MY HOMEWORK

There are five things that I have always wanted but have never had, ooh, a girl can only but dream.

First would be to own my own Horse, it has been absolutely ages since I have ridden, memories of riding here in Norfolk when I was just a 'slip of a girl' was so exciting and exhilerating. I used to ride a silver/grey mare named Peewea and often used to have a fine gallop across the beaches with her, loved that Horse. Only thing is that I would have to have another Horse to keep the other one company, would hate to think Horse would be lonely.

Second to open up a shop, maybe books with a little Tea/Room, but then I have a passion for Interiors, Antiques and Art, so perhaps an Art Gallery or Vintage Fabrics and Accessories.

The third I would love to own a gorgeous cottage in France - sorry, agree with what Jane says about second homes too, but even so, how lovely that would be. My Great Grandmother had French blood on my Mother's side, and even though it has been some time since I visited the country, always have fond memories, and just think of all that french wine...... the food.... and the language which is so flowery, ah.!

Coming up in fourth would be to finish a book and have it published, lots of unfinished manuscripts kept in folders. A few Short Stories and Poems I have had published in Magazine's, but to have a whole Novel published would be heaven.

I was left an Emerald and Diamond ring by my Grandmother years ago, silly me I lost it, cannot believe I was wearing it when it was too big for me and needed to be made smaller, somewhere it was tossed I know not where. It was heartbreaking to think that this piece of sentimental heirloom had been lost forever, so another ring of it's kind would be wonderful, and I love Emerald stones.

Know one should only choose five things, so cheating a bit here.......... quite fancy an array of blank Canvases with a set of Oils and Watercolours and a large set of very fine Brushes. A friend years ago gave me her Easel, what am I waiting for.! probably the knack of actually painting something that looks like art I should think.

Oh, and if anyone has a job going in a Library, then I'm your girl, never worked as a Librarian but quite fancy being amongst all those lovely books.

If of course a magic wand was to hand how I would love to end World Poverty, there would be PEACE throughout the land and a miracle drug to cease people suffering from terminal illness.

MY HOMEWORK - LITERATURE

Firstly my apologies to Faith who got the ball rolling for our Homework, my name being the third in the alphabet was seemingly moons ago, but better late than never.

It is 100 years since the Canadian schoolmistress Lucy Maud Montgomery published her first book, Anne of Green Gables, and changed not only her own life, but that of countless little girls around the world. Millions of small readers have since dreamt away the hours, picturing themselves as the freckly, carrot-topped girl who fetches upon Prince Edward Island and bewitches the dour natives of a place known mostly for potatoes.

Within months of the book's publication Anne became a classic heroine for any little girl who has ever fretted about her looks, hungered for Art and Beauty, and pursued long words in the hope they would become her special friends. So anyone who sets out to tamper with her story is taking a great risk. BUDGE WILSON may have had, according to a careful note on the title page, the authorisation of Montgomery's heirs in writing this prequel, but you feel that maybe she is pretty much on her own in this interpretation of what happened during the 11 years prior to Anne fetching up at Green Gables. I have read the original book, and also had the hat and plaits when I went to school.!

BEFORE GREEN GABLES - By Budge Wilson - Publishers - Puffin

Muddie recommended a very good book to me, it's title - COUNT THE PETALS OF THE MOON DAISY - By Martin Kirby - Publishers - Pegasus. Moon Daisy spans the Atlantic and the years, a story of roots, and ghosts, music and nature. Violin virtuosa Jessica Healey finds herself carried to a lost world of water gypsies and teeming wildlife. The Norfolk wind blows to her soul, and the secret of her very being is revealed as their two lives, separated by a century, weave closer and closer......... until they touch. I loved this book and could hardly put it down.

THE BIGAMIST - is an Autobiography written by Mary Turner-Thomson - Publishers - Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Ltd. This true story is of how one man manipulated an intelligent independent woman conning her out of £200,000 and leaving her to bring up the children he claimed he could never have.

THE MORVILLE HOURS : The Story of a Garden - By - Katherine Swift - Publishers - Bloomsbury. When Katherine Swift arrived at Morville Hall in 1988 she suggested to it's owners, The National Trust, that she make a garden. Instead of providing three-dimensional drawings or elaborate planting plants, she wrote about an imaginary garden - the present tense - as if walking along it's paths and borders. She managed to convince the National Trust by words alone.

Swift adores the winter and the cold - 'there is so much more time to look' - stripped of leaves and blossom, the garden exposes it's pure structure and the tiniest detail such as the thorns of the roses. This is truly a magical book.

ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE - A major new collection of poems to console and inspire.

Edited By - Philip Davies - Publishers - J M Dent.

