCSEs, and ‘time of your life’ university partying (should that say studying?)? I have friends who run their own businesses, a lettings agent, a driving instructor, how do they work? What is a furlough? Will that Frank Turner gig go ahead? (It didn’t). What will happen to the fixtures lined up for the girls’ team that I coach rugby to every week? (They were all scrapped). Will the Tigers avoid relegation and will I get to see it if they do (Only just, and only on the telly!)?
 
Bluntly the summer was tough going for all of the public services with the city and parts of Leicestershire announced as a protected area for public health reasons. I am struck as I write this that the level of illness then - 135 cases per 100,000 citizens - is one that pretty much everywhere has massively exceeded as the year has progressed. Professionally we found ourselves in the eye of the storm, with the rest of the country heading out of the lockdown and the pubs opening; we had both a lockdown, and the pubs opening in some parts of the Force at the same time!
 
The Force response was committed and magnificent. Colleagues found themselves being pursued by TV crews as they set out on patrol from Spinney Hill with PPE on. I will never forget being sat in the nick there eating curry, produced by one of our excellent PCSOs, with colleagues watching themselves on TV patrolling streets empty other than reporters, and laughing at the somewhat unflattering low angle action shots of their backsides being splashed all over national news! Meanwhile I found myself in meetings about COVID with, amongst many, the PM, Home Secretary, Health Secretary, MPs, PCC, local councillors, as well as with the operational parts of lots of partner agencies, and the brilliant voluntary sector. It was full on. I also found myself briefing other Forces and partners elsewhere about some of the challenges, and what we had learnt. That included some foreign interest as other nations have wrestled with COVID too. 


At home, lone bike rides, both actual bike rides on real roads and in the garage on the turbo trainer on virtual roads, became interspersed with DIY circuits in the garden with the teenagers.  We have probably spent more time together as a family than we ever thought that we would; sometimes not ideal, but along the way some good memories have sneaked in…film night, getting the barbecue up and running, a family walk or two. Be grateful for what you have, not what you haven’t got.
 
I guess that I am not alone in feeling that the novelty has now worn off. My role is still the same as Chief Constable, but the context has changed. It is very upsetting to think how many people have died, and to see just how hard our health colleagues are working. I get cross when I see people ignoring the regulations that so many have stuck to throughout. It seems very selfish to me. This isn’t easy for anyone, but if we stick together then we will all do better than if we don’t. Please don’t put my colleagues at risk for the sake of something trivial, they deserve better.


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I couldn’t be prouder of the Force. We have served the public 24/7 throughout.  For us the option to close and become COVID compliant hasn’t been available. We’ve just had to keep on keeping on. I do find myself working through in my head how to keep colleagues safe. The vaccine for policing would be a step forward.
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"The Force Response Was Committed and Magnificent"
Right at the start we set out as a Force to identify what about working differently, because of COVID, we would wish to keep when it is gone. We have used technology like Teams, Skype and Zoom for comms, we have got better at making meetings effective and efficient, we have become skilled at working from home, saved hours of travel time, and become greener because of less travel. I haven’t missed stumbling out of bed to catch the early train to London, grabbing a coffee and cramming onto the Tube to get to a meeting. Instead I have been getting up, cycling up a virtual mountain in the garage, having healthy poached eggs, showering and then strolling into the front room and logging on. An unexpected consequence of COVID has been that the lack of evening dinner commitments, absence of meetings with buffets, and invention of virtual cycling has all led to me being fitter, and half a stone lighter, than I was in March 2020.
 
We’ve also upped our wellbeing work another notch - and it was turned up pretty high already. That will never change back. Checking if everyone is ok in this disconnected world is crucial, and totally natural. That will sustain ahead. Our digital access points have become used more and more; we have dealt with almost 17,000 online reports of all sorts of things. The national work that I lead on, a single online home for policing, set up an online COVID contact service for policing in a weekend back in March 2020; as I type it has had over 1 million contacts so far.
 
We’ve also been able to focus on offenders. The absence of the night time economy has made us realise how much of our resource that takes up, both on the night itself and across the following day as those that we’ve arrested sober up and are ready to be dealt with. That time has been refocused on organised crime groups, county lines drugs dealers and safeguarding people. The criminals that make life a misery have had nowhere to hide in a world where there just aren’t that many people out and about.
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It hasn’t been hard to be motivated. To see the efforts of health colleagues and to look at the response of police colleagues is inspiring. To see how communities have pulled together drives me on. There is always hope, that matters. It would be good to see Mum, or to sing along at a gig, or to stamp my feet as ‘Smoke on the Water’ cranks up as the Tigers run out at a packed Welford Road.

It would, strangely, feel good to be able to worry about the teenagers because they are out, not because they are in!

​These things will come. There is hope. One of those hopes is that we can look back and say that we played our part, and that we did our best. But it's not yet the time for looking back. It’s the time to keep on keeping on.
  
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The Importance of Literature in Education

1/30/2021

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Literature allows us to temporarily transport ourselves into the life of another; it exposes us to new ideas and helps us deepen our understanding of our own experiences and the circumstances of others. Reading can be advantageous in social, academic, and emotional development. To expand on this further I have teamed up with an independent school in London who have highlighted the extensive benefits literature has on a child’s education.
 
