[janetteB @replies]

@missy.

I do disagree with you re’ pronunciations though there are plenty of common mispronunciations which make me cringe too. If we all spoke in accordance with the recommendations of the Oxford Dictionary there would be no regional variation, no dialects. That is exactly the kind of cultural hegemony that concerns me.  It isn’t “correctness” that in my opinion is the problem but the imposition of one way of speaking and thinking on others. So a scone rhyming with Don can be a scone rhyming with moan, if you please just as there is no rule as to whether the jam or cream goes on first. Oh damn. Now I feel the urge to go off and make a batch of scones or dig up that particular episode of Goodies.

And back to Dr Who News, of which there is not nearly enough at present. Only one week to go. I am so impatient. I can’t wait. Still now news about who will direct the Christmas Special I see. I am still hoping Peter Jackson will direct Moffat’s last story. If so I expect there will be an announcement soon to tie in with the series start so it is looking less and less likely by the day.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@thane15 I have never really thought about it, perhaps because I grew up reading. We did not have television until I was about eleven but if anything that aided the ability to imagine rather than diminished it as it opened up my knowledge of the world. Likewise I don’t think computer games harm the imagination. IT is just that they are so addictive. My youngest grew up with less restrictions on computer time than his older brothers but reads more. I don’t know that young people read less than they did. When I was growing up other children watched TV or played outside. They didn’t read. My friend and I were the “odd kids” who preferred going to the library to playing sport. Being sent to the library was considered a punishment then. I was frequently told off for reading too much or reading the wrong kind of books. So to sum up, the older generation will always worry about the choices being made by the younger generation simply because they differ to what they did. “ie playing computer games must be bad because we didn’t do it.

And now to help R.3 with his homework. In class essay tomorrow, science test on Tuesday while R.2 has fallen behind in the last week with his work so we need to keep two noses firmly pressed to respective grindstones this afternoon. Oh for next week, holidays, hot cross buns and Dr Who..

cheers

janette

[janetteB @replies]

@mudlark.  I think Burmese kittens could be forgiven for a lot, even a tray of hot cross buns. Interestingly I was reading an old Guardian article the other day about the origins of the crosses. Apparently they have found pre Christian Saxon buns with crosses on them to honour their spring goddess, Eostre. (So we were “permitted” to put crosses on our buns this year after all.:-) as they now fall into the “ancient custom” category.) The article did not explain how it was known that was what the crosses signified however.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@miapatrick. Attempted to make hot cross buns this afternoon. They look awful. Baking isn’t my strong point.

@pedant For some reason I first thought your comment referred to the discussion about culture and language and was totally confuddled. (Maybe it is because my character is currently being attacked by evil dwarfs and any moment I am going to be called to attention. )

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@thane15 I did it again. Got the numbers wrong. Apologies. Proof reading is not my strong point.

My youngest is in your same year level. (It is year 10 isn’t it?) He hasn’t enjoyed the direction English has taken in the past year or so. There is next to no creative writing which is ironic given that universities now all have creative writing courses, something they did not offer at all when I was at Uni. I don’t think he has “free reading” time as he isn’t taking a book to school. He is reading “Hogfather” at home and taking rather longer than I approve of. (Not locking the computer early enough. He loves reading but when there is a choice between reading or computer the later invariably wins.)

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@thane13 I certainly accept that language changes and I don’t object to the odd “Americanism” as long as it isn’t only “Americanisms” and at the exclusion of all other influences. It is the difference between enrich and completely overwrite. Australia could have decent television. In the past the ABC especially did make some good mini series. (eg Power without Glory, Ride on Stranger and my favourite, Timeless Land) They had plenty of room for improvement but the potential was there. Why now so dire? In part due to lack of funding but also the feeling that “others will always do it better so why bother”. Cultural hegemony is certainly a factor in the death of (quality) Australian TV production.

This is not just an issue for Australia. Hollywood dominates world film making it increasingly difficult for indigenous film industries to compete. For instance several African directors have made interesting and intelligent films but only film students would be aware of any of them. Back in the nineties several Chinese films caught attention but they were still only playing in selected cinemas to the “art house” audience. To see a non Hollywood or “Britflick” film I would have to go to the city.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Will be interesting to see how John Simm plays the Master with a different writer at the helm. I recall that he was not overly keen on the OTT Master at the time and so I expect he will want to tone down the role a bit.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@thane15 Surgeon of Crowthorne is a recommended read for anyone who objects to Wikipedia on the grounds that is is complied from external contributions.