Choosing just five books is difficult, I still have a love of Jane Austin literature, and have a keen interest in the Bloomsbury Group of Writers, but I hope you may be able to read one of my five chosen books between the sheets maybe before you turn the lights out.!!

Lastly I leave you with John Keats and part of his poem - 'Ode to a Nightingale'

Keats wrote 150 Poems, but those upon which his reputation rests were written in the span of nine months, from January to September 1819. This intense flowering of talent remains unparalleled in literary history.

In the Spring of 1819, a Nightingale had built her nest near John Keats friend and room-mate's house, Keats felt a tranquil and continual joy in her song, and one morning he took his chair from the breakfast-table to the grass plot under a plum tree, where he sat for 2-3 hours, it was there Keats composed the poem 'Ode to a Nightingale'. The main picture here is of Keats painted by Joseph Severn, listening to a Nightingale in Hampstead Heath in London.

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains

One minute past, and Lethe -wards had sunk

'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,

But being too happy in thine happiness,

That thou, light-winged Dryed of the trees

In some melodious plot

Of beeches green and shadows numberless,

Singest of summer in full throated ease.

There is a very definate way that one can tell a good poem, it leaves you with a very undefinable feeling. You become pensive, stare at nothing and think.

CAMILLA - WHERE I LIVE

I live in Reepham the market town located between Norwich and Holt, on the North Norfolk coast. Reepham's attractive historic market town was granted a market charter in 1277 during the reign of Edward I- much of the 18th Century Market Place is a designated Conservation area. This Georgian Norfolk Town, the name Reepham, (Pronounced Reefam) is Anglo-Saxon - 'Meadow of the Reeve'. It is also mentioned in the Domesday Book, and it is not sure which reeve it may have been, a manorial reeve or a church reeve or even a royal reeve.

Set as it is, in the clay heathlands this was a pastoral area with open fields clustered around the town, water meadows along the streams and grazing lands stretching across the heaths until enclosed and eventually ploughed up and made arable in the Wartime.

The town boasts enticing places to eat, and interesting independent shops, we have two butchers to die for, Bonham's Auction House, a general food store, a health food shop, chemist, one greengrocer, three Estate Agents, one Bank, and three pubs including The Old Brewery House which is a Hotel and Restaurant. This houses a public swimming pool and a gym. There is also a swish Florists Shop, an Antique Shop, and a posh Tearoom. Reepham's old railway has been renovated into an Aladdin's Cave that sells gorgeous furniture and beautiful chinaware, it has a large georgian Conservatory sitting on the edge of the disused railway line where one can have a spot of lunch or beverages. The local Post Office has been in the same family for many years and it stocks everything from stamps, books, milk, pies, and much more, I would be very sad to see it go, as I think it is a very important part of the community. The ladies who serve behind the counters always have a smile and a cheer, and always so helpful.

The Bircham Institute a former private house is now used mainly as the local library, it is also used as the WI where local people contribute by making Jams and Pies and homemade Cakes. The original building was 17th Century but it was greatly altered in the 19th Century. Once the home of the Rector of Hackford, it was eventually given to the town by a member of the Bircham family to be used as a reading room and meeting place, a use that it has well fulfilled.

Market Day is on every Wednesday where people set up their stalls to sell their wares, and abundance of fresh flowers and plants. Hundreds of years ago Reepham Market Place was the centre for the Cattle Market which eventually died out.

Reepham's unique claim to fame is it's 'shared churchyard', shared not by two but three separate Parish Churches. It is wondered if this indicated a very early sacred site? it is the correct situation and shape for this, or it could have been a celtic Monastry with several small churches. Whatever the reason, the Parishes nearby of Hackford and Whitwell met in Reepham and each built a Church in the Churchyard. Hackford burnt down in a town fire in the Sixteenth Century, but Whitwell's - St Michael's and Reepham's St Mary's continued with separate incumbents until the 1930's. Parishioners of St Michael's claim to have heard St Mary's singing their final hymn whilst they were still listening to the sermon.

The town also has a Primary School and a High School, the latter was praised for it's work in building International link by Unicef Ambassador former war correspondent Martin Bell. The man in the 'white suit' made comments as he formally awarded British Council International School Status to Reepham High School. Recently the High School has been granted funding of £5,265,000 to build a new Sixth Form which should be completed in 2009.

The famous Parson Norfolk Diarist - Parson Woodforde, did his shopping in Reepham in the 1700's. Some ten years ago Reepham was used as a setting for an adaptation of the classic story The Secret Garden.

WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD - BOOKS

When I was a child my Mother always read childrens stories to me, I have a fond memory of the Classic Books at the time. Alice in Wonderland stuck firmly in my mind too, about a young girl chasing a White Rabbit down a hole, and imbibes a strange concoction which has a strange effect on her.