Reading from an early age helps children broaden their vocabularies as they are exposed to words outside of their everyday vernacular. Literature also aids cognitive development as children are encouraged to form their own opinions about the characters or plot and think about things in greater depth. Without knowing it, as soon as we start to read a book we begin to hypothesise about the ending and evaluate the events that are taking place.
 
Children who read regularly demonstrate a more analytical approach in other areas of their education. Reading also develops a child’s ability to concentrate for extended periods boosting them academically as they are able to remain task focused for longer periods. This is particularly advantageous in an age where increasing screen time appears to be having an adverse effect on a child’s ability to remain focused on one activity for more than a few minutes at a time.
 
Literature exposes children to the lives of other people, from different countries, cultures, and economic backgrounds. It introduces them to ideas they may never have considered and allows them to expand their understanding of the world. This encourages them to develop empathy and emotional intelligence, promoting more effective social skills and personal relationships later in life.
 
Most children’s books contain a central message which advocates the importance of moral values. Reading is a great way for children to begin to explore morality, as they will see desirable traits such as kindness and courage modelled by the characters in a story. This empowers children to develop their own moral compass, leading them to grow into valuable members of society.

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The Trainspotter's Grotto ( Part Two)

12/19/2020

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Last week, Mason Moore gave us part one of his great festive tale, The Trainspotter's Grotto.

Mason is a 20-year-old student journalist who covers the town of Hinckley, Leicestershire with The Hinckley Free Press, a student-led news website which he co-founded.

One of Mason’s many original headlines was picked up by regional and national newspapers in England, and even made it over to The Daily Telegraph in Australia.

In the past, he has served as a magazine writer and columnist and worked alongside local newspapers in submitting original photographs and tips for regional journalists.

Here's the concluding part, but, if you want to catch up on Part One first... 
Read Part One by clicking here
by Mason Moore
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With just hours to spare before it turned 9 o'clock, Edward called the Council boss and explained that Lord Farley wanted to move Santa's Grotto to the train station to the steam locomotive passing through the tracks.


Council Boss, Tom Williams, said: "We'd be silly to say no! He's Mr. Moneybags and it would prove more popular with the children than ever before - I'll send the organisers to post a notice on the door right now, and we'll be in early in the morning to box up all of the decorations."

Edward couldn't even get a word in, he just thanked him, and jotted every little breath and word down with his teeline shorthand which he had used to graduate with his Journalism degree.

Edward called back Lord Farley and explained that the plans were indeed going ahead, he said "All is looking up. Consider it a done deal, now we've got to let Santa know, although we'll need to 'enroll the help of Santa's elves' to get our decorations on your train. You're working with the North Pole!"

"Why thank you for letting me know. Ha! Yes, if only Santa's elves could box things up and help us, what lifesavers they would be for us, I'd be forever grateful. See you tomorrow, then!", he proceeded to hang up.

He made the jape but it slipped his mind that Santa's head elf did actually call the newspaper editor himself earlier as he was so shocked that the North Pole wanted to work with him.

Edward had made all of his calls from home that evening, when he was even meant to be off-duty, but who'd say no to helping spread some Christmas cheer? He headed to bed, and called Santa Claus at half six in the morning.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! went the noise of the vibrations before the ringtone chimed in for the North Pole phone: "Jingle Bells" played until Jasper the Elf working his early morning shift picked up the phone.

"Hello! I do hate to be your personal 'alarm clock', but today is the day! Give Santa an hour and then let him be on his way, for the railway owner millionaire boss is meeting Santa Claus and is hosting the Grotto on the loco'. The Council know, too!"

"Bye bye for now!", he hung up quickly and prepared himself for the day.

Coming off the over end of the phone in Lapland, Jasper ran on over to the big man himself, who was fast asleep in bed wearing his Christmas-themed pyjamas covered which were covered top to bottom in cartoon candy canes and gingerbread men. He was wearing his red night cap with the white bobble on top.

"Santa, Santa, get up, get up! You've got to go...now!"

"The Grotto is being hosted on the locomotive! The big businessman, Farley, wants to meet you!"

"Golly gosh! Oh wow! It's a Christmas miracle. The children will be delighted!" Santa exclaimed. Santa spent the morning practicing his best belly laughs - "Ho, ho, ho; ho, ho, ho!" ready to greet the children with.

He spent the morning eating his mince pie and cornflakes with a cup of tea before setting off, and he even packed himself a glass bottle of Coca-Cola ready for his trip over, whilst his head elves working the early morning shift awoke his reindeer for him as he got changed and donned his famous red uniform.

He took to the sky at seven o'clock ready to arrive for eight o’clock, just before it turned light at half eight.

He flew over whilst it was still dark in the morning and the early morning dog walkers, joggers and outdoor gym-goers had noticed a small spec in the sky.

Now, it wasn't a shooting star, shining star, or helicopter, it was making a rather loud noise and chiming with the sound of bells.

He arrived at 7:59 am, just in time for eight o'clock and parked the Sleigh on a historic piece of land, a private garden in a former stationmaster's house which was once used back in the 1800's, which is protected from the general public so it was the safest place to leave it, and Farley's company owns the land in the modern day.

Santa Claus had an hour to spare until he had to meet the children of Hinckley and got his head elf and practically his publicist at this point, Jasper, to send a press release explaining that the Grotto had moved in one big broadcast email to all of the townspeople.