John Donne wrote many fine lines but “No man is an island” is one of his best.

On an unrelated side note, I was saddened to see that Tim Piggot-Smith died on Friday. The role of Marco in Masque of Mandragora was one of his first. (I am currently watching North and South so it made the news more poignant.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@miapatrick Reading nineteenth century newspapers it is obvious that spelling was not considered to be overly important. Surnames especially could be spent in different ways within the one article. Even the literate did not appear to be too fussy about the spelling of their name. The spelling at the time was also what we would now call “American” spelling.

And now I really should be checking up on Jammy Dodger recipes because they are still not to be found on the supermarket shelves.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@mudlark That was a lovely description of your grandparents house. IT reminded me of my grandmother’s house which still had the old metal tubs hanging on the wall by the bathroom. It was an interesting house. The front part had been a shop back when my grandmother was going to school. Two miners cottages had been added on to it so there was a “lean to” in the middle of the house. In the years after my Grandmother went into a nursing home the various sections began to separate. A cat fell through the roof and was trapped in the living room for a couple of days. In the overgrown garden there were tombstones. My Grandfather’s family were stonemasons and they were rejects. The yard was so deep that during the Depression my grandparents kept hens and a cow as well as growing vegetables. His old shed was just as he left it, with all his tools scattered on the bench. It was as though time dare not approach.

I have been recently researching into the Ayrshire dialect, helped by the verses of Robbie Burns. Dialects fascinate me especially coming from a young country.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy one that annoys me most at the moment is Math. The word is short for Mathematics. there is supposed to be an s on the end. (At least P.C. got it right) It really annoys me when my boys use Americanisms but that is not about the degrading of language but cultural imperialism. Yard is an Australian term or at least a term used in Australia for a long time probably because back before the goat house trend, (houses built so close together a goat could jump from roof to roof, something my sons thought up) people did have yards with a bit of garden and lawn and space. Pronunciations vary so much though. My sons and other often correct me because I grew up in Victoria and though I have lived in S.A. for many years I still often revert to Victorian pronunciations. Not incorrect, just different.

But I am of topic again. Back to topic. Only a week to go. (plus a day or two depending.) Still no sign of Jammy Dodgers in our supermarket so looks like I have no choice but to try and make them this year, so, what with Easter and birthdays “an’ all” it looks like a busy time ahead cooking. (not my favourite occupation)

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@mudlark A good response from Moffat. I forgot Vastra and Jenny in my post earlier. How could I! Two of my favourite characters. I do wish there was a Paternoster Gang spin off in the works.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@pedant the phrase I object to most at the moment is “l like to believe” but not because it is bad English but because it implies that truth is a matter of choice. It is whatever we want it to be.

Until roughly the end of the nineteenth century newspapers weren’t too fussy about spelling. I have found a surname spent three different ways within the same article. Going further back another hundred years or so and the name changed noticeably within a generation. Australia was using U.S. spelling as well which explains why the Labor Party is spelt that way.

However all this is very off topic.  I am too tired right now to think of a sneaky way of pulling to conversation back to Who news. I will go and fill in another square on the calendar instead.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@Thane15 (made sure I got it right this time.:-) )Don’t mention that filthy rag in my hearing. grrr. I think Murdoch bought it at about the time I moved to S.A. so I have never known it to be a reliable, honest, newspaper.

Words do change meaning through changed usage. Something my S/O and I often argue about. Language is an ever evolving thing and that makes for a fascinating study. At times however the meaning of a word is deliberately corrupted, a favourite tactic of the right. And Thane, I have a honours degree in English and I didn’t know there was a difference in meaning either between issue and problem so don’t feel bad about it. I will have to look it up to.

As @thane15 said, good to see members coming back.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@mudlark I have to get out and garden in the next two days as the movers and shakers of the town will be doing a walking tour down our street on Wednesday. Eldest son gets the job of mowing though. I draw the line at lawnmowers.