I think I did have Picture Books, today there are numerous ones with gorgeous illustrations.

I began reading a book when very young probably at the age of six or seven

I was a shy child unable to mix very well, by reading I could visualise myself into another fantasy world.

My Mother always gave me books as gifts for Birthdays and Christmas. I had a wonderful English Tutor at High School, I owe him my passion for Literature. He had a kind calm manner, and he always instilled an eagerness for me wanting to know more of the English Language.

There was quite a few book characters who influenced my behaviour. What Katy Did was one, and also May Alcott's Novel - Little Women.

If you were to ask me were there any places in a book that I longed to be I would say, I loved my home life with my Mother, but I craved for the countryside, to be on a farm with Horses and Sheep, and Geese.

I had never read Poetry until I was 17 years, I was introduced to John Donne by a friend since then I have been hooked and I am so passionate about Poems now.

I also enjoyed Fairy Story's, I love the idea that there might be Fairies living at the bottom of the Garden, good kind Fairies only though, that are there to watch over you. Beautiful books to mind are that of The Water Babes by Charles Kingsley.

I cannot ever remember a book that I did not like.

I think some of the modern writers ot literature will survive the test of time, authors like - Kenneth Grahame, J.K. Rowling, Jacqueline Wilson, Enid Blyton, C.S.Lewis, A.A.Milne, and Beatrix Potter. There sadly will be others that will just fade out.

Do I think that writing as a child made me want to become a writer?

Definately Yes.!

If I wrote for children in the future would it be Poetry, Novel, Film, Quick Read, Short Story etc., it would have to be Short Story's - I have had a few short stories published mainly for adults in magazine's. I think it is much harder to write for children, although I do have one unfinished manuscript of a children's story I began writing nearly twenty years ago.

I have children, and grandchildren and young friends and relatives who all have a great passion for reading I think it is important to encourage literature at a very young age, and the illustrations along with the written word is so precious.

They all visit the Library on a regular basis.

I do buy books for children but mainly I use the local Library for books, latest book purchased for a teenager was Jacqueline Wilson and J.K.Rowling. My son is in publishing so I am fortunate to get these at a discount, recent ones were the complete set of Beatrix Potter.

I think the love of books are becoming rarer, I believe young readers of the age of 3 - 14 years are still keen, but between the ages of 15 to very young adults, I think are receding.

Although there are TV Promotions, Man Booker Awards, Creative Writing Groups, we still need to be reassured that there will be even more Programmes on Books and Literature.

Sadly the Computer/TV/DVD screen has taken over from the written word, although my 13 year old granddaughter I am happy to say spends a lot of time reading.

I am hoping that all this new technology will not herald a decline of imagination.

The excitement of being able to read at one's pace whenever or wherever you wish, to be transported into a world of others imagination and creativity is truly wonderful.

If you asked me if I had one favourite book from childhood, there would be many.

Heidi

What Katy Did

Little Women

Wind In The Willows

Winnie The Pooh

Enid Blyton

Roald Dahl - I love Charlie and The Chocloate Factory

Pinnocchio

Peter Pan

Black Beauty

Beatrix Potter Stories

Hans Christian Anderson

Rudyard Kipling

The Water Babes by Charles Kinglsey- Illustrated by M.W.Tarrant

All Horse and Pony Books.

Alice In Wonderland

If I were to be sent to a Desert Island and were only allowed one children's book, it would have to be - Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The famous friendship of Ratty and Mole, whose adventures with Badger and Otter, together with the outragous Mr Toad, has delighted me since I first read the book. It captures- life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, and winter firesides.

Thank you Dear Cait for allowing me to follow up the Survey, and bringing home to me again all those wonderful memories I have of those beautiful precious books.

SERENITY OF LIFE

Busy - that's how most of us define our lives. Rarely do we slow down enough to collect our thoughts, feel the earth beneath our feet, or just let the wonder of existence wash over us. Yet calm moments are vital to our physical, mental, and spiritual well being.

For centuries, poets and philosophers have spoken of the universal desire for serenity - for those fleeting tranquil moments when the whirl of life slows down long enough for our blessings to come into focus. The electronic age has given us the ability to do more and more, faster and faster; at the same time, our need for a balance between work and leisure, action and reflection, has not diminished at all. In fact, since modern life is so fraught with stress and worry, our need for serenity has grown.

A quiet moment with a child, the satisfaction of a job well done, a chat with a friend, a span of time alone to think and dream - serenity is a million different things to a million different people. Yet, fundamentally, it is the same for us all - the need for an uninterrupted slice of time in which we can appreciate the world around us and listen to the world inside us, and pray for PEACE too.

