Monday, 2 September 2024

Everything is Copy...

There's always room for a Nora Ephron quote. That's a law I'd make if I were in charge. Nora Ephron quotes, all the day is long, please! No vote required, the ayes would have it. Back to the matter in hand, the quote I was thinking of was... 

A black and white photo of Nora Ephron. It looks like a professional headshot, she's looking off to the side, with glasses on her head. She's about thirty, and it's possibly the 70s.
Click link for photo source.
'Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.' 


Let's delve into that. Firstly, it's not Nora Ephron who says that herself, but a character she co-created. Tom Hanks' Joe Fox in You've Got Mail types it to Meg Ryan's Kathleen Kelly, as they embark on some email correspondence. In 1998, that's bang up-to-date. Trust me, as someone who got their first email address in 2005, it felt madly futuristic. 
So, there they are, in New York, typing away. And doesn't it show that some things are universal? I'm not in New York. Nope, today I was in Calderstones Park in Woolton. I was listening to a podcast, natch, (The Nazis in Power: Hitler's Road to War from The Rest is History) so my mind was fully occupied. I trudged through fading mulchy leaves dappled by a determined sun, feeling the bite of 12℃ air as I walked. And then it happened. I had a moment of mindfulness! Fully present, ignoring the horrors of history in my ear, and aware of every bit of my surroundings, I felt hugely thankful. It felt like Autumn. I'd made it through the summer!

A head and shoulders shot of me, holding a pencil. I'm wearing a brown jumper, my blonde fringe is pushed out of my eyes, and I've got black rimmed glasses. I'm smiling.
Ready to GO
This week, three of my five nieces and nephews are starting big school - Reception and Year 7 specifically. It's a new term, it's a new season, it's a fresh start. And even though there's talk of a resurgence of warm weather this week, and even though it's still balmy enough for T shirts and sliders inside, my state of mind is thriving. I don't have a bouquet of pencils. I have only one. But it's newly sharpened and ready to go.

An animated cartoon tiger is sitting at a desk, head turned to the side, bashing the keyboard with their paws and presumably writing lots.
Writing News
We've broken the ground of Chapter 2. So far it's going swimmingly. I've stuck to my schedule (one chapter per ten days-ish) and my writer's block is at a minimum. Of course, Nora Ephron said, 'The hardest thing about writing is writing.' Obviously, OBVIOUSLY it can't nor won't last. The mental blocks will come, the pace will slow. But for now? Hurrah for me, hurrah for us all! Leeza McAuliffe Book 3  currently stands at 9115 words. I'm very happy.

The stage of HOME with the set for My Son's a Queer. There's a large screen onstage, with flashing lights bordering it. On screen is a testcard style screen saver. It has My Son's a Queer in the centre, and then lots of colourful stripes, shapes, and lines in the background. On stage in front of the screen, there is a large pink armchair, a small bookcase, and ornament on top. The stage is lit in pink spotlights and the immediate effect of the whole staging is colour, pink, vibrancy, and cosy domesticity.
Culture
A week ago I went to HOME - the beautiful arts venue in Manchester, on Tony Wilson Place. Rob Madge's one-person show, My Son's a Queer was on for the last few days of its run. It was stunning. Such a beautiful, funny, and moving tribute to his parents, and parents everywhere who let their kids be who they are. That basic premise of parenting shouldn't need to be said, but watching grown men leave the auditorium in floods of tears, showed that perhaps some people's childhoods weren't quite as supportive. I loved it. It reminded me of a few of the lovely kids I've taught, and the regular 'I hope they're doing OK 'wish I have when I think of them. In a complete handbrake turn, I've been binging Designated Survivor on Netflix. From 2016, with the pace and high stakes of Kiefer Sutherlands other big hitter, 24, it's completely batshit. I'm finding the constant peril, piss-funny and have thoroughly enjoyed the whole shebang. I've got two more series to devour and I will. Finally, a funny and charming BBC sitcom that recently dropped is Daddy Issues. David Morrissey and Aimee Lou Wood play father and daughter working out life together. All six episodes are on iPlayer. 

A small white bowl, with two scoops of pale green icecream. There is white folded napkin underneath the bowl.
Perfection
Food and Drink
Whilst I was at HOME I ate in their restaurant. The whole menu looked great but my all time favourite dessert was featured - pistachio ice cream. Forget your sticky toffee puddings, your tortes and your crumbles. Pistachio ice cream is the sure-fire way to force a pudding down my throat. 

Out and About
There was a goodbye-summer-get-together at my gaff on Saturday including all five nieces and nephews. This is the first time we've done something en masse since the littlest NextGen Bond was born. Much of the day was spent herding cats into a variety of photo ops. With every new baby, a new screensaver is required. It's the law.

Dan Levy as David Rose in Schitts Creek is sitting in a car at night. He is smiling at the person off camera in the passenger seat and says, 'A very bold claim.'
Whether you're dealing with new screensavers, Chapter 2 of your current project, or the joys of pistachio ice cream, thank you for reading. As our friend Nora says, 'Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter.' You're now a shit-tonne smarter for having read this. Well done, you! 

Have a lovely week, folks 
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