Well, well its all happening..... https://womenuk.co.uk/opinion/navigating-the-w-word-widowhood-in-grief/ My first article has been published. See link above. My poetry book is well on the way to being published........ A children's book is waiting for a yes or no from the publishers.  Three more things on the go. First writing course completed Diploma in Professional Writing in my hot little hands. Second course 75% complete.  Its all go Cuppa Jo ..read more

https://www.facebook.com/hattersleywriting With my new poetry book being published soon as well as an article for an online magazine, I thought it time to promote my writing out there in a Facebook page ..read more

2020 Look back to the good memories. Look forward to the new ones. Happy 2020. May the roaring twenties be here to stay ..read more

Band of Brothers For about the sixth time in as many years, I am currently settled into watching Band of Brothers. The Steven Spielberg second world war epic that covers the Airborne's 506th Regiment, otherwise known as “Easy Company”.  Every time I watch this series I feel that I spot something else that I missed on one of the other occasions. As I watch Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon having a heated discussion about what he is drinking and how much, I see a disappointment in Nixon’s eyes when he realises he has been demoted however this changes swiftly as he updates his troops. These mo ..read more

Christmas...... I don’t know whether I am looking forward to it. Every year in our house, my husband made sure that Christmas was something special. Not because it was Christmas, but because it was my birthday. Having a birthday on Christmas Day could be two things. Lousy as it gets lost in the saga of Christmas and everything surrounding it or it would be the complete opposite.  My husband always went for “the opposite”. He always made my birthday something special. He always seemed to have remembered something from through the year that I had seen and liked. Lo and behold, it usually turn ..read more

So as we move into December...... How did December roll round so quick?  With everything that has gone on this year, December seemed to jump up and give me a slap on the face. I woke up on 1st December and suddenly realised that I had no cards written, no Christmas letter done, no notes, no nothing. Was I just holed up in everything that had happened or had I turned into a Bah Humbug kind of girl? I have never been that Bah Humbug kind of girl. I absolutely love Christmas. Probably having something to do with the fact that I am a birthday girl too, the day just has double meaning. Howeve ..read more

Reading a book and recognising yourself. When you wonder if you wrote the book yourself!! I am one of my family’s most avid readers and over the years have enjoy thousands of great reads. Given my recent foray into widow-hood I have found myself reading more lately, I suppose as a form of escapism. I stumbled on this book, started reading yesterday and already am half way through. “Confessions of a mediocre widow or how I lost my husband and my sanity”  is a reflective piece written by Catherine Tidd after the sudden loss of her husband Brad following a motorcycle accident. It chronicles th ..read more

Christmas Looming My first one without my soul mate Every year we would trundle out the old Christmas tree. Just over 6 foot high, fifteen years old and it dropped more needles than a real tree ever did! But it was ours, it was tradition and it was fun. This year,  I couldn't face it. Why was I getting a big tree out? Who for? So I bit the bullet and sold it. Bought a smaller one and minimised my decorating.  Every year we used to have ornaments with the year written on them. That was our tradition since we had lived in Australia but now that had to change. I couldn't do that anymore. I cou ..read more

A ..read more