He casually walked on through Castle Street and oh golly you could hear his big boots stomping from a mile away - thump, thump, thump.

He popped into a nearby red-coloured coffee chain branch and as soon as he worked through the doors, baristas were chattering about how much he 'looked like' Santa.. his deep voice boomed over the counter!

"Ho ho! One gingerbread cinnamon-topped latte, please! Oh, and I heard you back from the entrance because of my good ears...I 'look like' Santa because I AM Santa!"

He pulled out his official credentials, was about to pay for his coffee, but the fee was very generously waived because he was so notable and brings so much joy to the town.


Santa walked what would have a ten minute walk down the empty streets, but stopped himself in his steps where he sneaks a glance of where the Grotto was going to be in the cafe - the boxes had been moved - the elves off the back off the sleigh had been in, located where the loco was overnight and had decorated the inside as they can slip through the tiniest cracks, nooks, and crannies.

An Uber came screeching down the high-street a road away from him, the window rolled on down "I'd recognise you from anywhere...Hop in, Santa Claus! It'll be your first car share, it’s not a sleigh ride for once!"

It was Farley from London, who had taken a two-hour car ride that morning to meet up with Santa. Santa jumped in - they had got to the station and they were greeted by Edward with his notepad and pen.

Crowds started forming to their confusion once they arrived...they had checked - everyone had read the email broadcast, families were waking up, but more importantly, there was only ten minutes to go before the loco' came through to stop on the tracks! The time had flown on by...

With the ten minutes to spare, Edward pulled out his notepad and pen, interviewed Farley and Father Christmas using his shorthand abilities as well as his journalistic instinct, and interviewing techniques.

"Smile!", exclaimed Edward as the duo had their photograph taken on the railway station platform bridge.

They smiled for a photo together, made their way down the bridge and sure enough, a big cloud of steam came out the top of a locomotive with a big festive snowflake on the front of the circular badge.

The trio waited for the steam loco to stop and that it did - it stopped in its tracks and stayed on the line! "Wooo!" "Yaaay!" "Whoopie!", were just a few of the many cheers exclaimed by the young children and adults together in unison at the site of the Christmas loco passing through.

The doors opened - Santa was in shock, his jaw dropped - it was decorated with lifesize nutcrackers in each carriage, blankets of snow, plenty of presents all around for the young children to enjoy and have not just one present but two each, and, the elves had even set up their very own photo booth for selfies!


Santa boarded first and sat on down in his chair and complimentary cups of hot chocolate, and yummy treats like mince pies and yule logs were offered to the youngsters by Santa's elves were on offer. 

Edward was taking photographs for the Tin Hat Journal and Farley was greeting the townspeople who were thanking him for the opportunity to board the exclusive and historic loco with Father Christmas.

Santa had met more people this year than those who visited just to see the loco pass through last year - he met a whopping total of over 500 people in the full hour and a half he was there early in the morning, and all of the children gave him a copy of their Christmas lists, so he was able to keep track of what to deliver to them the next night.

It had came to half 10 for the time that Santa Claus had to leave, he said "Goodbye!" and made sure that he would receive a copy of the Tin Hat Journal when he delivered presents to the Hinckleyans in the town on the night.

He waved goodbye to Edward, Farley and the Council Leader and the townspeople before boarding his sleigh.

Santa Claus headed home and made sure that he had his day off rest off before heading back out to the town where he had his numbered lists to deliver the correct presents to the right children in every household.

When he headed back over the next night in the middle of the night, Santa was surprised by his mince pies, brandy snaps, yule logs, cherry bakewells, biscuits, pints of beer, brandy and milk - it was an awful lot of food but he wasn't
complaining!

As for the children, everybody received exactly what they had asked for on the list when they met Santa Claus - the Council Leader even received a 'thank you' letter from the big bearded man in red himself, Edward, a snowflake-covered designed pen and notepad, and Farley, a toy train and signed photograph of himself of Santa...

Edward did successfully manage to get all of his columns and exclusive front page for the Tin Hat Journal for Santa Claus - it was the best-selling issue. He had left Santa Claus a copy out for night-time when he visited, alongside a pint of real ale.


The End

Merry Christmas

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The Trainspotter's Grotto

12/14/2020

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Welcome to this wonderful seasonal story, written by Mason Moore. a 20-year-old student journalist who covers the town of Hinckley, Leicestershire with The Hinckley Free Press, a student-led news website which he co-founded.

One of Mason’s many original headlines was picked up by regional and national newspapers in England, and even made it over to The Daily Telegraph in Australia.

In the past, Mason has served as a magazine writer and columnist and worked alongside local newspapers in submitting original photographs and tips for regional journalists.

Here's Part One of his Christmas fictional tale, The Trainspotter's Grotto, which will conclude here on Saturday, December 19th.   


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by Mason Moore

​IT WAS the week of Santa Claus' visit to the town of Hinckley and he was preparing for his annual visit to his Amazing Grotto in the town centre.

Santa loved paying a visiting over to the ever-busy town centre as the Christmas cheer really shown in Hinckley like no-other town nearby as Hinckleyans made their best efforts to spread as much festive fun as possible.

Independent coffee shops and cafes would make their own Christmassy hot drinks and mince pies, the tops of the town's shopfronts would be covered in tinsel and whilst the high street was entirely pitch black, the town centre was lit up by the ever-festive Christmas lights which were the only light sources keeping the town bright and alight at night time!

