August 16, 2017

Swimming in the Aegean

Fran Macilvey, Happiness Matters 0 Comments

Swimming in the Aegean

 

The soft Aegean

Rocks and salts my palid skin

Burned red by hot sun

A haiku for my writing group, the Thistle Scribblers. Thanks for revealing and sharing the mystery of haikus.

Comparing notes with my sister yesterday, we agree that the Aegean is unusual – soft, it moves slowly. It appears to have no swell or breakers to speak of, the shoreline disrupted instead by waves generated by those in speedboats offering rides and thrills out in the flat waters just beyond the swimmers.

Where we were staying, on the island of Thassos, it proved easy, once beyond the pebbly shoreline, to swim in the cool, remarkably clean and clear water, which never felt very deep. There are platforms of rock everywhere to make it easy to stand upright in the waves, and the only hazard I found – apart from the sneaky hot sun – was in swallowing excess amounts of salt with the water.

We were warned to swim wearing sand shoes, which we did, to avoid the prickles of sea urchins, which I never saw up close. I could see those black spikeys hugging the less disturbed rocks directly below the lit-up terraces at our hotel in the evening. I suspect they need still waters to thrive best.

Which left me wondering – sometimes I wish I didn’t wonder so much – how much of plant and animal life is disturbed by the presence of swimmers, boats, dinghies, and water speeders of various sorts. They cross the surface of the ocean harmlessly enough, and relatively close by, but as I say, the Aegean is soft and slow, and I wonder whether even the smallest disruption has adverse effects.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

August 14, 2017

Our Big Five

Fran Macilvey, Fran's School of Hard Knocks, Happiness Matters 2 Comments

Our Big Five

No, not the animals in Africa that hunters find most difficult to track on foot; not the lion, the rhino, the leopard…

No, I’m only referring to our holiday travels. Our big five featured on our holiday to Greece, from which we have just returned burned, blistered and a bit dazed by the intense light and heat. I loved it, but even for me, it proved a bit too hot…

Our itinerary was a rather complicated:-

  • Taxi to Waverley station, train to London Kings Cross, Train from St Pancras station (‘Pancreas’ to my daughter) to Gatwick Airport, airport bus to Airport Hotel, pause.
  • Very early (4.30 am) bus to Gatwick, plane to Kavala Airport on mainland Greece, bus to ferry port, ferry to Thassos, coach to hotel resort.

Long pause for relaxation, swimming in the sea, drinking mocktails and admiring sunsets. Then everything in reverse on the way home.

Our big five, taxi, train, coach, plane and ferry took four days out of a ten day holiday; an interesting, fun and educative experience. Would I do it again?

Well, waiting for our flight home from Kavala, I noticed that while there was one flight to Gatwick leaving at 2pm, four flights to various cities in Germany were on the boards, all leaving earlier in the day. Which set me thinking. Since most of flying travel time is taken up with getting to airports, checking in with two hours to spare and hanging around in departure lounges, the fact of already being at an airport makes a transit flight for the second leg of a journey Gatwick / Edinburgh much more obviously appealing.

So if there is to be a next time, I will enquire if there are any flights from Bonn, say, to Edinburgh, and take two flights in one day. With the time difference of two hours from Greece, what seems an impossibility while standing in an Edinburgh travel agents, becomes more obvious when glancing at the flight boards in far flung places.

Thanks so much for reading!

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

August 12, 2017

Getting Back to Normal

Fran Macilvey, Fran's School of Hard Knocks, Happiness Matters 2 Comments

Getting Back to Normal

Welcome back after the long Summer break – I’m so pleased to be blogging again. It’s great to be getting back to normal, settling back into the usual routines.

But, hang on….

It seems we all take holidays and travel away, abroad in vast numbers each year for a week or two, to ‘get away from it all’. There are dozens of clichés about seeking adventure, a change of scene, finding oneself. And, getting away can make me feel bigger, more expansive, and helps to broaden my perspectives.

And I also love to come home. I revel in comfortable routines, a good bed, soft sheets, a great cup of tea, and familiar comforts; knowing I’m not going to have to deal with too many unexpected quirks…Those quirks that our flat has tend to be known. (Better not mention, then, the shower head in our hotel which hung limply, spraying water all over the floor instead of on me…)

But there is a big part of me that resists the return to ‘normal routines’. I can feel distinctly irked at the return of all the old – and frankly rather dated – expectations that it was a relief to relinquish for a week or so.

