Elbowed

Take a look at this

[lena-francesca]

  "She said "You're pretty good with words, but words won't save your life."

And they didn't so he died.

He was drunk and exhausted,

He was critically acclaimed and respected,

He loved the Golden Gophers but he hated all the drawn out winters,

He likes the warm feeling but he's tired of all the dehydration,

Most nights are kinda fuzzy but that last night he had total retention."

[lena-francesca]

Some Nostalgia vs. Ramblings of the Sleep Deprived

So today I finished my Foundation Training as a doctor.  Basically that means I've got 2 years under my belt and I can specialise now if I'd like to.  It's a bit more complicated than that and I have years and years left of training but today it feels like I have accomplished something.  I am no longer flailing wildly in the dark.  Most of the time. 

I remember a particularly bad set of nights as a brand new doctor (F1), my first ever set as it happened.  My closest friends will remember me crying in Spudulike soon after (and I love jacket potatoes).  Around this time I ripped off an idea I had seen on ER (probably the only thing I ever did learn from that show) and wrote myself a letter to read on my last day as an F2.  A little introspective maybe but I do like to have something to read so here goes with the excerpts.

"I feel like I have just started although I have been a doctor for four months.... I feel anxious and on my own."

"I know it is about experience and that will come with time.  I hope you are reading this and laughing, not remembering something terrible I did.  Maybe you could do something terrible too.  Don't get cocky."

"I'm off to warm, cosy bed.  Happy times in this flat."

Anyway turns out I was reading this and laughing, but the last sentence got me.  We are moving from this flat and starting a new chapter in our lives.  In the weeks ahead I am looking forward to seeing a lot more of those people that I love.  After that it's a new adventure in Australia.  So anyway, bit of a self indulgent post today but if you can't prattle on on the internet then where can you really?

[lena-francesca]

Alarm times on my phone. Ranging from 05:15 to 21:48. Little reminders of an airport dash, a car boot sale, a heinous night shift here and there. Then a huge concentration of times between 7 and 8am stemming from my current normal office hours and obsession with the snooze button, cutting it fine and wearing a theatre hat and scrubs all day so who really needs to get ready in the morning. What do your alarm times mean to you?

[teachingliteracy]

especially for my books.

[lena-francesca]

How I live my life.... In other news- posting on the quirks of the Nantwich Road area coming up soon x

[bree-heart]

Train Station > Tea Break

[lena-francesca]

I love reading The Saturday Girl.  A cool artsy collage of a blog which the likes of me would struggle to assemble.  Plus she's one of my best friends and she writes the funniest Facebook statuses on my news feed.  Enough reasons to follow I think.

[britticisms]

Someone anonymously asked me what I thought of Before Midnight and whether or not I planned on writing a review. I did and I have. This is sort of a review of the film, but more a reflection on what it means to be in love and how the ease of youth makes way for the realities of age. 

[lena-francesca]

Nobody told me about Before Midnight!

It’s predecessor, Before Sunset, has what I thought at the time, and probably still do but I would have to sit down and think about it properly before making any declarations, the best last line of any romantic movie I’d seen.

How can I miss out on the opportunity to find out the consequences to that cliffhanger? From reading this review, it sounds a lot like Julie Delpy’s study in bickering that was Two Days In Paris. I liked that film, but I love films that cut right to the bone of petty arguments and dissect out every awkward moment. To this end I think The Break Up is Jennifer Aniston’s best movie. Although I haven’t exactly done extensive research in that field I must admit.

Anyway, Before Midnight is going on The List: Movies That I Want To See That Will Definitely Not Be On At Crewe. Time for a trip back to my favourite FACT? The Cornerhouse? Or will Chester pull an indie cinema out of the bag one day? It’s all up for grabs.

[lena-francesca]

What Is Elbowed?

So I thought today I'd write a little something about why I started this blog and what I hope it will turn into.  I think everything I have posted so far has been a little unfocused, ranging from what I did today to book reviews to photos.  That's kind of the idea, but I want to explain myself, even just for my own peace of mind.

So what is Elbowed?  The original title was Elbowed: Take A Look At This.  It's like gently nudging a friend to check out something you think is cool.  That was meant to be the initial idea, like an online scrap book of stuff that I don't necessarily want to share on Facebook, for reasons relating to scarcity of space and general lack of audience interest.  I don't have a bigger audience here but I feel that on Tumblr and other blogs, you don't read if you're not interested.

And why start blogging?  The initial impetus came from my clever friends at Chester Deviant on Tumblr (http://chesterdeviant.tumblr.com).  They have had the much more cohesive idea of loosely attaching their blog to a place; my beautiful hometown of Chester and it's burgeoning cultural scene.  I had that idea, maybe looking at a sister blog in East Cheshire.  I've done a Nantwich photo series and would like to do a Crewe one.  But I am not staying here for long and I want to cover more places.  Yesterday I got back from Lochinver in NW Scotland and I really want to write about that!

So that brings us to the real reason, which is that I just want to write something.  I do a job that I love, but although I write pages of text a day, it's all acronyms, abbreviations, bullet points and quite frankly illegible.  Writing this blog reminds me how to spell, challenges me to punctuate and encourages me to create.  I think that's enough.

To quote one of my favourite song lyrics ever...

"Culture is what we make it / Now is the time to invent"  (Sleater Kinney- #1 Must Have)

Thanks for reading.

[lena-francesca]

The tranquil Summer Isle Tanera Mor- on sale for 2.5 million. This place hasn’t become any less beautiful in the 20 years I have been coming here. What will the future hold for this little corner of wilderness?

[lena-francesca]

Some excellent gift ideas. Thanks guys.

