On human frailty

The book that changed the way I read was 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver. Before this book I tried to read positive, feel-good books with strong, likable characters that I would often give up on before I was half way through. After reading about Kevin I realised that it was the negative books with the more unlikable, fallible and fragile characters that I really liked reading. These are the latest reads concerning human weakness that I have enjoyed in the last few months.

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

I found this a sweet, deep story about an agoraphobic mother, Adele, her precocious young teenage son, Henry, and the unusual and close relationship that develops between them and an escaped convict, Frank, who hides with them over one long Labor Day weekend. The story is detailed and complicated. You could dismiss Adele as weak and Frank as bad, but I grew to have a soft spot for both of them and the love they manage to find for one another, despite the unlucky cards life has dealt them.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This novel was certainly a puzzling mystery. It leads you down several different paths and I often found myself being confounded and surprised by the twists and turns the plot was taking. It is an immensely readable book and I found myself absorbed and swept along with it despite hardly liking any of the characters, excepting Nick's sister Go. Amazing Amy is a tremendously complex character who I found very difficult to relate to, but I was still deeply interested in how her story would unfold.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The girl on the train is Rachael. At the beginning of the book we have her thoughts and feelings in the morning on the way to work and in the evening on her way home. While she is doing her daily commute her thoughts and feelings drift to the house she used to share with her ex-husband, that she still sees twice a day, as the view of it has become part of her journey. However her main view is of another house nearby and the attractive couple who live there, who she is soon obsessing over. Rachael's life at first appears fairly humdrum but it doesn't take long for things to unravel. We are introduced to the voices of two other girls, not on the train, Anna and Megan, and soon everything has gone sideways, if not upside-down. I really enjoyed this book, even though I had worked out the ending about two thirds of the way through.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

What I loved about this book is that the different sections of it are named after the different parts of a dinner you would get in a fancy restaurant. The different sections are Aperitif, Appetizer, Main Course, Dessert and Digestif. I suppose you could think its quite boring to read about people eating, but there's much more to this story than that. Two couples have met in the fancy restaurant to discuss a terrible thing their sons have done. Over the course of the evening we find out that the couples themselves are not entirely blameless and the methods they are prepared to use to resolve the situation are quite shocking. The last time I encountered a couple having dinner in a fancy Dutch restaurant was in 'The Fault in our Stars', I found this book to be quite an unexpectedly nasty antidote to that romantic interlude.

To read more of my book reviews please visit my Goodreads reader page which you can find here.

Secret London Part Four (Blog Post 100)

A few places to visit had accumulated on my Secret London list and I chose a couple more from my book plus a couple from my own knowledge that I thought it would be good to have a look at. To start off mum and I met at Waterloo and after a trip on the Jubilee line arrived at St. John's Wood.

  

After a walk down 'the made famous by the Beatles' Abbey Road we came to The Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate

I've been wanting to visit this impressive housing estate for a few years. It's used a lot in films, as it is so unusual and eye-catching. Mum and I walked all the way through it admiring the symmetrical concrete forms and intricate well-designed shapes; taking photos of the striking angular houses and apartments.

We then took two short train rides from Swiss Cottage to Hoxton for The Geffrye Museum.

The museum is a bit like a real life version of the BBC 'Back in Time' series of programmes. It starts with displays of drawing rooms from the 1600s, moves on to rooms in the 18th and 19th centuries and then in the modern extension you can see displays of 20th century lounges. I definitely recognise some of this furniture from the decades I have lived through in my own life. I have visited this museum a number of times and it is definitely one of my favourites.

 

The main purpose of our trip was to try out the Geffrye Museum Cafe. It was very pleasant with elegant surroundings. I had a substantial ploughman's lunch and mum had a very tasty looking vegetarian hash.

From the Geffrye Museum we then took a bus down to the river to visit The Twinings Tea Museum.

I am a big tea fan and Twinings make fine tea, so I think I was expecting more from this experience than I actually received. There is not much to the museum, it is mostly a shop and is very narrow. The tea and what there is of its history were interesting but it was all a bit brief, so we quickly moved on.

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting more popular sights in London, the Thames, Hungerford Bridge and the Royal Festival Hall. Over a coffee mum and I compiled a Secret London Top Ten list and I am now mulling over a follow up to our four Secret London day trips.

AmiloFinn on DeviantArt

I've long been interested in the DeviantArt website and have been admiring the fan art on there for quite some time. I needed a photosharing website for my story covers on Wattpad so decided to take the plunge and finally sign up for DeviantArt myself. Above is the painting I decided to use for my profile picture and below are the first four cover designs I have put into my gallery. The pictures are called Cheesecake, Magic, Underground and Bubbles. You can find my gallery here and my stories here.

Fate

Before I discovered or rediscovered Christianity I was more interested in superstition and the occult. This picture and song are more what I was inclined to believe before I began to become a more regular church goer.