I tend to read mostly world news rather than Australian news because the later, being closer to home, depresses me more. Unfortunately now the Guardian covers Australia more and I keep noticing things I would rather not know. Sadly our government, like yours is also anti public health. Well more just anti public. They have voted for another tax drop for business. They now pay 25 percent tax. Salary earners pay up to fifty percent. I hate news and I hate caring about the news. (Saying that I am reminded of the women in the hospital ward saying that they don’t watch news anymore. No wonder they had no idea of what was going on the world and no concern which would not be such a problem if they did not have the vote.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Yes.  I think it is just a case of making news out of minor details, to gather interest in the run up to the new series. Bill’s sexuality is not central to the story and more than Clara’s was, and I agree it will be nice to live in a time where a persons choices regarding who they sleep with are not subject to sensationalism which is essentially what this story is. It also smacks a little of the BBC saying, “see how open minded we are”, rather than simply showing it.

Still it is nice to have a reminder that Dr Who is almost here at long, long last and I am really looking forward to seeing how Bill does shape up as a companion. I think she will be refreshingly different to Clara and Amy.

I have been checking the Supermarket shelves for Jammy Dodgers. They stocked them for the last two series. (I am certain it was deliberate. Otherwise it was a hell of a coincidence. Regardless I will probably still make some.)

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Thought it was high time we started to get some Who stories in the run up to the new series. (Only two weeks now. rubs hands with glee)The companion being LGBT is another way of ensuring there is no possible romantic interest with the Doctor and yay to that too. (though there were plenty of hints that Clara was bi,)

cheers

Janette

(counting down now)

 

[janetteB @replies]

@arbutus Cleaning bathrooms is always a job for tomorrow. I am feeling guilty this week because I have not done any writing, Too busy editing a podcast. In terms of gardening Canada is the opposite of S.A. We can’t do any gardening in summer due to the heat so we are just heading into garden season now and my garden is greatly in need of attention because unfortunately it has not been too hot for the weeds and with all the un-seasonal rain this summer they have run riot. Morning Glory is taking over again and even the wisteria needs a pruning. Reading you post however about just heading into double digits makes me glad that my ancestors decided to head east not west. (I do have a great grand grandfather buried in Canada. All his sons but one headed over there.)

@thane, continue to keep fingers crossed for you and your family. Wish you could send some of that excess water down our way. My garden really needs it.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@thane13 I hope you and family are ok and too adversely affected by “Debbie”.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Hi @rob

good to hear from you again.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missrori My only advice is just keep trying. Try to do something a bit different, maybe just write prose or a different style of verse or edit some old works. When I really don’t feel like writing I edit and that lures me back. I can never just passively read through work though sometimes I really mess it up, adding something that was already there, in the next paragraph. In the end though if you are no longer enjoying writing at all perhaps it is time to have a break and try some other creative pursuits. (another suggestion from a writer I was talking to yesterday is keep a journal and write something every day, what you are doing or thinking. Doesn’t appeal to me but clearly works for her. We are all different.) Whatever don’t let it distress you. That won’t help. You will go back to writing when you are ready. Good luck.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@craig. A beautiful photo and obviously some beautiful memories.

Regards

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@jimthefish thank you for the link. It was perfect reading for morning coffee. If only, if only Moffat felt he had to say for another series and PC had been persuadable. Ah well. Dr Who changes so fingers crossed it will remain in safe hands.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@whisht. On reading descriptions of Tattoo I doubt very much that it is “my kind of series” and it not only stars Tom Hardy, he wrote it; a double negative for me.

I am sticking to repeats at the moment, Time Team in the mornings while I do the exercise bike thing and Dr Who at night. Currently watching Inferno.  Not so enthused about this first series with Pertwee. Interesting ideas but lacking in that magical quality that is so hard to define but makes Who what it is.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Just watching The Ambassadors of Death which is series one Pertwee and it is mostly black and white with  some colour segments. It is a reconstruction as the original was destroyed. The colour segments are taken from fans’ home recordings. (Reel to Reel recording I guess given the time.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@pedant Yes yes I know that. 🙂 But by the Pertwee series they had stopped throwing Dr Who on the bonfire. I can’t track down the story at the mo’ and don’t have time just now to trawl through all my Who books but I half recall an account of a Pertwee story getting trashed after they had essentially stopped ditching the stories, just before it was scheduled to be screened at a fan event. As I said, “half recall” meaning at least half that might be incorrect. I will keep looking for the details as the books are now out.

