Google

Tuesday 15 November 2011

The Joy of Socks

We're now midway into November and Christmas is hurtling towards us. It's hurtling towards you and, if you're anything like me, loads of other useless Christmas shoppers!

Each year it gets that little bit harder to avoid buying the same thing for the same person two years running! I love to find something original for my friends and family if I can.

But some things you shouldn't feel bad about: giving someone the same gift two consecutive Christmases is one of them. It's definitely the thought that counts. And we'll always need socks!

Buy me book tokens, shower gel / aftershave sets or Christmas editions of my favourite sweets - those who know me also know the possibilities are endless! - and you'll hit the mark every time. I'll happily receive them till my dying day. Hopefully that particular moment is still some time away!

I've already started my Christmas shopping and this year I'm going about it differently! I'm buying something practical and something original for each person. Translation: a smellies set per person and a gift with that extra bit of thought gone into it. If I don't succeed with one I can't fail with the other - and if neither does the trick you can't say I didn't try!

I'll intersperse this all with afternoons in Costa café to keep myself sane come the Christmas hustle and bustle!

That's how I'll be playing St Nick. How about you? 

Oh and now you know what I like, you can't say you didn't know what to get me.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Why write?

Feeling reflexive lately (as I always do when Christmas is near!), I started thinking about why I write.

In fact I started thinking about anyone's reasons for putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

Here are some of my own. They could easily apply to you:
  • Because we have something to say to the world. Not only that, we want to say it in the nicest, most effective way possible.
  • Because we're dreamers, idealists and romantics. Writing is an escape from the everyday world. Why else would we create a different reality!
  • Because we hurt and need to banish the pain from our system. I've written some of my most meaningful words while my life has gone through the grinder!
  • Because it's in our nature to think about how the world turns... life... death... the way people are. Actually, if I say we think about everything, I can't fail to cover it.
At the start of 2011, I read a beautiful biography about Roald Dahl, the children's author. The bio told that he wrote for children more than for adults because he understood them better... got on with them better. 

So maybe writing is all about understanding the world and getting on with it. Perhaps we write not because we understand the world, but because we're still trying to figure it out. 

It's possible we don't even want to understand it, don't want to get along with it. That's sometimes the joy of writing!

What would your reason(s) be?