The Christmas tree never failed to impress, decorated with individually handcrafted and homemade ornaments from local children with their parents and nearby schools and youth groups - it was a rather exciting atmosphere for all Hinckleyans and visitors.

Santa Claus looked forward to paying a visit to Hinckley more than any other Leicestershire town centre as the children were ever-so appreciative of all of their presents where he'd meet them inside his Grotto.

The children would meet him in their Christmas jumpers and Santa hats as he inspired them all with his positive attitude and ever-contagious belly laugh as he exclaims "Ho, ho, ho!" and rewards the youngsters for their good manners and being well-behaved by giving them presents every time that he pays a visit.

With it being the weekend with only two days to go before he visited in his Grotto and then two more days before he came down the families' chimneys, he asked the children to work on a list of their most wanted toys so that he knew what to get them this year so that he could grab them from the Grotto and drop it back off to the elves over in the North Pole workshop.

He done this by emailing the local schools, youth groups, and parents. His email read: "Dear all of the boys and girls of Hinckley, I'll be visiting you in just two days in my Grotto where I'll be able to tell you which list you are on - naughty, or nice, although I feel most of you will be on my nice list!

"Please do make a Christmas wishlist of all the toys that you would like this year so that I do know and then give it to me on the day of my visit when I next see you. Ho ho ho!"

The town's youngsters were ecstatic with the news that Santa had emailed them all and wanted to know what they were after this festive season, and from then on, they were glued to television screens and paying trips to the department stores where their lists were getting longer and longer!

An entire day had passed, and the children had their Christmas lists at the ready and there was just one day to go until they met Santa Claus himself.

They had got their sleep and couldn't contain their excitement - you could walk down a street and hear Christmas music playing from miles away! Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, Santa Claus was preparing for his trip over to the town which was just a day away.

All of his reindeer were looking forward to leaving and Mrs. Claus was staying behind with the elves to make sure that the workshop was in tip-top shape so that they could concentrate on making toys all day round.

Now, all Santa Claus had to do was sort out with the big Council bosses whereabouts the Grotto was this year and where his reindeer would be looked after nearby whilst he was handing out his gifts.

He decides to open up the internet and read through a digital copy of the town's newspaper, as he can't pick up the physical copies all the way over from the North Pole, but to his surprise, a nearby railway company had decided that the day that his Grotto would be on they would send their steam locomotive passing through, which only happens once a year.

This wouldn't have proven to be a problem if it was a niche activity, except, it wasn't...it was very, very, very popular and racked up audiences of well over 100 people, in fact when it passed through the year prior in early January, over 350+ attended as Hinckley had the best view for trainspotting in the entirety of Leicestershire.

On the other hand, the head organisers at the railway station had no idea that Santa would be coming through as they were part of a rather large publicly traded London-based firm who even had their own stocks and shares on the London Stock Exchange, and they hadn't clicked with the fact that this would interfere, but Santa had seen what he had seen and was rather shocked by their decision to want to pass through on the day they had chosen and sadly taken it personally.

"Well, well, Mrs. Claus, what have I done wrong? I don't think I have if anything! I reward well-behaved children each year, and they're trying to win the families over instead of letting them see me this year.. Drat. Drat and bother!"

Mrs. Claus replied: "Well, Santa, surely there must have been a mix-up! I'm sure they meant nothing by it to upset you personally, why don't we get the Chief Elf to call the newspaper for the railway bosses phone number?"

"Okay, okay, it's worth a shot, I suppose", Santa exclaimed adamantly. He sat on down with a hot chocolate and mince pie and opened his laptop back up to the virtual newspaper where he whacked in the search bar "EDITOR", and sure enough, the editor's phone number popped up - this would be Santa's best lead to find and locate a contact for this...Out of interest, he even Googled the company, and surprise, surprise, it was the main lead advertisement on their website.

Following Santa's instructions, Head Elf for the Leicestershire area, Jasper, called the Editor of the Tin Hat Journal. "Hello there! I'm Head Elf at the North Pole, I'm calling on behalf of Santa Claus to find out where I could locate a contact number for the railway company."

The Editor, Edward Stockwell, was in shock! He had never heard directly from Santa Claus' team himself as he was a newspaper editor and not a member of Santa's town and events team so this was a pleasant surprise - "Well, I most definitely believe you, but can you please put Santa Claus on the line so I can have definitive confirmation?"

"Speaking! Ho ho ho, in fact, I know exactly where you are, you're on Holliers Walk in a little office and publishing house - I've been past there on my sleigh many a time, you know!"

Mr. Stockwell said: "Well yes, Santa!, oh I do now know it IS you! Please put your head elf on the line again."

Santa proceeded to do so.

Adding further, Edward the Editor asks: "So, may I help? I don't know if I can, but anything for Santa Claus!"

Jasper, Santa's Elf, explained: "Well, only if you'd really like to I suppose, we noticed that in your newspaper that the railway firm are sending their biggest and best steam locomotive through the town's railway station tomorrow, but we've been penned in with the Council for the young Hinckleyans to meet up with Santa Claus in his Grotto - it's even the main advertisement on their website!

"Have you a way of contacting them for us and finding out why they would do such a thing to us during this busy time for us?"

