Diary of a Writer – Out of Lockdown – really?

Colour Mine Autumn

Are we out of Lockdown – no, not really. Avoiding shopping, buses, eating out and friends, relatives and neighbours is becoming all too familiar. Three cheers for Zoom, the telephone and knitting. DH and I couldn’t get slots for the Botanics at the weekend as they had all gone. While that is very good news for the Botanics, it’s a bit disappointing for us. We contented ourselves with a walk up to the local cemetery where the size and variety of trees in their autumn colours is good. Also collected some free cooking apples from a kind gardener – who’d posted both a notice and a bag of carrier bags. Thank you.

And the knitting? Nearly finished a child’s cardigan and making good progress with a sweater. Also doing some charity knitting. Crisis at Christmas will be operating differently this year as dormitory accommodation won’t do. Consequently the people who knit for them on a regular, year by year basis have been asked for blankets as well as socks. A younger relative has blogged about this and I’ve downloaded the details. Several of my friends are stepping up and we should manage a 20 square blanket in time.

CAPITAL WRITERS

                                                      Jane riddell

Kate B at Penrith

Jennifer Young

These lovely ladies are my partners in Capital Writers. Together we’ve published

Capital Collection

Separately, there are many more titles. But, drumroll, there’s another joint effort planned for Hallowe’en. Darker, grittier and altogether appropriate for sparklers and baked potatoes…

Call back for details.

Anne

 

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Lockdown – 2020 -5- RBS initiative on Foodbanks

Woken to the return of sunshine and blue skies which is delightful and means people will be able to get out into their gardens.

Magnolia, home

The news this morning is of an initiative (I did need the dictionary) up and running at Royal Bank of Scotland, Gogar. They’re collecting non-perishable food and hygiene necessities for onward transmission to Social Bite and the Trussell Trust.

It’s for firms and not individuals, folks. We can still leave physical or monetary contributions at many places.

In other news – the Prime Minister and two other top blokes have symptoms of the virus. Also, The Prince of Wales.

The fish van did call and we enjoyed smoked haddock and leek in a mustard sauce last night. Fishmonger thinks yesterday might be it until ‘the other side’.

A really long walk yesterday afternoon in the mist, but dry. The new jacket is great, should anyone be wondering. Replenished our bread supply and bought some iffy looking dry sherry. However, it was okay.

I met a friend out with her D-i-L and the toddler granddaughter. The last named keeping her social distance as to the manor born. Lovely to catch sight of people and know the world still exists out there.

Not everyone has seen that Edinburgh isn’t collecting glass meantime and some of the boxes are looking a bit murky. The garden rubbish went early. Three cheers for the binmen.

Good progress with A Lady of Quality. My but Lucilla is annoying. If I were her aunt, I might take a wee while to tell anyone she’d gone missing.

Yesterday’s codeword in the Scotsman was sneaky. Certainly shook me up.

Got back to the WIP although progress was slow.

Anyone else find they’re sleeping longer nights? A return, perhaps, to winter hibernation.

Capital Collection – a selection of short stories by Anne, and also Kate Blackadder, Jane Riddell and Jennifer Young.

Anne

A Capital Collection and a capital Christmas Tree

Creel Christmas Tree, Ullapool

I’m beginning to feel the Christmas Season is underway and I thought I’d re-post this pic from Ullapool as they’re having the wonderful tree made from fishing creels again this year.

On the writing front, I contributed a short story to the Mayfield Salisbury day of storytelling to mark the 150th anniversary of CrossReach. CrossReach is the social responsibility arm of the Church of Scotland and does so much with people in difficult circumstances.

Capital Writers have produced a collection including the CrossReach stories. Published for kindle this week, you can get a copy here Capital Collection.

What’s special about your own tree?, if you have one. I have a treasured collection of tree decorations. I might share some pics later.

Anne