Tribute to Tartan Week

    

 

    I can’t let ‘Tartan Week’ go by without celebrating my heritage and culture. Today I’ve included a fun poem written by a lesser-known Scottish poet, Walter Wingate.

    Unfortunately, while alive, very little of his poetry was published, and there were no publishing platforms in those days gone by to self-publish. 

 

    However, after his death, his talent was recognised, and a collection of his poetry was
published, and his words can live on.

 

 

     ‘The Sair Finger’ is about a child with a splinter in their finger. The Scots dialect I know is not easy to understand, but today, I make no apologies for using it in this post because this week is a week to honour all things Scottish.

 

 

 

The Sair Finger

 

You’ve hurt your finger? Puir wee man!

Your pinkie? Deary me!

Noo, juist you haud it that wey till

I get my specs and see!

 

My so it is, and there’s the skelf !

Noo, dinna greet nae mair! 

See there, my needles gotten’t out!

I’m sure that wasna sair?

 

And noo, to make it hale the morn

Put on a wee bit saw

And tie a bonnie hankie roun’t

Noo, there nar in awa’!

 

Your finger sair ana’? Ye rogue

You’re only lettin on

Weel, weel, then see noo, there ye are

Row’d up the same as John!

 

 Walter Wingate 15 April 1865 —1918

 

 

 

Dawn Chorus

 

 

 

 

 

A study recently found that not everyone loves to hear the dawn chorus in the morning. Something that I actually found surprising.

 

When I lived in Scotland, birdsong could be deafening at certain times of the year. My garden was visited by many species of birds, and I do miss their song and beauty in the early throw of Spring.

 

But since moving to South Tenerife, due to the lack of green areas, it’s not something I experience often. Occasionally, blackbird song, the chatter of the noisy parakeets feeding in the palm trees and the strange call of the Hoopoe can be heard when passing through the island on their migration journey.

 

The island’s north is very different, and the luscious vegetation encourages our feathered friends to stay and not just pass through. Therefore, when I visit there, it’s a tick off my list of things that put a smile on my face.

Outtakes of Life

 

 

This time of year, I watch lots of movies. I binge first on the Christmas ones, then gradually wean myself off (reluctantly).

The other day, I watched a Richard Curtis film called About Time. The movie is not new; I believe it was released in 2013. I wasn’t aware of the film before and just came across it accidentally. I chose it because I knew it wouldn’t disappoint, as all of the other titles this writer, producer and director is known for are memorable.

Like many of his other productions, the screenplay of this rom-com was a mix of funny and sad. Without giving too much away and spoiling your viewing if you haven’t watched it yet, time travel and the ability to change things in his life feature. What I loved about it was that although the protagonist could change certain things in his life, it wasn’t possible to change everything. For me, this actually made the story more believable.

As a writer, it enforced the advice given to me a long time ago; that we must make our characters believable in our writing. The protagonist has to have struggles and goals as real people do. 

The only difference is that film producers can do outtakes to do just that, and we can edit, edit, and edit to reach our desired outcome, unlike life.

The Year

     

 

 

    Well, where has the year gone? This is my last post of the year and I wanted to wish you all

 a wonderful New Year ahead and thank you for joining me throughout the year.

    I want to see the year out with a classic poem by American author and poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

The Year

What can be said in new Year rhymes

That's not been said a thousand times?

The new years come , the old years go

We know we dream, we dream we know

We hug the world until it stings

We curse it then and sigh for wings

We  live , we love, we woo, we wed

We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear

And that's the burden of a year

 

 Ella Wheeler Wilcox Nov 5 1850—Oct 30 1919

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agatha’s View

 

 

    A set of stairs leads towards the popular la Sala Teatro Timanfaya, a theatre popular for artistic and musical folklore productions. But, looking beyond and towards the sky ahead, a hotel that once dominated the skies of Puerto de La Cruz is surrounded by scaffolding and is clearly undergoing restoration and renewal.

 

    El Gran Hotel Taoro, built as a luxury hotel in 1890, endured financial crashes, civil wars, and world wars. It played host to some of the most prominent dignitaries in society; the list is long, but being a writer, I have to mention one of its most famous guests in my eyes, Agatha Christie.

 

    But not everything can stay in the past, and El Gran Hotel Taoro grew tired and outdated. Unloved and occupied by various businesses, it finally closed its doors around half a century ago. 

 

 

 

    The new owners, the My Way Hotel Group, are rehabilitating the facade and interior of the building. However, what will never change is the significance the building has played in the city's history. Future guests can take in the marvellous vistas below towards the magical blue sea as Agatha did and maybe even be inspired to write a book or short story.

 

 

 

 

 

https://granhoteltaoro.com/en/ 

Over-Egged

 

 

I am increasingly frustrated when I read news articles and media posts that are “over-egged.” They are sometimes so exaggerated that they fall into the fake news category. Unfortunately, many are written to exacerbate social unrest, bigotry and hatred.

It is disappointing that many journalists and media writers are selling their souls to the devil and are gaining notoriety by writing truly fictional pieces.

 
It’s my opinion that many of these writers are just lazy when choosing this easy option. It would be nice if they could be true to at least themselves and use the gift they were given positively.

Okay, my rant is over. Thank you, as always for reading the blog. Have a fabulous weekend.

 

 

 

Creative Slowdown

 

 

 

 I’m sorry I haven't been blogging much recently. Why? I've hit a bit of writer's block when it comes to writing posts. It's not that I haven’t been writing; I have. My brain has been finding it difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at a time in the writing field, I’m writing a new novel, and I've been focusing on that.

I'm venturing into the adult romance field this time, something slightly different for me as a writer. I want the story to be realistic, and I've spent time doing research, which has been time-consuming. 

I'm now halfway through the first draft, and hopefully, I'll soon be finished. But, of course, the draft is only the start of the hard work. Wish me luck.