Thoughts Back on Bhola

Recent posts have concentrated more on life and writing here in the UK, but it's time to return to Bhola, especially during a week when thoughts have turned to Bangladesh in general.  Few people will have missed the coverage of the factory building collapsing in Dhaka and the subsequent tragedy; my heart goes out to all of those affected.  It reminds me of so many 'near misses' on my journeys there, events that make a great story in retrospect - because they ended happily:  a speedboat in a tropical storm off St Martin Island; electricity failure in a lift (10 floors up) at the tail end of cyclone Sidr; a tribal sniper in the Rangmati hills; a bus under threat of hijack...

So, it's great to look at the most recent pictures from Bhola and see the quiet progress that continues to make a sad or sick child just that bit happier.

All the children now go to the local school for some lessons and in addition, the English teacher visits the boundary every day, and Ali teaches lipreading.  We have a new combined resident teacher (for special lessons) and office manager, with particular responsibility for the accounts.  Nozrul knows the community well and is already streamlining all systems!

Salina, mother of a little girl very disabled with cerebral palsy is now in charge of physiotherapy. There are at least 8 resident children and teenagers with CP or other balance and mobility problems, and many, many outpatients.   Salina, assisted by Supia and Rozina, both of whom are blind, is giving morning and evening treatments, and it gives a real and valued role to the two visually impaired young women. Conversion of one of the buildings has allowed for  big and bright physio room.

Valumia, the vegetable garden and 'fish pond' is flourishing, although this year there is little surplus produce to sell; a combination of poor weather and a healthy community who need to eat most of the food produced!

As always the pictures should highlight the stories.... but try as I might, I can't upload them!  Battling with Windows 8, I'm still learning that it might be intuitive, but clearly, I'm not.  Once I work it out, I'll edit this post to add the colour and interest.  Meantime, thanks for your patience....

And I'll finish with a reminder of the colours and the emblem of Bangladesh: the red sun setting over the green fields, which forms the basis of the national flag.


Anne

Chapter 10: The Alien Plumber

Monday saw the first draft of my novel-in-progress off to my PhD supervisor.  Well, I say 'first draft' but it's a draft that has had many, many incarnations over the last couple of years.  And it wasn't exactly the whole novel, just about two-thirds of it (58 682 words or 161 pages to be precise, but who's counting!) Still,  for probably the first, and hopefully not the last, time in my writing life, I can honestly say I could not have worked any harder and I am pleased with what I've done. Though I do have a sneaking suspicion it is nowhere near 'literary' enough for a PhD... watch this space!

Two interesting off-shoots though.  First, Simon's language is clearly developing in too specific a direction.  As well as: 'party biscuit', 'big boy pants' and 'a minute, mummy; I'm busy', he can now say clearly and in context: 'copyright', 'edit' and 'genre'.  How can this have happened?  The literary mantle has fallen far too close to him.  Never fear, I am now working hard to teach him: 'U-bend', 'inlet valve' and 'there'll be an eighty quid call out charge, love'.  And his name will go down for plumbing school as soon as I have checked out the league tables.

Second (interesting off-shoot) is that the novel's temporary departure has given me space to prepare properly for this week's Comm. Ed class and in doing so has reminded me to stay open-minded and try new things, or in this case, genres (thanks, Simon!).  The topic is Science Fiction.  As the tutor, I shouldn't really say that it's only now I've actually realised that science fiction is, obviously, based in science fact. It's really not my thing, although one of the best books I've ever read is Marge Piercy's 'Woman of the Edge of Time' that is partially set (or is it?) in an altered reality.  Oh, and I love Star Trek, but only because I really, really, REALLY want a Mr Data of my very own. Anyway, research has already taught me a lot and - should I ever get time to read - given me a list of SF novels that might well be an education.

So, I can hear you all wondering, how on earth am I going to tie these random thoughts together in a scintillating conclusion?  Obvious.  If the novel doesn't pass muster as is, I shall simply introduce an alien plumber into Chapter 10 and call it experimental fiction. End of.

Anne x

'Sirens, Smartphones and Stilettos'

Thursday afternoons see me tutoring the 'Ox-Pen' Writers, a community education creative writing class in Edinburgh.  It's a small but perfectly formed group (always open to new members!) with a lot of talent and a great group dynamic.  We've spent the last few months looking at the whole concept of 'collaborative writing' whereby we've taken a specific scenario - a wet Monday morning in February, on a street in Edinburgh - and developed a number of characters whose lives are (perhaps) destined to cross...

So, 'Sirens, Smartphones and Stilettos' was born, in which the reader is introduced to: Dennis the rat; Jacqui with the pink shoes; Nancy, owner of Nancy's Cafe; Molly-the-lolly, Kathy and her little girl, Suzy; Micky the bus driver; Kirsty, a girl in labour and  Niall the paramedic; Reg the postman; Malcolm the texting teenager and Alison the minister.

Intrigued?

Last Thursday, the exhibition of work went up in Oxgangs Library (where it will remain for about 3 weeks if any of you locals want to visit), we launched the booklet full of stories and poems, and we had a (very well attended) public reading event -

As you can see, the hard work paid off - and this is a tribute to Georgia, Joan, Liz, Elspeth and Nikki for their talent and enthusiasm - and for brightening up miserable Thursdays!