Tube Tales on Wattpad

 

I am being more active on Wattpad in February and March. As well as developing my writing I am also developing my illustration and cover designs. The above two illustrations are for two stories called Magic and Underground. This is my blurb about the two stories.

Magic - While travelling home from work, one rainy afternoon, desolate Georgia finds that sometimes hope comes in small and surprising packages.

Underground - My new journey to work is great; ten stops on the tube and ten minutes walk at either end, I wonder what ten days of it will do to me?

I am posting my Underground story one day at a time for the next two weeks.

I also have two collections of poetry on Wattpad.

Teenage Troubles is a collection of five poems concerning various problems I encountered as a teenager from wayward youths, body issues, depressive thoughts, substance abuse and identity crises.

An Anatomy of Love features seven poems that represent decades of my thoughts and feelings about love and relationships. 

  

 

SubVerse Writers

It has been ten years since I hammered the final nail into the coffin of my poetry group. 'SubVerse Writers' was the child of Web One, mostly active from 2000 to 2006, although we didn't do much in 2005 and I wound everything up in 2006. We had an old fashioned website and were on newsgroups and the IRC. We met once a month on a Saturday in a cafe in central London, men and women of all backgrounds and ages came to discuss 'the poetry of surrender', to share our verse and our feelings. We ran workshops and exhibitions, gave talks and recitals, produced books and other paraphernalia. I always felt that external forces were acting against us and it had to come to an end, which it did, however I am glad it existed, I felt it was mostly good while it lasted. I thought I would share one of my favourite poems from that era with my blog, it's called 'Malleable'.

Valentine's Day

I wrote this poem when I was a teenager. Much has happened since then, mostly surrounding marriage, mortgage and motherhood, but also music, other creative endeavours and my degree and 25 years working in libraries. However Valentine's Day has continued to be a small source of disappointment for me, so these days I spend it at home with my family, rather than on any great romantic quest.

Crafts for a Spring Fair

I am hoping to do a craft stall in the spring and have been working on new crafts to put on it. I have redeveloped my fabric brooches into fabric brooch greeting cards. I was also knitting over Christmas and have produced more gadget and gift pouches and also new purses. I also worked on bookmarks, new notecards and greeting cards. I have worked more on the details of my Star Heart Dolls and lavender scenters. It's always good to work on my arts and crafts and being able to  donate some of my earnings to charity makes my endeavours feel even more worthwhile.

 

 

 

There's something about Edgar ...

I thought I might never get to see the animated version of 'The Fall of the House of Usher' by Edgar Allan Poe narrated by Christopher Lee and directed by Raul Garcia. I was revisiting the very tempting trailer on YouTube (see above) when, after reading a few of the comments, I noticed that it has actually been released. It was released in October 2015 and is one of the animated films featured in an animated Poe movie anthology called 'Extraordinary Tales'. After hunting around a bit I found an online version and have now seen the entire film.

Extraordinary Tales by Raul Garcia : a film review

Edgar Allan Poe has long been one of my favourite authors, if not my absolute favourite, and this animated film, written and directed by Raul Garcia, I feel is a wonderful homage to him and his stories. The beginning and connecting sequences of the portmanteau film feature Poe in the form of a raven who visits a graveyard full of feminine statues and speaks to death in the form of a woman. The first conversation between them leads neatly into the first of Poe's tales.

The Fall of the House of Usher

Christopher Lee's narration is mesmerising in this and perfectly complements the stylishly drawn characters. Roderick and Madeline are as they should be; angular, striking and really creepy. The narrator, Roderick's boyhood friend, is rotund and spooked out by what has become of his childhood companion and the house he remembers as being magical. In Poe's tale it is not only Madeline who is ill, Roderick and the house are also falling apart at the seams and I think this is portrayed very well.

A conversation about redemption and justice leads to the second of Poe's tales.

The Tell Tale Heart

This story is told in striking black and white pictures, with a touch of red here and there. I have heard this story told many times. My English teacher read it out in an O'level lesson and managed to scare the life out of a bunch of rowdy teenagers. Here it is told by Bela Lugosi, who does a good job on it. The stark pictures are good company for the chilling story of a man who only kills because he doesn't like the look of the old man with the 'vulture eye'. I love that Bela Lugosi  made it into the film, he was born in the same century as Edgar Allan Poe, so it feels like an extra connection there.

After a talk about cheating death we come to the film's centrepiece.

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

I find this is a really creepy story even by Poe's standards. It is about a man hypnotised into an uncertain state, before dying, and hovering on the brink, suspended between life and death. It is another starkly illustrated and animated piece, but this time there is colour and a satisfying comic book or graphic novel feel about the short film. The doctor looks suspiciously like Vincent Price and it is narrated by Julian Sands, which ticks another couple of vintage horror boxes quite nicely.

The next story, we are told, is about a man's contemplation of unknown torments.

