My brother is ‘doing’ both Veganuary and Dry January. Of course, he is ‘doing’ these two challenges in his own inimitable way, which means basically not doing them at all, at least not in the obvious way. Therefore, he says, he is a vegan every day between meal times, and he is ‘dry’ every day until 4 p.m when he has a beer. I think it’s all down to percentages. If a meal takes 20 minutes to consume, that means every day for 23 hours he is a vegan. It’s just the single hour a day when he indulges in bacon, sausages, chicken, beef. It’s how his mind works. Anything with a 90% success rate might as well be 100%. Mad.
Anyway, he messaged me this evening to say he’d just made some bread sauce (to go with his roast chicken) and had used a bay leaf from a packet with a 2005 date stamp on it. I responded that I doubted it would make any difference and he said, well, it didn’t last time. I have pondered sending him some fresh bay leaves from my bay tree. Just in case.
Do you remember my bay tree? Started off a foot high, exploded into an eight feet high monstrosity, was then dug up and relocated when we had the patio done a couple of years ago, and then promptly died because it didn’t like being moved? Well, my friends, it seems the bay tree is made of stern stuff, for in the last year it has started sprouting again from the bottom of its deadness! It’s like Lady Boothby, the Back Door Fuchsia all over again. Hurrah! All I need do is take the loppers to the dead bit and nurture the new growth. A job for the middle of Summer, I think, so I don’t shock the poor thing during this cold snap.
As for my own January ‘doings’ (which involve neither veganism nor drinking alcohol which I don’t do anyway so I’ve already won that challenge!) I have begun by taking out a paper subscription to Writing Magazine.
Now, I can read Writing Magazine for free on the library website (join a library! The free access newspapers, magazines and books saves a huge amount of money!) BUT when I have a paper copy in my cold little hands, I tend to read more thoroughly. I’m not really a fan of reading from an electronic device. Just ask my Kindle that is languishing in a drawer somewhere. I tend to skim read when I read electronically. Proper books and magazines will always be Queen in my world.
Anyway, I used to subscribe to Writing Magazine years ago - in fact, I managed to get myself shortlisted in the final 10 for one of their competitions way back in 2008. But then I stopped subscribing because I was too busy being a teacher to have the time to write properly. However, now I am a retired lady of leisure and time is plentiful, what I intend to do this year is enter loads of writing competitions. And being a subscriber means some of those competitors are free to enter and others are reduced fees. Also, I get a free copy of The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2024, which is like the bible for all writers and authors. Also, if you subscribe, the cover price is £4 a month whereas if you buy individuals copies it is £7.99. Blimey, when did magazines get so expensive? And that is why I belong to a library so I can read them all for free!
This month’s edition comes with the added bonus of a competition guide for the whole year which will be a handy little tome to have. I shall be setting about it with my highlighter pen immediately.
More immediately, I have started writing a short story for a competition on the theme of ‘Winter.’ The first thing I did was write down everything the word ‘Winter’ makes me think of and then I discounted these ideas because they are the clichés that everyone else will be using. I wrote the first 600 words and then shared them and the story idea with Andy who said it was original. And he laughed, too, which was good as it has a comedic slant to it. Thus I feel I am on the right track. The competition deadline is on my calendar. I’m being very business like about this ‘doing.’
Once the competition deadlines are met, and if nothing comes of my entries, then I shall use them for fodder on my blog. I am also planning to blog every day. Which might result in some days of absolute drivel. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Comments
KJ