So here are my top tips for surviving the post-holiday blues.

 

  • If our first reaction when we come home is ‘Wow, our place feels very small…’ it’s a sign that we have grown during our time away.

 

  • Agree that expansion, change and growth are A Good Thing, both inevitable and precious. There is no going back to the old routines. Life changes forward.

 

  • In the familiarity of being at home, notice how old habits, which took a rest during our time away, resurface very fast. Decide which habits you want to change, and which are okay to keep.

 

  • We can be happy anywhere, so let’s keep the good mood around. There is no reason to send it packing just because we have come back home. Let’s laugh.

 

  • Let’s not go back to what other people expect or want from us. Why should we? Let’s do what we want to do, and leave other people to sort out their own lives.

 

Great plan. Thanks for reading.

 

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 30, 2017

Ongoing projects

Fran Macilvey, Happiness Matters, Path To Publication, The Rights & Wrongs of Writing 8 Comments

Ongoing projects

I have several ongoing projects, as I work best that way. The third book in my memoir/ MBS series, called, ‘Making Miracles’ is scheduled for publication before the end of the year; and the first of my fiction series, Lisa Somerville is being rewritten; these are my next two book projects for 2017.

But I also have some editing on-board for my mother, who has a lot of books to finish; plus – of course – all the usual routines and expectations which go with being a wife and mum – who is, let’s face it, rather tired, slightly over the hill and needs and enjoys a rest and a laugh, away from the usual pressures of routine. The older I get, the more I relish simple laughter, the more I find that relaxation keeps me going, deeply and more meaningfully than I realised before: what is the point of living so hard that we haven’t the time to laugh?

I’m keen to keep these projects going over the summer holidays; and yet, I really want a holiday too. From previously finding the time away from term routines bothersome, now I welcome the excuse to leave behind my usual shape and form, and move outside to different places, where I can feel refreshed, meet new people and benefit from a wider perspective. I don’t feel that any of that ‘gets in the way’ the way I used to – now it feels like a life-saver.

Perhaps that is one major advantage of getting older. I’m less bothered by what I suppose people expect, I simply want to feel happy, and that can happen in lots of simple ways: it’s not the expensive purchase, the delicious, exotic meals; it is simply setting routines aside for a day, or a weekend, and enjoying being happy, doing simple things like catching up on reading, warming my shoulders in the sun, phoning someone for a leisurely chat.

Thanks to all my friends for making life more fun than I ever thought possible; and thank you to Life for bringing the Summer vacation, during which I shall work, play and laugh at every opportunity. I hope to swim in the sea, dance carefully at nightfall and eat simple food sitting in the sun. Simple pleasures, and valuable.

Thanks for reading.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 28, 2017

Going into business

Fran Macilvey, Fran's School of Hard Knocks, Path To Publication 3 Comments

Going into business

Going into business on our own account, there are two things to know, and lots of stuff to discover:

First, we are going to make mistakes – some people call these ‘learning curves’, others prefer to see them as un-necessary detours, some as par for the course, but most of us see our mistakes as somehow reprehensible, un-necessary, wasteful and even, sometimes, shameful. Mistakes are none of these things. In fact, I would characterise them as necessary, valuable, and a matter of considerable pride – we can all recall the detours we made, but what makes them useful is to regard them as a sign that we are brave enough to take chances, to go out on a limb. Unless we can take our courage in both arms and take the leap, nothing can change, and we’ll never know what might happen.

Second, in order to minimise the fall-out from mistakes, we are going to have to learn new things, do research and take a compassionate view of our business decisions: in other words, we have to learn to accept a certain amount of trial and error, and not take it personally. Personally enough to learn from it, but not so hard that we retreat full of apologies and give up on another idea.

For every thousand decisions we make, a good majority will lead no-where, most will flop, and a precious few might take seed and grow. And we aren’t going to know which ones will land where until we try, so we have no choice but to keep going, stubbing our toes occasionally, but realising that the more we know, the stronger we get. It’s not our successes that teach us lots – don’t we so often take these for granted? – but our mistakes, so perhaps it’s time to see our learning curves a bit differently.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 26, 2017

Writing for teens

'Trapped: My Life with Cerebral Palsy', cerebral palsy, Fran Macilvey, Fran's School of Hard Knocks, Memoir 2 Comments

Writing for teens

I’ve never seriously considered writing for teens, though my daughter has asked me often, if I would consider it.  So it comes as a bit of a revelation to me – not for the first time, I realise – that young adults, teens from all over the world enjoy reading my memoir, Trapped.  In exploring my life as it was, I never set out to consciously write a book for young adults, though my prose style tries to avoid over-sophistication.  (Even as I write that, I worry: my daughter asked me recently if I swallowed a dictionary…do I still use three long words, where one short one would do?)