@mudlark and @davidzdep Yes I too tend of think of Pertwee stories as being black and white because that is how I first saw them, (and Baker too for that matter) even though I have watched the Pertwee stories far more times in colour since. I think it is because they tend to be very grey whereas I picture some of the earlier historical stories as being in colour from the stills, eg Marco Polo.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@ichabod I am reading the same book. IT has taken me over a year and I am on the point of giving up. I loved Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go and I love Arthurian mythology so was thrilled when this book came out but it just doesn’t work. Ursula LeGuin nailed the problems in her review. I don’t often read fiction, mostly non fiction for research purposes. I was reading “The High Mountains of Portugal” by Yann Martel last year on a trip to Canberra which I was really enjoying. Had only one chapter left when I got home and have not picked it up since. I have been reading a bit of Hogfather of a night while waiting for youngest son to turn off his computer. Unfortunately the subject I am currently researching, South Australian History does not make for exciting reading. Even more unfortunately books on the topic are rarer than hens teeth.

But as @Thane13 points out this is the TV thread and I cannot think of anything TV related right now. My TV viewing in general is even more dated than my reading choices. ((re)Watching ep 1 of Time Team this morning for example.)

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missrori and @missy.  I doubt they have even began auditions for the role yet and there will not be an announcement until after the next series.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@davidzdep The show was made in colour but may not have been broadcast in colour, depending on where you were watching and on what TV.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missrori and @mudlark All the Pertwee stories were made in colour but I believe that one story was accidentally destroyed and so might have been restored from a black and white copy. We are soon to start re watching the Pertwee stories and  I generally read up on the background to each story as we watch. Have a Dr Who guide book at hand.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@mudlark, Well said. I worry about the world our sons, (and daughters) will inherit. It is tough enough for them already and they know it. They are very aware of how grim the prospects are for their generation just in terms of work and cost of living without the added fears of run-away global warming and the rise of the far right. I really don’t envy them. When I was the age of the eldest I was living in the U.K, travelling through Europe and the Middle East, hitching occasionally. It was safe, easy to pick up casual work, easy to survive. It is so much tougher to do those king of things now. It isn’t all bad though. I helped the second boy enroll the other day. Looking at the courses available to him that were simply not available when I was at Uni made me envious. I would love to do all of the subjects he is doing.

We are going through a period of political upheaval. These happen from time to time. There will be pain but at the end, I hope, (in my most optimistic moments) that at the end reason will triumph as it has in the past, but for that to happen, we have to ensure our voices are heard. (even if that means wading into the mire BTL occasionally.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@thane15 I hope your Mum is OK Please pass on my regards and hope that she will be back with us soon.

I am glad you like your teacher. A good teacher makes such a difference. R.3 started back this week, (SA is a week behind QLD  I think) He is happy with his teachers too which is great as this is such an important year. (Same year as you)

You are so right about judging. Yes it is something we do all the time and our judgement is important. It is essential to our social survival. We judge when someone is potentially harmful or damaging to ourselves or our social group. Sometimes we get it wrong especially when we are making judgements about people we don’t know, ie actors. For instance I was not impressed with Matt when it was announced he was to be the next Doctor. I thought he would be terrible. Five minutes into The Eleventh Hour and I was a convert. (Actually maybe less than five minutes, however long it took for him to look out of the Tardis and say “apples”)

@craig That is cool, having a relative that was in Who. We have been rewatched the Troughton series including some of the better reconstructions. I just consulted my Doctor Who guide which is currently on the chair beside me and the Krotons is next on our viewing list.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missy  I was in the library. Trump was on the screen. (Don’t know why it is necessary to have a screen in a library)

Walked out towards the shopping centre. Passed a guy in a gopher and a cleaner. The later was saying to the former “Trump won’t last long. Someone will knock him off.”

Couldn’t tell if he thought that was a good or bad thing but one thing I did learn from the outing, there is no escaping Trump. Urgh.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave homemade Jammy Dodgers sound good. For the past few series our local supermarket has stocked the read thing just in time for the first episode. I suspect the manager is a fan. I might try making some this year, along with bad souffle. Recent series have not really added anything to the menu. I don’t think canned tomato soup, (which is what the Doctor appears to be eating on Gallifrey) would be too popular.