Edward replied: "Well, one would assume no malicious intent was made by them and this just happens to be a mere coincidence - they're not even advertising the fact it is passing through as a Christmas steam or anything of the likes, so I do really just think the timing matches up rather unfortunately.

“But, what I will do is arrange for their head boss to call me - I'll email them now and let them know what's going on, and hopefully we'll be able to resolve this situation.

"I am really sorry that you have taken this to heart though, and anyway, tomorrow evening at 6pm our newspaper gets printed ready to make its way to the shop shelves...I can interview Santa Claus when he come on over - how about that?"

Jasper explains to Santa Claus, who has since calmed down over his hot drink and agreed to do so.

"Ah, brilliant! I'll let you know of any updates first thing tomorrow morning! Just meet me at that Grotto, and I'll sort myself a press pass to get early access to find out exactly what is going on.

"Goodbye for now and have a good evening!"

Back in Hinckley, Edward done some social media research in the local community groups, and the children could not wait to give Santa Claus their lists and meet him tomorrow.

Luckily for Santa Claus, the residents hadn't even noticed that the dates had clashed and the newspaper hadn't even mentioned it explicitly, they had just mentioned that the event happened to be happening on the same day.

Sticking true to his word, Edward placed an email to the head boss of the railway company, Lord Farley, asking for a phone call - half an hour later he had successfully heard back from Farley, and had agreed to do so - he was a rather upper-class man and was granted the title of 'Lord' as he was given that title for his works in the city of London, where his company mainly operated, despite sending freights, commuters, and loco' trains out to town stations.

Edward picked up the phone and dialled in the number from the email: "Hello? I'm a newspaper editor in Hinckley with the Tin Hat Journal - I've just got off a phone call with the North Pole.

"There's been a bit of a miscommunication at North Pole HQ over Santa Claus' trip to the town of Hinckley tomorrow, you see."

"Oh! Hello! How so?", chimed in Farley, happy, but rather confused.

"Well, do you happen to oversee your company's localised steam loco town trips at all, or work with the town in any way?", asked Edward, looking to get to the source of the dilemma.

"Why no, we just selected the few free dates on the calendar we could do so when passenger and commuter trains weren't passing through as commonly, I've little to no involvement on that front. Please may you care to explain further upon the problem in question? I do hope I can help you!", the big railway
businessman and boss replied, and was happy to try and help out.

"What has happened is your company have booked on the same day that Santa will be coming to his Grotto, but luckily, nobody has noticed this.

“Now, it'd be unfair to ask either party to cancel, and we wouldn't want the townspeople and youngsters not to meet Father Christmas would we?

“Can we settle on a deal here to try and fix this?", the newspaper editor asked hoping he would be positive.

Farley said: "Oh absolutely! Yes, yes, anything for Father Christmas of course. In fact, where is the Grotto set to be?"

Edward replied: "Well, erm, in an old cafe that was going to be renovated, it sounds like it is starting to be decorated..."

"Fear not - you just make sure them decorations can come on down, and I'll make sure that the loco' stops on the tracks for an hour and a half, I'm looking at the calendar, and you will not believe me if I tell you, but the schedule has freed up as a few passenger trains can't pass through as Narborough and Leicester are closing their passenger services for Christmas!

"That way, you can have your front page, although I must be interviewed to show people I helped Santa Claus, and then we're happy by staying on the railway lines - can you call me back in half an hour to see if this is something you want to take up?"

Edward replied: "Most certainly, I'll call the event organisers and Santa Claus now. Tata for now."

"Jolly well, tata for now then!", the phone hung up and Edward has secured himself a new front page story for tomorrow's edition, with not just Santa Claus, but a head transport boss.
​

  • Mason Moore's Christmas tale, The Trainspotter's Grotto, concludes here on Saturday, December 19th 
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The Tangled Tuna

12/4/2020

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I'll hand straight over to today's guest blogger...children's writer Richard Shore
by Richard Shore
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It’s worth mentioning how I first met Stewart. Back in 2002, I started a brief contract at an advertising agency in Leicestershire for two weeks, which actually turned into two years, but that’s another story.
 
Anyway, guess who had an office next to mine? Yes, Stewart did! We used to talk about PR projects, share ideas, but most importantly, crack daily jokes! It was a great time and good to work with someone with so much media background.
 
Roll on 17 years and I was scrolling through my Twitter feed one day, only to see a name blasting from the past – Stewart. So, we’ve been in contact again ever since – which leads to this guest post and my journey in writing.

Biography:
I grew up in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, and have been in marketing since I was 16, starting at a PR company. Since then, I’ve enjoyed marketing management roles that have seen me climb tower cranes to get the best PR story (wasn’t scared, honest), train with the UK’s top Yo-Yo champions (you should see my ‘walk the dog’ trick), and even launched an achingly beautiful hotel with a member of the British Royal Family.
 
And in all that time, my writing skills have been stretched, honed, developed, and honed even more to help my clients. But it wasn’t until 2009 that I thought about writing fiction – and it was for my children.
 
In that year, I moved with my family to Co. Waterford in Ireland for lifestyle reasons. And one day a light bulb went off in my head – I thought about writing unique, personal bedtime stories for my children.
  
Reading a story before going to sleep was always a special time - it makes them happy, and a perfect end to a day.
 
