by Valerie | Feb 9, 2014 | art, book reviews, General interest, history, museums, people, travel
Instead of spending time this week blogging, I’ve wasted hours trying to deal with combined – or ‘dual tariff’ as the phrase goes – gas and electricity bills. I pay by direct debit. So far, so good as far as Npower is concerned. I’m not sure about me. Every 6 months... by Valerie | Feb 6, 2014 | art, book reviews, General interest, history, museums, travel, Uncategorized
Yesterday evening I carefully counted the pages in the next chapters to revise: 4 in Chapter 26 and 7 in Chapter 27. Short, so easy and enjoyable. No feeling of having to rush. I retired to bed happily anticipating the next day. It is like reading a new novel, as I’ve... by Valerie | Feb 2, 2014 | book reviews, reading groups, travel, writing a novel
I felt there was something strange when I began teaching short courses for credit based in Venice for the University of California at Berkeley. Something was missing, but I wasn’t quite sure what. Of course, one couldn’t stroke the original bronze Horses of St.... by Valerie | Jan 22, 2014 | book reviews, reading groups, travel, writing a novel
Will it never end? The UK Liberal Democrat Party is tearing itself apart in an old, old, question – what constitutes an unwelcome advance. Also in the news is the rather strange person, Stephen Ward, who was caught up on the periphery of a scandal that gave us the... by Valerie | Jan 18, 2014 | book reviews, reading groups, writing a novel
This is one of the much-quoted openings that every writer would like to imagine. If I remember correctly they are J P Hartley’s opening words in The Go-Between. Remember the wonderful film with Alan Bates and Julie Christie? It was filmed in a early 18th-century... by Valerie | Jan 16, 2014 | book reviews, reading groups, writing a novel
J K Rowling, P D JamesThis is a crucial question for anyone in the public eye. Is it an advantage to have the same name as a famous person? If ‘Shakespeare’, that could be helpful. There are no descendants of the playwright, so another writer using the same surname...
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