The Pit and the Pendulum

It took me a while to get into and appreciate this story and this animation also took me a little more time to get to grips with. The animation is modern and realistic, smooth and appealing. It is voiced by the director Guilermo del Toro, the story is about the Spanish Inquisition, so I think this was a very thoughtful choice. Good narration, I feel, is so vital in this, we see that horrible things might happen, but what is going on in the mind of the prisoner is where the true horror lies. I think I need to read this story again to get all I can out of it.

Having really enjoyed the first four stories, I was sure the fifth one would be just as satisfying.

The Masque of the Red Death

There is very little speaking in this piece, so the amazing music, which has been running throughout the film, really comes to the fore. The paintings in this story are a kind of oily water colour, the characters look similar to the illustrations drawn by Harry Clarke, a 20th century illustrator famous for illustrating Poe. This is another touch that I feel makes this film such a treat, especially for big Poe fans like myself. I have read this story several times, and was eager to see how the animation would take on the many coloured rooms of Prince Prospero's palace. They were done exquisitely, each with their own decadent character. I wouldn't say any of these short films were too scary, but I did find this film a little scarier than the others.

At the end of the film we are left to ponder the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe, which I think is pretty great. Gorgeous animation, five Poe stories, a little of Poe's poetry, the portmanteau horror film format; exquisite music, illustration and narration; this film combines so many of my favourite things, I can't help but love it.

Emily's misadventures in the photo booth

I vaguely made some resolutions for myself this year including

1. Teach more people the piano

2. Sort out a social media strategy

3. Develop my writing, art and music

4. Do more positive stuff like charity work and exercise

I am already making some progress with my writing, I will make more endeavours to get something else published and I will make more use of Wattpad.

I am still sorting out what poetry to put on Wattpad. Meanwhile I have put a new piece of flash fiction on there called 'Emily's misadventures ... in the photo booth'. I'm thinking that 'Emily's misadventures' could be an occasional series. You can find Emily's first misadventure here.

The Chapel Cafe

In the Good Mothers Club my heroine, Alice Plummer, stumbles across the Chapel Cafe, while there she meets other troubled mothers with whom she shares dark secrets and disturbing tales. this is a description of her first venture into the establishment.

'It certainly was worth the walk. The Chapel Café was my dream coffee shop; it boasted a polished wooden floor, tall and colourful stained glass windows featuring motifs of a heart, an anchor and a cross, thick round wooden tables, red velvet cushioned armchairs and the kind of intricate carved wood and stone features you would hope to find in an old church. I walked up to the coffee counter to order a drink; there was no queue and only the minimal conversational murmur coming from the other customers. Looking around further I noticed something else unusual about the café, it was a gadget free zone: no laptops, no mobiles, not even a kindle or an ipod. I took my mobile phone out of my pocket, switched it off and put it back into my bag.

‘Um, regular, no, medium, latte please,’ I heard myself saying, I obviously intended to stay for a while.

‘You’re here for the Good Mothers Club,’ the barista was a young, intense man dressed in black and white. He had fine, strong features and clear eyes that seemed to stare into the heart of me.

‘Am I?’ I asked.

‘They’re at the back.’ The barista nodded to the back of the chapel, to a slightly raised area, I guessed that that was where the altar used to be. There stood an oval table, around which sat an array of brightly coloured women. At the head of the table sat a pretty, young woman in pale grey with a white headdress, a nun. She smiled at me with such a warm generous smile that I smiled back.

With my freshly made Latte in my hand I headed over to the table of women, taking in more details of the other customers as I went. There was an unkempt young man in an Edward Munch ‘The Scream’ t-shirt, a group of business men in suits, teenage Goths, an older couple, an elegant 1950s style starlet, a couple of disheveled high school students and a group of international tourists, from various remote corners of the world.

There were two vacant spaces at the table, one next to the nun and one opposite her. I made my way past a woman in blue, who was having an intense conversation with the woman in red who sat by her side, in order to sit in the vacant seat nearest the nun.

‘Hello, come to make up the numbers,’ smiled an attractive, bubbly woman, dressed in a big, bold, mauve dress, as I sat down opposite her, ‘You’re just in time, the meeting starts at six.’

I glanced at my watch, six o’clock, and then I looked at the nun, she began speaking and the small conversations that were taking place around the table died down.'

Pictures of Bowie

About this time last year I shared my Beatle Dreams with my blog. Now, with the passing of Bowie, I thought I would share the pictures of Bowie I drew and painted as a teenager. He was important to me as I was growing up, I think he helped me feel less freaky and alone and I still enjoy his music today.

 

   

   

Jar of Lavender Star Hearts

One of Amy's favourite songs of the past few years is 'Jar of Hearts' by Christina Perri. These newly styled 'Lavender Star Hearts' were created by me for my ALF Creations craft stall. They feature the six star heart virtues of Joy, Peace, Love, Grace, Faith and Hope, in the six colours of the Star Heart rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.