Author: dianacranstoun

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Salutation to the Dawn

I’ve been struggling to get back into the groove since I got back from my holiday. What to blog about? Hmmm. How about ‘favourites’?

I’ve never been a big fan of poetry – going to blame that on having to learn by rote the most boring poems in the world when I was at school back in the Dark Ages. However, a few years ago I watched a beautiful TV series called 2,000 Acres of Sky. (Click)  In one episode, a character stood on a beach and recited the following poem. I found it so inspiring that I spent an hour walking around a loch in Scotland learning it by heart.  Returning to Canada, I wrote it on the window in my hall so I would see it every morning.  (FYI, I rewrite it every couple of months after cleaning the window!)

Salutation to the Dawn by Kalidasa.

Look to this day, for it is life. The very life of life.

In its brief course lie all the realities and verities of your existence. The bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendour of beauty.

For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow merely a vision.

But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

Such is the salutation of the ever new dawn.

Dawn photo

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Surprise Day – Part Four

Last, but not least, our final destination, Red Cross Gardens (Click), a street away from Cross Bones Graveyard, and a real hidden treasure.

There’s a memorial plaque there to Octavia Hill. (Click) I’d never heard of her before, but she was a famous social reformer of in the 19th Century and one of the three founders of The National Trust. (Click)

OctaviaHill

It was just after lunch when we visited there.  Children were racing around the paths, office workers relaxing on the (burned – hey, it was 30C) grass beside the lily pond.

plaque

What I love about London is all its secret places. My idea of heaven on earth?  To spend a month (or two) in London so I could start to scratch beneath its tourist surface.  But for starters, next time I’m going to follow this Secret London/Borough (Click) walk, and this walk through some of their secret parks. (Click)

It was a fabulous day. Thanks, J. I’m looking forward to our next trip and the next surprise day.  (Pressure’s on!)

Apologies for all the ‘clicks’, but I just realised that the links weren’t showing up very well in all my posts and some of them are really interesting.

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Surprise Day – Part Three

Hmmm.  I think I’ve got my timing a little wrong.  We might have gone for lunch before going to Cross Bones Cemetery.

No matter – lunch was wonderful – both the food and the unique location!

J took me to The George Inn, which I believe is the only remaining coaching inn in London. It’s now a National Trust property and another great place to visit if you’re in the Southwark area.  Charles Dickens spent some time here and mentions it in one of his books. It was a wonderful place to sit, relax and reflect on what we’d seen that morning.

The George

The meal was delicious – as was the glass of wine that accompanied it. In fact, the meal was too much for me, so make sure you’re hungry when you visit.

GeorgeFood

I worked in the Southwark/London Bridge area a l-o-n-g time ago. In those days, it wasn’t the kind of place you wanted to hang around – our Nurses’ Home in Bayswater was a much better area in which to spend time – so it’s lovely to see how the whole South Bank and the Borough/Lambeth/Southwark areas have been regenerated.

Did I mention I love London??

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Surprise Day – Part Two

The second part of my surprise day was pretty special.  A few years ago, when J and I were last in the UK, we watched a documentary called History Cold Case on the BBC  (watch it HERE) where historians and forensic investigators attempt to solve the riddle of skeletons found in unusual places. (The Windy Pits episode is truly creepy!)

Having recovered the bones of a young woman from a communal grave in Cross Bones Graveyard in Borough, the investigative team then tried to figure out who she was and reconstructed her face.  The investigation into her sad life was fascinating, but seeing her ‘come to life’ was incredible.

It turns out that back in the day, the Bishop of Winchester gave licences to prostitutes and brothels to allow them to operate – the prostitutes actually being known as Winchester Geese.  However, when they died, the church was no longer interested in them and their bodies casually disposed of in Cross Bones Graveyard.

Crossbones plaque

Nowadays, on the 23rd of each month, a memorial service is held to commemorate their lives. In remembrance, ribbons, flowers and trinkets are attached the the iron gates of the now disused graveyard.

Crossbones

A fascinating story and very unusual memorial.  Cross Bones Graveyard is definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourself in the Southwark/Borough Market area in London.

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Surprise Day – Part One

I love London. It’s my favourite city in the world. The first time I visited as a child, the magic of the place caught my heart and imagination.  I try and visit once a year, and this summer spent ten days in the city with another writer friend –  30C heat and royal baby included!

This trip, I suggested that we arrange a ‘surprise day’ for each other.  The day J arranged for me fell into four delicious parts.  This is part one.

I love the cinema.  Love it, love it, LOVE it!  From the first time I walked into the darkened theatre and watched Danny Kaye as Hans Christian Andersen as a five year-old, I was hooked. There’s something wonderful about the lights going down and a story unfolding in front of your eyes. So J’s first treat for my surprise day was a visit to London’s Cinema Museum.