Last year, I was delighted to hear of a class of seventh graders, twelve year olds in the USA, who were set Trapped as a reading text by their class teacher.  And recently, Sam Keane sent me a review, which I have included as a recent blog post.

I have always assumed that Trapped, being about a depressed, angry and sexually frustrated woman who only wants to be happy – to be allowed to be herself – would place it firmly in the ‘adult’ category.  So how do I feel, knowing that youngsters read about my sexual frustration?

It may be that teachers, using the text as a study tool for young adults, delicately sensor the text; or more probably, since I was at school, there has been a revolution in attitudes around sexual experience.  My daughter, I know, benefits from a full and candid exploration of attitude to sex at school, which contrasts markedly with the tiptoeing and cringeworthy explorations that we endured in late primary education in the late 1970s, and which left us with more questions than answers.

Perhaps my attitudes are well out of date, and what I consider cringeworthy and embarrassing is merely part of life, these days.  It could just be that young adults are less phased, that they listen, decide and make up their own minds more readily about what they experience.  If that is so, then I am pleased, and I applaud the sophistication of young people.  They, so much more than my generation, tell the truth and expect to hear it, so are unlikely to be phased by a few truthful, passing references to the sexual experiences of one woman who, if she’d had her way, would have loved to find more ways of enjoying love.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 22, 2017

My dear I wanted to tell you – Louisa Young

Books I Have Reviewed 2 Comments

My dear, I wanted to tell you – by Louisa Young

I have been reading a lot about the first world war, lately. Having eagerly devoured Paxman’s two books, ‘Empire’ and ‘Great Britain’s Great War’ (which are like a primer course for anyone wanted an accessible entry into that vast subject) I felt willing to take on My Dear, I wanted to tell you, Louisa Young’s novel exploring the social and emotional turmoil of war from several perspectives.

I was a bit phased by the style of the writing at the start, and had to flip pages back and forth to work out who was talking to whom, and why, indeed this style of presentation was deployed. Then, I glanced at the reviews, and a comment ‘…urgent, theatrical, staccato style that is probably best appreciated as an audio book…’ caught my attention and made me look again, re-engaging with the story differently. Then, almost listening, I could clearly hear the different characters and identify more closely with them.

A woman writing a novel about the trenches – so obviously a claustrophobic, largely male preserve – has a difficult job to convey a lean account in prose that works; and Louisa Young is very largely successful. Her use of atmospheric, slightly disjointed prose very cleverly conveys creeping desperation and the madness of war. Her characters are eminently believable, with equal weight given to both men and women.

The main love interest was well drawn, though I found myself pulled more decisively towards the dilemmas of her loyal sidekick Rose; and I still wonder why, with the dearth of ‘suitable’ men, and as a shrewd and capable woman, Rose would feel herself stuck in her position as spinster. It felt almost as if Young created Rose so she could speak through her, rather than through the heroine of the story – though in a story on this scale, which manages to be both intricate and all embracing, all the characters were heros in their own way.

All in all, a worthwhile and engrossing read, which is worth sticking with to the end.

 

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 20, 2017

Where would I be without my friends

Fran Macilvey, Happiness Matters, Path To Publication, Thistle Foundation 4 Comments

Where would I be without my friends?

When I sit to think about how my life has changed in the last ten years, I am almost overcome with gratitude.  My friends…are everywhere.  I go to Meeting, I go to church, I go out for a walk, and always, someone will stop and say hello, and nice to see you.  It is a pleasure to stroll, admiring the flowers, watching the little kids and their parents; and doing such things as this, the joys of friendship are like a gift.

I used to be so embarrassed by the way I walk, that I would sit for hours, for days, in a chair, or about a room, I would wonder what other people were doing, but not be doing much of that myself.  I missed chances, I missed the opportunity to feel part of something.

