Next Wave at Looe

Had a fantastic day today. We did an assembly at the school where our church meets, using our puppets and doing a Christian parody of, 'Dancing Queen.' Tonight I went down to Looe to meet with nineteen children and four teachers (including the head) as we had arranged for them, throught the church, to have an overnight stay on board The Next Wave ship in Looe bay. The Next Wave is a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) ship that is based in Liverpool but sails all over the world. They agreed to take some children from the school helping to cement links between the school and the church, but also as a trip of a lifetime for some of these kids, who although they live twenty miles from some of the best beaches in the UK have rarely, if ever, been to the sea. The church paid for them all to have fish and chips and they all came dressed as pirates (even the staff). The ship's crew were all dressed as pirates too and they had bought a Jolly Roger to fly from the mast (hope the Navy do not get too interested!!!). It was fantastic to be involved and enjoy a meal with the kids before playing with them on the beach and then waving them off into the bay on the boat.
Some days go past unremarkably but today is a day that will remain special to me for a long time. The look on the faces of the children and the opportunity we have been able to afford them is a rare privilege. The photo is of The Next Wave as it took our happy band of pirates out to sea tonight. I confess to feeling very emotional waving off these kids on the ship as they were calling, "Bye Michelle", particularly as some of them only know me as the lady who comes in with the puppets!!! A good day!

A milestone...am I a real writer now?

Although this is a picture of a milestone on the Camel Trail near where I live, it is an illustration of how I have been feeling this past couple of days, (no not made of stone and static!)

Last post I was fretting about whether I had done the right thing, well I rang the first publisher and the next day received a letter and my manuscript back. I have my first rejection letter...does that make me a real writer? It was a really nice rejection letter, which helps from a Christian publisher, and they gave me some good feedback but they had no room on their list for a holiday club programme till 2011!!! Oh well, I will keep some irons in the fire with it and maybe repackage it a bit before I send it anywhere else. I was kind of expecting the letter but it was a little disappointing all the same. Just a decision about whether I file or frame it as a milestone in my embryonic writing career. I guess if I file it, it is an excuse to buy a nice scrapbook!!

I have had a manic weekend that involved a school fair, a preschool fair and my baptism of fire into the world of face painting under pressure. I hope I still have some friends on Monday rather than comments like, "What did you do to my kid?" or "I still cannot get the blue face paint of the dolphin/peacock/butterfly out of her hair you know!!" However I did have the joy of finishing the prologue for my novel which has started the momentum of writing for me again. Hopefully I will start on Chapter One this week and try to do some more planning. My new memory stick now has a neck strap on it, so hopefully I will not lose this one (they do not make them with a homing device installed yet!!)

Memory Stick, Email and CV

Well I have had a very wet day, as I am sure all of you out there in Blogger land have too!! I had had a great night last night writing a prologue for my children's book. I had thought about taking a slightly different approach and off I went scribbling away while listening to Magic on Sky (radio station). I have had to wait to put it on to the PC however as my memory stick is still stuck in the parallel universe, but joy of joys my new memory stick arrived from ebay this morning. It has a huge memory (4GB) and only cost me £8 HOWEVER it is about half the physical size of the one that has gone missing...how am I going to manage to not lose this one!! Answers on a posting please!

I am still waiting for a publisher to come back to me about a manuscript I wrote for a Children's holiday programme, it has been six weeks since I sent it and I am getting a little anxious now as to whether I should make a polite phone call to ascertain what the defined waiting period for a response is from this publisher. Impatience rules and I sent a couple of prospective fishing emails to the editorial sections of a couple of other similar publishers, attaching the synopsis of the manuscript to one. Tonight...fall off the chair moment, one of these publishers has come back to me agreeing to read the synopsis and asking me for my CV...wait wait, back up...a what? I have never written my own CV. I used to teach people how to write theirs but had never done my own, so here I am at 11.45pm blogging after just finishing proof reading and emailing my CV to this publisher.

Now I am worrying I have done it all wrong by not waiting for the response of the first publisher before sending it elsewhere, what if the first publisher wants it...what if the second one wants it and the first one has not replied yet...what if neither wants it...what if both want it....no that's not likely. What if the CV is rubbish? What if they fall off their chairs laughing? OK cannot change it now, wait and see Mick, stop panicking and going off on one.

Who's well that ends well

All is well with the world for me tonight!!! (Spoiler alert for anyone who cares and has not watched tonights final episode of Dr Who). DT remains as the Doctor, so I can enjoy his presence on my TV for while longer yet. I know I am a grown woman of 35 (and a half) but maybe it is the testimony to the great writing on this series that I am totally addicted. Sci-Fi is not always my thing, but I enjoy clever plots, intelligent and funny dialogue and a reality to the characters that for the most part Dr Who gives. It can never be totally happy ever after as we saw tonight but it is enough to give closure for children (and for me!!).

Planning to do some writing tonight, maybe another 30 minute piece, if I have time after tiding up as may have visitors from up-country tomorrow. Also my sister has given me a recipe for a pastry free quiche, so may give that a go too.

The memory stick has gone with Rose back to the parallel universe so I am facing the fact I am going to have to start to rewrite the chapter summaries...bother!...well at least I hadn' gone too far with it.
Have a great weekend every one.

Tagged by Tam

Tam has tagged me for a different MeMe, so here it goes:

What were you doing ten years ago?

I was working for a carers charity in Surrey, enjoying my first year of marriage and having lie ins on a Saturday morning beyond 7am!

Five things on my to do list for today

1. Put my ironing away(only fair as hubby did it all last night)
2. Collect the eggs from the chickens
3. Make a quiche (ate the one in the fridge from the previous Meme)
4. Hoover my car (floor looks like a woodland forest)
5. Google for directions to a conference tomorrow

What are three of your bad habits?

1. Putting myself down
2. Not being able to say No
3. Not getting enough sleep

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

I would buy a small holding with chcikens, ducks, horses and sheep. It would need a big barn that could be converted to a bookshop/rural cafe for budding writers to come and be inspired and to write with lattes. It would have extensive country views and be near the sea....oh and I would also get a cleaner!

What are some snacks you enjoy?

1. Crackers and mature cheese with red onion chutney
2. Galaxy chocolate
3. Almonds
4. Cherries
5. Raspberries
6. Scones with jam and clotted cream (well I do live in Cornwall!!!)

What were the last five books you read?

1. Stardust Neil Gaiman
2. Wolf Brother Michelle Paver
3. Spirit Walker Michelle Paver
4. Soul Eater Michelle Paver
5. Outcast Michelle Paver

I guess you can see I have got a little hooked on this series!!! Planning to re read the Chronicles of Narnia now.

What five jobs have you had?

1. Shop assistant at Chessington World of Adventures (really not as exciting as it sounds)
2. Teacher/Instructor at Day Centre for adults with learning Disabilities (Great fun - loved it)
3. Carers Support Worker (Humbling experience)
4. Customer Service Assistant at huge branch of M & S in Kingston (got to serve my then headmistress who was returning unwanted Christmas pressies)
5. Support aid to Michael Aspel's disabled son (then 13 years old). Nice man, Mr Aspel, bump started my knackered metro over speed humps when the battery died after I left my lights on.

Name five places I have lived

1. Chessington (Surrey)
2. Reading (at Uni)
3. Polperro (rented for 1 year)
4. Lanivet (near Bodmin)

Have not lived anywhere else but spent 1 month in the Falkland Islands when I was three visiting my dad's relatives with my parents, where I had the dubious pleasure of falling down a penguin burrow!!!

So that is a bit more about me, hope the piccy gets some of you salivating suitably!