@missrori Apparently PC is doing another Paddington film. Ben Whishaw is one of the few actors whom I can picture in the role but I suspect he would be too busy and too expensive these days.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Was depressed all day yesterday after seeing the news. I really hoped PC would do one more series with Chibnell. I have to say I am not optimistic for the future of our favourite TV series right now. Trying not to make comparisons with old Who.

I was annoyed with the Guardian last night. they ran an article quoting comments from BTL and picked all negatives about Moffat especially. There were plenty of positive comments which they ignored.

(I liked the Christmas special. It was fairy floss but after the intensity of last series, and our christmas, that was a much needed tonic. I understand others not liking it. Most of the family were of the same mind as you @blenkinsopthebrave and @chickenelly who it is so nice to hear from again. I have yet to re watch it though so my opinion on the episode is not yet set in concrete.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Cool. We just watched the first Ice Warriors  story the other night. (Have been passing the time with some very old Who.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@mudlark Thank you for expanding on that. As I said my knowledge of Roman history is mainly derived from I Claudius. (I have read up on Roman military tactics but my interest tends to focus on either before or after the Roman empire.) It sounds as though the depiction of Nero in The Romans is not utterly and entirely inaccurate then though it is very “Carry on Romans” in style.

AT one stage comparisons between the U.S and Roman Empire were common. I think there were persons in power or aspiring to be in power who had aspirations for the U.S. to become a great empire in the Roman model. (Thinking Bush and his cronies.) I don’t think Trump is so interested in expansion. He is looking inward. The rest of the world doesn’t matter as long as they do as they are told and don’t interfere with his grand plans and to provide convenient “bad guys” for the purposes of the propaganda war he is waging on his own people.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@jimthefish Saw the headline on the Guardian. Not happy at all.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@ichabod my knowledge of ancient Roman emperors is mostly derived from I Claudius, (and the wonderful first Doctor story, The Romans) but I would agree, Trump is more a Nero than a Tiberius.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

And of course the War Doctor.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@missrori  The feeling of helplessness is a big problem for all of us and not without reason. We have been made to feel helpless, over and over. Everytime there is a mass protest movement that achieves nothing another generation throws up its hands in despair. Back in 2003 when thousands turned out to protest the Iraq war there was a real sense that the voice of the people must be heard but it wasn’t. Politicians just ploughed on fingers firmly fixed in ears. That sense of helplessness however makes us helpless. We must keep up the fight which is why sometimes I venture BTL on the Guardian. The voice of reason must be heard though the crazy right are trying their hardest to drown it out, whether it is dishing dirt on anything produced by the BBC like Who and Sherlock or dismissing Climate change as a myth. It is all part and parcel. Today I see that Fox News in Britain has employed Nigel Farage as a new commentator. We have to make more noise, somehow.

Recently in hospital I had the misfortune to be in a cubicle with three of the most stupid women on the planet. They actually blamed our State government, which has done a lot to shift the state to renewable energy,  for the storm. One woman also thought it was the current government that privatised our energy provider. I was so angry I shouted at her. I told her to go home and do some research. (No doubt it is Murdoch press happy to blame a left leaning government for the mistakes of their right wing predecessors)

One thing is that having an extreme right leader will galvanise opposition and give voice to the left so don’t despair and his own supporters will quickly see that he is all noise and no substance. As one promise after another is broken the anger will rise. Above all don’t loose hope. It is all we have sometimes. It is also why stories matter. In stories good wins over back and justice is served. We need those kind of stories. They give us hope enabling us to keep trying.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@icabod there was an article in the Guardian a few weeks ago, (Sorry for not putting up a link at the time) with Beryl Virtue  HERE. It shows that the production of Sherlock is a collaborative affair, and a man who works for both his wife and his mother in law can hardly be the monster of arrogance that BTL trolls would claim.