Museum2

It’s an amazing place and if you’re a movie afficionado, you must check it out.  On our guided tour we viewed original art deco cinema doors, posters, ushers’ uniforms, even the air fresheners and original tokens (instead of tickets) they used in the olden days. Fascinating.

Cinemaartifacts

Ironically, a few days before I left Canada, I’d watched a documentary called The Secrets of the Workhouse.  It traced the histories of various celebrities’ ancestors who had spent time in the workhouse.  Charlie Chaplin was one of those celebrities, and the workhouse where he lived… ?  Well it now houses London’s Cinema Museum.

Check out Part One of the documentary HERE .

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Theme – Les Miserables

I went to see Les Mis a few weeks ago.  It’s the fourth time I’ve seen it performed on stage, and, as always, I bawled at the end. For me it’s just the most perfect of shows.  It has everything; great characters, a great story and great music.

In my opinion, what pulls it all in so tightly is its theme.  (Yeah, I’m on that roll again!)

Okay, so what is ‘theme’?  According to wikipedia it’s ‘the central topic a text treats’.  The thematic concept is what the work is about. These are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

I believe the theme of Les Mis is simple and clear, but I decided to google Les Miserables + theme. Here are a ‘few’ of the ‘themes’ they suggested.

1) Importance of Love and Compassion.

2) Social Injustice in 19th Century France.

3) The long term effects of the French revolution of French Society.

4) Redemption and Social Justice.

5) Identity.

6) Education.

PUR-LEEESE. The list is endless.

Maybe I have a different take on ‘theme’ but I think Les Mis is about one thing only (and its opposite).  Enslavement and Freedom.

If you can put the theme of your story into one word, and then illustrate that word (or its opposite) in each scene you will create a tight, powerful story. Which is exactly what Les Mis does.

http://www.stlyrics.com/l/lesmiserables.htm

Here’s an excerpt from the first song in Les Mis.

LOOK DOWN:

[PRISONERS]
Look down, look down,
You’ll always be a slave
Look down, look down,
You’re standing in your grave

[JAVERT]
Now bring me prisoner 24601
Your time is up
And your parole’s begun
You know what that means.

[VALJEAN]
Yes, it means I’m free.

And here’s an excerpt from the last.  Do you see a common ‘theme’?

EVERYDAY:

VALJEAN
She was never mine to keep.
She is youthful, she is free.

So here’s a challenge for you. Check out this link http://www.stlyrics.com/l/lesmiserables.htm to Les Mis lyrics.  Read through them and see just how many refer to the theme of enslavement of freedom.  Interesting, eh?  (Hey… I’ve lived in Canada for a long time!)

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RNA Conference – Day Three

A day absolutely jam-packed with craft and industry workshops.

Nice to hear from the editors of the different houses exactly what it is they are looking for – and that they are actively seeking new voices.

Also some great craft workshops with presenters offering an interesting take on Creating Character and Romantic Story Structure.

About to get packed now, have dinner, say my goodbyes then get a good night’s sleep before heading down to London tomorrow for the holiday portion of the trip.

 

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RNA Conference – Day Two

Catching a breather before getting all glammed up for the Gala Dinner.

It’s been a busy day, packed with useful information and a great meeting with an editor.

Some of the highlights?  Using Theme to deepen and focus your novel. The opportunities of publishing with Harlequin outwith their category series. Young Adult and New Adult Fiction. Cross genres – Robot Porn?  The difference between UK and North American markets. Diversifying your career. The beginning of the journey after you’ve been published.

Lots to think about and absorb.

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RNA Conference – Day One

Opening day of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Conference in Sheffield, England.  I joined the RNA through their New Writers’ Scheme at the beginning of the year and decided to take the plunge and go to their summer conference.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not the kind of person who is comfortable walking into a room of total strangers, so last night the butterflies started. Big time!

As it turns out, I had nothing to fear.  Everyone has been extremely friendly.

All kinds of impressions from the first day, but being surrounded by so many successful authors, some with over 60 books published, here’s the one that stands out the most.

Writers WRITE.

They don’t talk about it. They sit down at their laptops and, as the advert says, they just DO it.

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On my way … sort of.

I’m sitting in YYC awaiting the London flight to take me to the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference in Sheffield.

On the down side, all flights have been delayed because of the disruption in Toronto yesterday so we’ll be taking off at 2230 instead of 1920.  On the up side, it’s giving me time to read through all the conference information that I haven’t had time to look at because of the madness of the past few weeks. And it sounds like it’s going to be a great weekend – once I get there.  I’m starting to get excited!

Reading through the comments from previous attendees, they suggest bringing along snacks and wine.  Not an easy thing to do crossing the pond.  Thank goodness for the internet – there’s a Marks and Spencer Simply Food at Sheffield Station.  I will definitely be calling in there before getting a taxi out to the conference centre.  Yayyy!

Watch this space.