So I wrote two, short adventure series. For my daughter, Hurrahtum Adventures! It features Lucy, a girl living by the sea, who has amazing adventures when she says a magic word – “Hurrahtum!” 
 
The word magically makes a cove and boat appear, which she has many exciting adventures with. They range from helping a surfer in trouble, creating a birthday present for a friend, and returning a lost seal to its family.
 
My son’s series is Will’s Wild Adventures - based on a boy who lives in an amazing wilderness – surrounded by a crystal clear flowing river, tall forest, and snow-capped mountains. And when he’s on an adventure, he can get help from a special shed, with every tool you can think of.
 
So far, Will has helped a beaver family in trouble after a storm. He also discovers a dinosaur after an earthquake, and his latest book sees Will solve a spooky mystery at a mine, and gets an unexpected surprise.
 
Once I’d developed the series, I set about writing the books on computer. I printed out the pages, hand drew illustrations to bring the books to life, and then created a cover and bound them. My children now have three books in each series, carefully tucked away in their bedside cabinets.
 
They loved them and I also received other positive reviews. So I decided to publish as eBooks, to be available online through e-readers.
 
Inspiration for both series comes from as passion for being outside. Whether it’s walking on the beach, rock-pooling, wildlife, woodland walks, survival techniques, or a great love I have - surfing.
 
Aimed at 3 – 7 year olds, the books are ideal for those who love a heart-warming, adventurous bedtime story. Because they are a series, young children embrace the characters, and quickly relish how Lucy or Will tackles their next adventure.

​Hurrahtum Adventures! The Tangled Tuna:
By now, you’ll know I love being outside, particularly at the beach and enjoying the sea.
 
And for years, I’ve always tried to make a difference when it came to reusing things, recycling materials or repairing broken items. And a visit to the beach was no different when looking after our environment. Seeing rubbish and plastic shouldn’t be happening in the 21st century, so I’d try to fill my car boot with as much as I could.
 
And through reading articles, I discovered another ocean plastic polluter, but one that was unknown to most – ghost gear. This is lost and abandoned fishing gear that remains in the ocean, continuing to catch fish and other animals, known as ghost fishing.
 
Ghost gear can remain in the oceans for up to 600 years, before breaking down into microplastics. Approximately 640,000 tonnes enter the world’s oceans every year, making up at least 10 per cent of all marine pollution.
 
With all this knowledge, I thought it would be not only a great adventure, but also an inspirational one for Lucy’s next book.

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​And so in November 2020 I launched the fourth title in the Hurrahtum Adventures! series – The Tangled Tuna, where Lucy rescues tuna caught in a discarded fishing net.
 
I’m delighted to say too that I’m proudly supporting Plastic Oceans UK with the book - a non-profit organisation that has a mission to stop plastic reaching the oceans within a generation.
 
For every The Tangled Tuna sold, I’ll donate 50 per cent profits to the charity.
 
Hopefully with this book, it will highlight what’s happening in our world’s oceans, and inspire people to do what they can.
 
The eBook is vibrantly illustrated and is available to purchase worldwide, priced at £4.99 (or country equivalent), via this link:  The Tangled Tuna.
 
For further information on Plastic Oceans UK: https://plasticoceans.uk/
 
For further information on all Richard Shore’s books: https://richardshorebooks.wixsite.com/website
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Five Ways to Help Your Child Enjoy Reading

12/2/2020

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​​Reading is an incredibly important skill. It will not only support your child academically and professionally, but they can also use reading for entertainment and relaxation.

To encourage your child to pick up more books, an independent school in Surrey has put together five ways to help your child enjoy reading…
1.  Reading activities

Where possible, try to include reading into your everyday activities. For example, you could ask your child to read your shopping list and then help you to find these items at the supermarket by reading the overhead signs. The trick is to try and make reading feel more fun, instead of a chore.

2.  Make a reading den
Creating an area within your home which is dedicated to books is a great way to encourage reading. You could make a cozy den with a box full of books, or a reading corner with posters on the wall. Perhaps you could include your child’s favourite theme, like pirates or space to make reading time even more appealing.

3  Creative writing

Regular reading will also help your child when it comes to creative writing exercises at school.
If your child enjoys reading a particular book, you could set them a challenge to create their own ending to the story. Think of what parts of the storyline could be changed in order to achieve a different outcome.

4.  Reading for relaxation

If your child struggles with stress or has trouble sleeping, encourage them to start reading. By focusing on a good story, your child will be able to forget about their worries and begin to relax. Teach your child that they can always use a book and the power of their imagination to take them away to somewhere new.

5.  Reading apps

​
Finally, use technology to help your child enjoy reading. Smart phones and tablets are ideal for downloading fun and interactive reading apps. These apps provide safe spaces for reading without parents worrying about unsafe content online. You can choose what your child can access within these apps; use timer features and monitor your child’s reading progress.
 
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Escape to Ivy Hatch this Christmas

11/18/2020

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My guest today is fellow author, Elizabeth Holland, who, as well as being a romance writer, is also a mental health blogger, and - Elizabeth's own words here: a fussy gluen-intolerant, vegetarian!