It is nice to have somewhere where we can “rant” (though your posts never come across as rants) when we need. It seems that the internet is rapidly being overrun by right wing trolls like the rest of the world.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Oops sorry. Not paying attention. @missrori

Cheers

Jsnette

[janetteB @replies]

@missrory A talking flying horse would be an interesting companion indeed. IT does sound rather D&D. My partner once teamed up with an androsphinx in a campaign.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@ichabod I am both the traveller, always impatient to be off adventuring and the home person, which is not a good combination. Right now I am hoping that the boys will stay around for a few more years so that I can have both, freedom to travel and commitment to pets and garden and library. We were fortunate when offered the year in Sweden that our cat had just died otherwise I probably would have had to say no.

The appeal of a stint away in the Tardis is that one can return in time to feed the pets, provided the Doctor gets the settings right. Clara was a stay at home, go adventuring type for a while, maintaining job and commitments. Amy and Rory tried but found it was not sustainable. I rather hope Bill will be a permanent Tardis resident, not because it is better or worse but simply time for change. IT would be interesting to introduce a pet onto the Tardis. The Doctor has taken horses into the Tardis, or at least one horse and one Zygon horse.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

A home without pets is just a house. Though I often suspect that the cat and us humans share the same space. He does not consider himself one of the family. He does get distressed if we go away though. Cats aren’t demonstrative like dogs so it is harder to gauge how they feel. A one thousand dollar vet bill because the cat was distressed does send a less than subtle message however.

But back to Doctor Who, and I really can’t think of any way of connecting cats and dogs to the Doctor, not without a lot of caffeine anyway. I have not commented yet on the special so here goes. I enjoyed it. Circumstances made a lightweight, happy story the more appreciated. It was just what I needed after well, a minor drama. The episode was medicinal. Last Christmas remains my favourite of the Christmas Specials and I think that one will be hard to beat but all in all, in terms of scripting and production I thought Doctor Mysterio was a 9/10. The boys enjoyed it. No complaints about the story “not making sense” or logical flaws. (R.2. is a harsh critic.) There were illusions to weighter matter, the deaths of River Song and Clara but the tone remained light. The episode creates a break from the heavier matters of the last series and THoRS and the new series setting up for a “fresh start”.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@ichabod

In fact the only time the accusation is applicable is to those posting snarky comments BTL on the Guardian. Writers need time off too.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@missy I think the BBC is subject to similar cuts as the ABC and for the same reasons; conservative governments who are too pally with a certain former Australian who wants to rule the world so your comment was apt.

Fingers crossed PC will get his well deserved pay rise.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@ichabod Well said. I just groan inwardly when I hear people say they are going to write a novel as though it is just something one does like popping down to the supermarket to buy some jam. They clearly have no idea of what is involved. And then having written a novel doesn’t mean that the writing is any good. (I have written a couple of complete duds) then there is the challenge of getting published, which is by no means an endorsement of having written something good and neither is financial success. (ER James comes to mind though I have not read and never intend to read her work.) I’d rather drown that be stuck on the continent of Jeffrey Archer on the library planet. So one line jibs at successful and talented writers like Moffat and Gattis really annoy me. Yes sometimes their writing is no so good, sometimes there are obvious flaws. Dickens, Austen, Bronte, etc were not without their failings too. But the one criticism that annoys me above all others is the accusation of “lazy writing” that is so popular below the line. It is meaningless. Writing is inherently not lazy. It can’t be lazy. It might be derivative or unimaginative or logically flawed but it cannot be lazy.

Grr. Now I will gripe at our, “take from the poor, give to the rich” government whose “kill off public broadcasting because they sometimes dare to tell the truth” policy means no free to air Sherlock in Aus”.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Hi all.

I have been AWOL but back now, starting to catch up. Have only managed to read through this thread so far and enjoying the discussion about London. I spent over two years living and working either deep in the heart or or on the peripheries of London and love and hate it. It is the portal through which the world passes, an ancient city, a modern city, a pressure cooker of all that is good and evil in human nature. (Unfortunately I encountered several examples of the later while living there.) I have written a novel about the experiences of two young Aussie backpackers who become enmeshed in the city drawn on some of those experiences. (Still a work in progress)

Though belated

Happy New Year to all.

@Thane15 I am glad to hear your Mum is doing ok. Please pass on my regards. She had been in my thoughts these last weeks. Also as far as I can tell we suffered no damage from the storm. I was not at home and didn’t even hear it but everyone was talking about it. Most seemed to blame it on the government (state) grrrr. People’s stupidity really is so maddening.

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