Here's to the next one....!

Write Right goes 'live'...

So far, January has been a productive month... long may it last!

On Friday, my website Write Right finally went live.  Most of the thanks is due to the ever patient and very efficient Simon at ARCAS, who managed to create something that looks good, reads well and (hurrah)  is easy to use.  So please do go over to www.annehamilton.co.uk and have a look; even take a minute to tell me what you think

On Sunday, my new computer finally, finally, finally went live.  Weeks passed awaiting delivery, and another one saw it sitting on the kitchen table whilst I attempted to find the 'on' switch... That it is now connected to the Internet is thanks due to Ben, one third of the best neighbours ever, and yes, this blog is coming to you hot off the new keyboard, touchscreen, thingy.  Technophobe?  Me?

Today, I've passed the official halfway stage of my novel and have actually been managing to write a few hundred, on (one very rare) occasion even a couple of thousand, words each day.  Okay, it's probably still pushing it for the March deadline, but I haven't given up hope yet!

Will the excitement never end, I hear you all ask... 

So, I'll leave it there and say a big thanks to all of the other people too that have helped me avoid the January blues; Simon and Momo - you head the cast!

Anne


 

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

A Very Happy New Year to you all!












Thanks to Wendy Clarke for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blog Award - especially appreciated since Wendy's own new blog is so well researched, written and put together... http://wendyswritingnow.blogspot.co.uk



The requirements for the blogger award want me to tell you all 7 completely random facts about myself and to nominate other blogs.  So here goes:

Anne's Total Trivia

• I've run half a dozen 10k events
• I once played Little Orphan Annie
• I hate the dark
• Inside, I'm tall, blonde and willowy...
• I wrote my first novel when I was ten (one day I'll find it and read it again... help!)
• I love terrible American sitcoms!
• As a teenager I had a holiday job as a National Express stewardess

Nominations

mickmal1.blogspot.com           

rosemarygemmell.com

wendyswritingnow.blogspot.co.uk

jacquidunbar.wordpress.com

mariannewheelaghan.co.uk

bigroundandblue.wordpress.com

janicehortonwriter.blogspot.com


Best of luck to everyone in 2013 - in life, writing and whatever your dreams may be!

Anne

Where Are They Now?

And so this is Christmas (almost)...

Whether we stick with the traditional writing and posting of cards, or whether our holiday greeting is an all-encompassing Facebook update, this time of year is probably the most common for flicking through those little black (real, electronic, metaphorical) address books and wondering just 'where is s/he now?'

One of the ultimate pleasures (and sometimes pains...) of travelling is the people we meet; one of the ultimate pains (and sometimes pleasures...) is saying goodbye to them when the time comes to move on.  Thrown together in a strange place - perhaps literally strange, perhaps in the sense of being unfamiliar - often breeds an intense bonding between people whose only point of reference is that they happen to be in the same place at the same time.  For a moment, an hour, a month or a year, this can be an intense joy.  It might even spawn a friendship that survives a lifetime.  More often, that person who was once so important to us eventually becomes the person who receives a fleeting, nostalgic and fond thought sometime mid-December.

It's getting easier now to 'find' people.  Social media like Facebook and Twitter ensure that a random name-check may well throw up a dozen or more potential ex-comrades in travel.  We might well narrow it down to the one true person - and then hover, wondering, over the 'message' button: do we really want to know the older/wiser/respectable/changed person s/he is today?  Or are we happy with the rose-coloured memory?

If I look back honestly over the last twenty-odd years (how did I get old enough to say that?) I have probably stayed in touch, however sporadically, with the people I've really wanted to.  But it doesn't mean that on a rainy, dark December night I don't have a moment of curiosity about someone from Israel,  from Zanzibar, from Bradford...

And there's always one or two I dwell on that bit longer, genuinely wondering... So, Kathy, Jenny, Manfred if you're out there, writing your Christmas cards or posting your Facebook message, I'm here.  You might want to drop me a line.  Or not.

Happy Christmas to all of you celebrating it, and happy holidays to everyone else! 'See' you in the New Year

Anne 

Write Right

Okay, a good excuse for not writing a 'proper' post this month?

Finally, after nearly two and a half years, I've been working on my website and it - Write Right -  should be ready, courtesy of the lovely Simon at ARCAS web design by the end of the year.

Way back when I started this blog, you might remember it was in the lead-up to publication of A Blonde Bengali Wife.  The plan was to follow it up with a website.  Well, I followed it up with a baby instead, and I'm delighted to say I've been concentrating on him ever since.  However, not even I can use that excuse when the said baby is now an independent little toddler who goes to nursery two days a week, hence the need to crack on with the website.

The aim of Write Right is to publicise my services as an editor/mentor for fiction writers, and as such it will sit in conjunction with this blog.  The design is in hand, the text is all but (carefully and succinctly!) written, the testimonials are proudly displayed, all that remains is the red-nosed, cold-stricken, blotchy author's photograph... Photoshop anyone?