Destiny|سرنوشت

A salutary tale from Laleh 😉

A Voice from Iran

I remember there was an old ruined mansion in Bushehr where people could pay a little amount to go inside. We visited the wrecked house a few times in my childhood. The story behind it was so sad but more importantly, a life lesson which was probably why they took us to the palace several times.

The story goes that the owner was a very rich merchant who was a profligate spender to show off how wealthy he was. People used to say he lit his cigars with burning bills instead of matches in front of others and when big politicians came to Bushehr from the Capital Tehran, he lit candles with bills to show how powerful and rich he was.He used to serve tea in gold tea cups and eat in silver plates and dishes. He was never friendly with anyone and found it disgraceful to talk to…

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Lincolnshire: Tattershall Castle

Whatever next – a brick castle!!

beetleypete

All photos can be enlarged for detail, and look better that way.

Across a double moat separating it from Holy Trinity Church, (see previous post) lies the imposing building called Tattershall Castle. Originally built as a defensive structure in the 13th century by Robert De Tatershales, (hence the name of the village) the present building is a fully-restored fortified house dating from 1434. It was the home of Ralph, the 3rd Baron Cromwell, famous for its double moat and drawbridges. It is by far the finest example of a Medieval brick-built structure to survive in the UK.

Closer to the castle, you can see Julie and Ollie admiring its grandeur.

In the foreground, the circular stonework is all that survives of De Tatershales’ original fortress.

The lower window allows light into the cellar.

Inside, the rooms on each floor have been left empty. However, the wonderful fireplaces in the main…

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What’s in a Name?

Meet the new addition (with attitude and sharp puppy teeth) to the Jecks’ household. 😉

writerlywitterings

It’s now a week and two days since I picked up our puppy.

When I was a youngster, my parents always had a lot of dogs. When I say a lot, I mean a pack. We had four or five all the time while I was at home. I think my mother counted once and found she had owned thirty-six dogs in her life. It was a source of pride to her.

In my time, I remember Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Boxers, a Basset Hound, Collies, Black Labs, mongrels and Chihuahuas – and a Bernese Mountain Dog and two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. I loved them all, but especially the Ridges and the Bernese.

When I managed to persuade my wife that since I was living at home we could aspire to dogs, she was reluctant at first. She came from a family where a single cat was considered adequate as a…

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The Loss of Innocence

Class, pay attention! Miss Stefy has something to say 😉

e-Tinkerbell

If one the typical characters of Jane Austen’s novels were to leave for any reason
the pampered life of a good, refined but secluded society made of balls, laces,
tittle-tattle, great expectations and shattered dreams to face the world outside,
well, very likely we would be reading one of the novels written by Elizabeth
Gaskell. Margaret Hale, the protagonist of North and South, could be in any way one
of Jane Austen’s most memorable characters : remarkably beautiful, intelligent, well
educated, young and therefore, ready to marry, but the pursue of a good match is
not the central theme here. Her perfect world will be smashed by her father’s sudden
decision to quit the church and move where the “dark satanic mills” have utterly
changed the landscape and the heart of people: the North. In Jane Austen’s books the
North has always been the remote place where the regiment was…

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roughseasinthemed becalmed …

In memorium…

Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing

It’s been more than a week now since I heard the very sad news that a blogger I had come to know over the past few years and whom I highly respected had died. I’m still gobsmacked by this loss … (although I’m not entirely sure that the editor in her would have approved of my use of the word “gobsmacked” here)

roughseasinthemed had been a huge support of authors and their books through her intelligent, informed and, at times, wickedly funny blog. Being a professional editor, journalist, and book reviewer, she did know a thing or three about good writing and, in meting out her criticism and praise, she was not shy to say when an author did not measure up to her exacting standards. But … if she did like your writing – and she only ever gave out 4 stars of a possible 5 – then you…

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Bravo Joanne

On BBC television, thanks to J.K Rowling, we have another brilliant private detective – Cormoran Strike. I have just finished watching the two part second story – Silkworm. This time Rowling delves into the often bitchy, certainly murky world of publishing, here in the UK.

While unpublished writers and the general public will think it’s just another fictional scenario. In actual fact Rowling has hit the nail on the head! Everything she reveals about the literary world in Silkworm is painfully true as most published authors will privately acknowledge.

UK publishing is full of narcissists, failed writers turned literary agents and editors, not forgetting the greedy publishers they work for as gate keepers. All of them have an inflated opinion of themselves and their position in society, thanks to their massive egos, combined with an air of superiority and an almost pathological hatred of all wannabe writers!

I enjoyed the first story she came up with. In this instance as a published author, I can tell you that everything she alludes to in Silkworm rings true. At one time or another as a writer you will try to get your manuscript seen, first by a literary agent. Then hopefully by a chief editor prepared to consider your work for publishing.

I recommend ‘Silkworm’ as compulsory viewing to all writers and potential writers worldwide, published or not. In the US it will probably be found on PBS. For writers in the UK click on the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b095blsk

I take my hat off to her for finding a way to make public the UK literary world as it really is. Had she ever dared to say anything publically, she would now be persona non grata, just like the rest of us who now inhabit the self-publishing world.

Bravo Joanne…

😉 x

 

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