Here, Elizabeth tells us about her Christmas novella, "Christmas at the Vintage Bookshop of Memories."


by  Elizabeth Holland

For many, reading is a wonderful escape from everyday life. From a very young age, I’ve loved the escapism that both reading and writing can bring. I fell in love with writing in my teens. Back then, I was unaware that writing was my escapism.
People like to escape for several reasons. For me, I like to take a break from my mental health struggles.
My struggles with my mental health begun during my early teens. During this difficult time, writing and reading was my solace - I have shelves filled with vampire romances that can attest to this. Over the years, I’ve realised how much writing has helped me through difficult times. It’s so lovely to create a world inside my head and to disappear into it. With this in mind, I started writing stories for others.
 
Christmas at the Vintage Bookshop of Memories is a real feel-good escape. With all the joy of the festive season, a budding romance, an admirable friendship and a Christmas Day wedding, there’s something to put a smile on everyone’s face. It is designed to be read as either a stand-alone or a sequel to The Vintage Bookshop of Memories. The story is set in an idyllic English village where life feels much simpler. It’s set during modern day and yet there’s an old-fashioned feeling to it. The old-fashioned theme is emphasised by the use of fashion throughout the story.
 
For me, Christmas is a time of happiness, indulgence and giving. This was something that I wanted to be reflected within the story. As we follow Katie Wooster over the festive season we watch as she pieces her life back together and grows in confidence. This is all achieved with the support of her best friend, Prue Clemonte. Friendship, love, and strength are all themes that run throughout this Christmas novella.

MAGICAL ATMOSPHERE
The scene setting in Christmas at the Vintage Bookshop of Memories was particularly important as I wanted the world to jump off of the pages and pull the reader in. The first description of the bookshop is a particular favourite of mine;
 
‘The atmosphere within the bookshop was magical; every inch exuded Christmas spirit.

Sat on the central round table was a small, real Christmas tree, and the pine scent wafting from it was permeating the air. Red and golden ornaments adorned the tree, which glimmered in the light from the chandelier above. Underneath the tree sat an assortment of Christmas themed goodies from gingerbread men to miniature chocolate yule logs. In front of the treats sat a sign informing customers that they were free to enjoy. With a smile on her face, the red-head picked up a gingerbread man and began nibbling at it as her eyes were drawn to the new bunting hanging from the balcony.

Hand-stitched Christmas scenes adorned each little triangle. It was beautiful. Even the ladder to the upper floor had ivy wound around it. Towards the back of the shop the children’s section housed an array of vintage teddy bears, each wearing a hand-knitted Christmas jumper. The atmosphere within the shop was contagious.’

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The bookshop is a cosy place that has an almost-magical atmosphere to it. Within the bookshop walls, anything is possible. I hope readers will enjoy falling into the world of the Vintage Bookshop of Memories and that they’ll finish the book with a smile on their face.
 
Merry Christmas!

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Emails - Angels or Demons?

11/14/2020

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Email. Businesses couldn't survive without them. Neither could you. They're an absolutely vital part of our working life, everyday life, and family life. 

I use them daily to communicate effectively and efficiently. But I'm careful to ensure that every email I send is completely justified. Because unnecessary emails - like unnecessary meetings, whether they be face-to-face, or more likely nowadays, via Teams or Zoom - drive me absolutely bananas.

And did you know that emails are actually harming the planet?

The average spam email has a footprint equivalent to 0.3g of Carbon Dioxide emissions (CO2e), while a normal email has a footprint of 4g. These figures are arrived at by taking into account the power that data centres and computers use sending, filtering and reading messages. An email with a large attachment can have a carbon footprint of 50g CO2e. 

It's estimated that a typical year of incoming email adds 136kg of emissions to a person's carbon footprint. That's the equivalent of driving 200 miles in an average car. According to research, more than 64 million "unnecessary emails" are sent every day in the UK, contributing to 23,475 tons of carbon a year to its footprint.

Emails have been around a lot longer than many people realise. They're not a product of the internet, either. The first example of what could legitimately be called a piece of electronic mail can be found on computers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a program called "MAILBOX," in 1965.

Users left messages with that program on other computers at the university, and the recipient would see them when they next logged on.

Three years later the US Department of Defense implemented a network called ARPANET, connecting a number of its computers, enabling them to communicate with each other, and the first message was sent on 29 October 1969.

In 1971 Ray Tomlinson invented email as we know it today, by creating a full system on ARPANET's network. As the growing internal networks meant protocols for sending messages were becoming increasingly more complex, one important question arose: how to show where the message was intended to go?

His answer: @. Indicating a destination for a message became as simple as addressing it "username@name of computer," which is how we've been addressing emails ever since.

The next step was to develop how email could communicate beyond ARPANET's network, between separate organisations, which, I suppose we could say, was the birth of the fledgling Internet itself.

By the 1980s, in the infancy of the Internet, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had begun connecting people across the world, and email "hosting" sites were becoming popular.

I didn't start using email, either for business or at a personal level, until 2001, so I guess you could say that was the start of my email space odyssey.

To conclude: now, in 2020, it's forecast by statistics specialists Statista, that more than 306-billion emails will be sent globally EVERY DAY this year. Each one chipping away at the safety of our environment. And many of them will be overkill, information overload, and just downright unnecessary. 

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Top Tips for Teaching Your Child to Read

9/25/2020

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Reading is a crucial skill that we tend to take for granted. The ability to read can help us succeed in life, and can also be a fantastic form of entertainment.