[lena-francesca]

Ticking off my London list one visit at a time

Hope you liked the pics.  Honourable and unpictured mentions from my mini London weekend go to The Sampler in Islington for treating my uneducated palate to some new grapes, Westminster Abbey for soft and peaceful silence in the cloisters and a historical resonance that both excites and saddens at times, The Barbican for being chunky and cool and something I've missed being out of the city and the Thames because I love watching you move.

Also, everyone think they're problems are unique but yesterday I lost The Shard.  No really.  It was behind me.

[lena-francesca]

Metal on wood. Nice chunky chain.

[lena-francesca]

The stripped down backbones of some of London's prettiest homes - bit like the alley behind my place

[lena-francesca]

The side streets of SW1 or How To Look Like An Aspiring Burglar. I took a wrong turn today on the way to Westminster Abbey and ended up in a very nice neighbourhood. Looking at these grand, smart and imposing frontages it was surprising to see what lies beneath, behind and round the corner...pics to follow

[lena-francesca]

"Dancing On My Own" the brilliance of Girls

I'm usually a bit late with watching things but I am so glad that I got around to starting Season One of Girls.  Yes, they're annoying, they tweet, text, bitch and obsess.  Sex and the City comparisons fall flat after you note four female leads.  These girls are not glamorous and the "ick factor" is ramped up several notches from its sleek Manhattanite predecessor.   I'm already addicted.

So the scene above is just great.  The song is Robyn's "Dancing On My Own".  See her album "Robyn" for a separate tutorial in perfect bittersweet electric pop.  Hannah has yet another crushing day and sits down to write a self-absorbed tweet about her life.  The kind you would need to delete the next day.  Suddenly this song kicks in, she changes the wording and....well, you should watch it.  Go ahead.

[lena-francesca]

A Bank Holiday between Cheshire and Staffordshire

Getting to know the local area again....

First a bike ride taking in a few local pubs south of Nantwich.  My first trip to Audlem, what a pretty little town.  Just time for a quick coke at The Lord Combermere and onwards towards Wrinehall.  Hunsterson Road and Checkley Lane are highlights on a bike (picture below doesn't do it justice), even with a persistently flattening tyre that needed some serious attention.  One of my favourite pubs in the area is in Wrinehill; The Hand and Trumpet.  Some fantastic food and the Sunday papers and we were on our way home.

Today I visited The Trentham Estate (http://www.trentham.co.uk) near Stoke for some lunch with an old friend and to check out the shops.  Enjoyed checking out some great individual shops like the Yellowstone Art Boutique and some yummy food stores like Brown and Green  Didn't get the chance to see the gardens this time but it's on our to-do list.  I once read that Trentham was meant to be the anti-Alton Towers, I see the comparison; a stately home turned into a visitor attraction, but I would haveto check out some of the activities on offer, like the Monkey Forest or boat trips, to make a fair comparison.

Took the A51 on the way home and came across this fantastic building (see below).  It's Hatton Pumping Station and is now being converted into flats.  I think the style is really distinctive of several I've seen in the country.  Credit to geolocation.ws for the picture as I didn't have time to stop.

Now back home and a Japanese takeaway from Goomet in Crewe which is a new discovery.  Just feel like I am getting my bearings in the area and it's nearly time to move on!

[bree-heart]

Ice cream, Boats and great company :)

[lena-francesca]

bree-heart's fab pic of one of my happy places

View from The Groves in Chester, over towards the Old Dee Bridge.

[writerswritecompany]

Literary Birthday - 20 April

Happy Birthday, Sebastian Faulks, born 20 April 1953

Interviewer: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Do you agree with E.L. Doctorow, or do you begin a novel with a shape of the whole? Sebastian Faulks: It’s a nice image, but not my experience. I have an AA gazetteer, a sat nav, GPS and a route map. I wouldn’t dream of starting without. 

Sebastian Faulks: Seven Quotes On Writing

The words themselves are the beginning and end. Even when the style is apparently plain it is so for a reason. And within plainness there a hundred choices for each sentence in rhtyhm and syntax and of course within each word. Think of Hemingway.

Ideally, I start with the theme and setting, then a rough narrative arc including half a dozen big moments which are like the supports in a river over which the bridge spans; then the people are given to you because they are the ones capable of acting out what is required of the action to exemplify the theme.

In the period of composition you have to be exceptionally open. Anything might feed in. The knack is knowing the difference between a disposable thought and a robust idea. You have to live in a rather vulnerable, open state, while at the same time making hard decisions. You are a like a valve that switches between active and passive all the time. This is what takes it out of you a bit.

Almost everything I know about structure I learned from classical music. Most of what I know about narrative I took from cinema. I also think of oil painting quite a lot, particularly when I am trying to add layers, to thicken the texture.

When I am writing a book I work from ten till six every day in a small office near my house. I never write less than a thousand words a day. Writers Block is God’s way of telling you to shut up. More people should have it…

Write about what you DON’T know. Research, invent. Write about people of other ages, sexes, nationalities and periods in history. Then find a book you think is similar to yours. Write to the author care of the publisher and find out who their agent is. Good luck.

Real emotion comes from inside the reader. You are unaware that the author has been trying to make you feel something; in fact, you wonder whether the author is really aware of how sad, funny or inspiring this passage is. Artificial is when you feel your arm being twisted. Too many adverbs is a bad sign.

Faulks is a British novelist, journalist, and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels including The Girl at the Lion d’Or, Birdsong, and Charlotte Gray. He has also written a James Bond sequel, Devil May Care. He is a team captain on BBC Radio 4 literary quiz The Write Stuff.

by Amanda Patterson for Writers Write

[lena-francesca]

Birdsong - I read and loved it as a student, then listened again on audiobook driving through France. I didn't see the TV adaptation though.

And I agree Mr Faulks. I'm always witlessly using adverbs.