But now, when I am sitting, it’s usually because I’m doing something fun, or on the web, replying to emails, sending encouragement, feeling part of a bigger story worldwide.  I have friends everywhere, and can even phone them using the Facebook phone.  (Thanks for that tip, Gaston, I’m glad I was wearing headphones when you rang.)  To think I can phone my friends on FB, and I can speak to someone in Australia or America in seconds.  Amazing.

Last night we had our book launch at the Thistle Foundation and it was a great success.  I wasn’t counting, but we probably had about fifty people who came, some we know through our church links, and some from Thistle and from our neighbourhoods.  Thank you so much (!!) to everyone who came and made it such a lovely, happy event.  I am more grateful and pleased than I can express.  And thanks again to Thistle Foundation for their generous hospitality and organisation.  It’s so lovely to be the beneficiary of such kindnesses from all over Edinburgh and beyond.

 

Many thanks for reading.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 19, 2017

A heartfelt thank you

Happiness Matters, Path To Publication, Thistle Foundation 4 Comments

A heartfelt thank you.

When my first book was published, the silence was … not exactly deafening, but… I got a hug from a friend, which I remember because it was unexpected and welcome, but nothing else happened.  No streamers, no party, no ‘welcome to the world post-publication’.  I hadn’t expected anything else, really; and when another friend offered to host a book launch in my usual venue – the Quaker Meeting House in Edinburgh  – I had to decline her kind offer, because I was unable to source any copies of my books at that time, and ordering from my publisher would have taken perhaps six weeks and cost a fortune in postage.

It’s amazing how much there is to learn about the practicalities of publishing, and by dint of noticing the gaps in expectations, in the last three years I’ve learned a great deal about the challenges and the politics of this process.  I am still learning – do we ever stop? – and I am very grateful to have acquired what little knowledge I have; and relieved to have avoided most – but not all – of the pitfalls waiting to catch the unwary.  (Though pitfalls bring their own lessons…)

So when Rachael Cloughton  Editor of Scottish Art News Magazine and events co-ordinator at Thistle suggested that we have a book launch for my latest book, Happiness Matters – which goes on extended distribution today – I was moved almost to tears.  Her enthusiasm is amazing.  She encourages me always to also do my best; and her belief in me feeds my own self-belief.

We are having a launch at Thistle this evening, starting at six, and anyone who would like to, is most welcome to come along.  I look forward to the evening, and to sharing with you all, our diverse experiences of what it means to be happy, and how we can achieve that in today’s challenging world.

Thanks Rachael, and thanks to Diana and everyone at Thistle who make Thistle such a welcoming, wonderful place to be.  If you haven’t already discovered the work that Thistle do, now would be a good time.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr

June 16, 2017

Lowering the voting age

Fran Macilvey, Fran's School of Hard Knocks 4 Comments

All those in favour of lowering the voting age say ‘Aye!’

Given the ways our votes affect young people, increasingly I favour of lowering the voting age.

For some reason that is unclear to me, young people venturing forth seem to be discouraged from being too independent until they hit their mid-twenties.

Perhaps, until youth reaches the middle twenties, it is considered too radical, having little or no stake in the status quo. Increasingly, punitive legislation and the withdrawal of state support from young people living alone makes it clear that youngsters are expected to stay firmly ensconced in the bosom of their loving families until they have completed a satisfying respectable and useful tertiary education, preferably in something sensible like business studies, commerce, modern affairs or construction. Or, if they must plump for something esoteric, a degree in Mandarin is a good way to go.

Given that a youngster has far more stake in the future than I do, I can see no reason why the voting age should not be lowered to sixteen. We are allowed to marry at sixteen, but not go to X rated movies or own a pet, or vote. How odd. My daughter’s analysis of the political situation is astute – she predicted, for example that Donald Trump would win the US election – and, with age appropriate language, her grasp of facts is much quicker than mine has ever been. It seems unjust that young adults can be responsible for their acts under the law, for example, but can have no say in shaping it until they are eighteen.

The argument that they are not sufficiently aware of consequences seems to me to be patronising and rather beside the point. Lots of people voting on important decisions – the EU referendum, for example – freely admit to having had little idea what they were voting for or against. Knowledge does not seem to be a requirement for anyone over eighteen.

Given the challenges they – and we all – will have to face, it seems right that young adults should have a vote at sixteen. Perhaps their more honest and direct appreciation of all the issues at stake would produce a more inclusive environment for constructive political debate, vital for healing divisions in society.

Please share:

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblr
1 2 3 4 5 >»
This site uses cookies More info