Here is a poem that I came across by the Poet - JOHN RUSKIN

To watch the corn grow, and the blossoms set;

To draw hard breath over ploughshare or spade;

To read, to think, to love, to hope, to pray - these

Are the things that make (us) happy.

MY HOMEWORK

I have been tagged by the lovely Elizabethd to write 7 things about myself, thank you Elizabeth.

Think I have done this before but will give it a go again, not sure what I wrote previously.

I have been known to be 'labelled' - eccentric, away with the fairies, from another planet, and as mad as a hatter - that's alright by me, at least I'm not boring I say, like to stand out in a crowd.

The totality of my individual behaviour in life is very passionate and intense, this can be at a disadvantage for me when feelings and emotions are at a low, but wonderful when I am normally on a high. As by nature I am truly so enthusiastic about life, living with a depressive as I do, sometimes rubs off on me.

I have a fear of the dark and will not venture or drive out in the dark unless I really have to, something I found hard when doing night shifts at the hospital years ago. Not sure why I have this fear, as a child I cannot relate to any bad occurence.

I am left handed, I like the idea that the reason for this was because my Mother used to say that she carried me as a baby on her left hip.

I was knocked down by a car when I was twelve crossing the road and reading a book, I survived but could have been more serious, told you I had a love of books.

I am a hoarder of Artwork, there is something quite wonderful about an artists creativity hanging on one's wall.

Others believe me to be quite straight laced, and slow in coming forward, a tad serene, but if anyone gets the better of me, I can give them a run for their money.!

I live in HOPE.

If after you have read this and you would like to give it a go, be my guest.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

I have been tagged by the lovely Cait to write some HOUSEHOLD TIPS - here goes then.

Housework can be such a negative thing, no matter how many times one dusts and cleans, at the end of the day one never really has anything to show for their life's work, but we like to keep our home spic and span.

I like to keep a tidy home, but not a show home, I like it to be well lived in with rugs, numerous cushions, huge amount of artwork with jugs of flowers in each room. Another importance for me is table lamps, I do not have a passion for stark bright ceiling lights. Many a day or evening you will be able to spot heaps of books and Magazines strewn all over the floor, when they should be back in their pile on table or side by side on various book shelves.

I am allergic to certain chemicals so try to use natural remedies if at all possible. White Vinegar is always to hand, this I use to wash glass windows, and always get a smear free finish.

I have always used Lemon Juice for stain removing, good for using on carpets, or plastic, I usually dilute the Lemon Juice, but one can use neat also.

My furniture which is mainly Walnut and Mahogany, is rubbed over with a good tin of Wax Polish, but one can use a solution of Vinegar and Water first, then just buff up after with the Polish.

Although the dishwasher which is used quite frequently, now and again crockery does end up in the kitchen sink. To keep your stainless steel sink clean and shiny just use some Olive Oil on a soft cloth. Again by using the Lemon, this can make your taps shine and sparkle.

There is nothing worse than a grubby toilet, we all might loathe cleaning them, but of course vital they are kept clean. Many bleaches are used I know, but if you use Borax for cleaning out the toilet, it is environmentally friendly, anti-bacterial, helps to remove stains, and is effective also a deodoriser. Sorry chaps, but men always have a habit of keping the toilet seat up, best to keep it down, as by doing this it avoids catapulting germs around newly cleaned bathroom when flushing the loo.

Lastly, rather than Air Freshener, if you place a fabric softner sheet in the wastepaper basket, or add a dab of fragrence on a light bulb, this gives good effect, also when lightbulb is switched on, the heat releases the aroma, this good tip given to me by a very good friend of mine.

Now after all that cleaning think you deserve a glass of wine, and feet up with a good book, oh nearly forgot, white wine is very useful for keeping your glass shower doors free from stains and limescale.

Happy Good Housekeeping everyone, a chore I know, but someone's got to do it, and what better way than to stick an Ipod in your ear, and listen to a favourite piece of music while you are whizzing around in your Pinny and Marigolds.

Note Books and Journals

I dont know about others, but I cannot do without my Note Books and Journals. I keep a Dreambook also where I jot down daily things which take my fancy, and maybe snippets of Magazine cuttings. These books are stacked on my writing desk, together with pretty jugs of various pens and pencils.

My desk in the Study is a little too small for my liking, and eventually I do hope to purchase a new one, good idea also perhaps would be for me to go to one of the Auction Houses to see if I can pick up a lovely Antique one. I like the idea of a desk being owned by some other, to know that many hours this piece of furniture was used in it's entirity for some creative piece of work.

This brings to mind about our lovely Crystal who now owns her beloved Father's desk, I can understand how she feels so much affection for that desk.

Happy writing everyone.

Camilla.x