Most people don’t really give a second thought to the process involved when learning to read. It’s only when you have to start teaching someone, like your own son or daughter, that you start to understand how complex it is. It’s not just a natural part of growing up; a child will have to be taught by someone with an awareness of phonics and other skills and strategies.

A primary school near Chorleywood explores this further, below.

 
If you’re trying to teach your child to read, you’ll need to be patient and start off simple. The first thing you should do is learn what skills are involved in teaching someone to read. Not everyone is naturally a good teacher; you have to know what you’re doing if you want to do it correctly. 
 
Perhaps sing some songs and nursery rhymes and clap to the beat to help your child with their phonemic awareness, which is essentially the ability to concentrate on and handle individual sounds within different words. Make or buy some simple word cards with basic, 3-letter nouns and adjectives and sound them out slowly with your little one, one letter at a time, until they become used to it. Of course, you will eventually be able to move onto harder words but take your time and don’t rush your youngster!
 
Technology has some downsides, but when it comes to helping our children with their education and general development it can be great. You’ll be able to find some fantastic resources online, such as YouTube videos or online lessons, that can teach your child to read in an engaging way. This is a good option for those days when you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or frustrated and don’t know how to help your child.  
 
Try and make the experience as fun as possible and remember that every child moves at their own pace. Little and often is probably the best approach, as well as mixing up your strategies so that it doesn’t get boring. You should even let your youngster pick out their own books once in a while, to help instil an early love of reading in them. 

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Exploring Creative Writing with Your Child

9/17/2020

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Helping your child with creative writing projects may seem like a waste of time and you may prefer them to focus on their maths or science studies. However, creative writing is actually extremely beneficial for children as it helps them develop such a huge range of skills that they can transfer across all school subjects, and even throughout their personal life.
 
Creative writing helps young people think outside the box and explore their imagination. It improves their spelling and grammar skills and teaches them various new vocabulary. This will help them to become a better communicator, whether written or verbal. Whenever a child learns a new skill, they get a little self-esteem boost, which will help them overcome challenges throughout life.
 
With all this in mind, even if your child doesn’t intend on becoming the next JK Rowling, it’s worth exploring creative writing activities with them in your free time. If you are wondering where to start, take a look below at some tips from an international school in London.
 
Of course, you can’t expect your youngster to write their very own best-selling novel. Start with some simpler tasks, such as encouraging them to re-write the final chapter of their favourite novel. This shouldn’t be too challenging as the characters and storyline have already been fully developed, so it will just be a case of making a few tweaks here and there. Discuss how such small changes to a scenario can lead to completely different end-results.
 
If your child does insist on writing their own story, it might help them if you suggest a problem that their characters have to solve. Often, the most challenging part of writing a story is the very beginning, so you could write the opening sentence for your child and let them progress from there.
 
Another thoughtful activity you could suggest is that your child writes a book review after they’ve finished reading a novel, pretending to be a reporter or a blogger. Encourage them to use lots of adjectives to describe the story and ask them to think about how it made them feel; did they laugh, cry or feel frightened at any point during the story?
 
Before beginning any of these projects, your child should always prepare a plan. Mind-maps are great for this because they encourage you to delve a little deeper and think about all of the words and phrases that would work nicely in a particular genre. If you’d like some more inspiration, don’t be hesitant to contact your child’s school as the teachers will likely be more than happy to help. 
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Why Reading is so Important for Young People

9/5/2020

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​Literature opens the reader up to a whole host of different historical and cultural matters and is often overlooked as an important element of the school curriculum. Actually, reading is a crucial aspect of a child’s educational journey; it’s a way for them to learn, while also being a form of entertainment and relaxation.

It’s one of the first things they learn how to do when they start pre-school and goes on to play an important role in every single school subject, not just English. There are undeniably a variety of benefits to reading and it’s certainly better for children than hours on their digital devices (although in moderation, this can be beneficial, too). A private school in Somerset explores the importance of reading for children in further detail below.

One of the primary benefits of reading for young people is that it can boost their general knowledge. As mentioned above, books allow the reader to explore a multitude of both real-life and imaginary events, famous landmarks and cultural traditions. They can learn about different genres and writing styles and start to develop critical thinking skills.

What’s more, reading will help boost your child’s vocabulary, as well as their spelling and grammar skills. As a result, they will become better communicators, both written and verbal. Enhanced general knowledge and communication skills will contribute to improved academic performance across all subjects, so essentially, children who are keen readers will likely perform better in school. In addition, they will be equipped with the necessary skills to successfully apply to universities and jobs when they’re older. 

Reading also improves a child’s ability to concentrate on something for long periods of time, which is another valuable skill that can be transferred across other areas of life. If your child doesn’t seem to be showing an interest in reading, perhaps they haven’t found a genre they like yet.

Encourage them to try various different types of books by heading to the library or ordering online. Let them choose a novel themselves, as forcing them to read something just because you like the book won’t get you anywhere. Most schools try to encourage their pupils to read, so if you’re lacking inspiration, be sure to contact your child’s teacher. They will be able to give you some age-appropriate recommendations to get you started. 
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    Author

    Stewart Bint is a novelist, magazine columnist and PR writer. 

    He lives with his wife, Sue, in Leicestershire in the UK, and has two children, Christopher and Charlotte, and a budgie called Bertie.

    Usually goes barefoot.

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