Peckham - the centre of the literary universe

Just look at what I've stumbled on.

Peckham. Gangs; council estates; the odd drive-by shooting. Oh, and Del-Boy – let’s not forget Del-Boy.

And then more recently an award-winning upside-down library, and some very fetching rusty bollards. Regeneration.

Hmmm. If that’s what you think, then you’re awfully out of date. The cognoscenti know better (‘cos by definition that’s what cognoscenti do). Peckham really is Britain’s number one creative hotspot, with artists’ colonies breaking out all over the place, heaving with thesps and musicians, and of course writers.

And it is these latter that this festival is all about – from the authors and poets who live in the area currently, to those who have drawn inspiration from the area in some way over the centuries. Actually, it is about any old literature, so long as it is good. It is a celebration of books and words and Peckham, all rolled into one.

I wish I'd known about it earlier.
As an author whose books are all set in Peckham, this festival is right up my street in more ways than three.

The eclectic list of events, ensures there will be something for everyone.
The festival runs from 14-18 November.
See you there?

URGENT! INSANITY ALERT! ACT NOW!

I've just received a vital email (lucky this one got through) alerting me to this.

Scroll down past the items about litter, chewing gum and public toilets and go to page 14.

It is proposed to prohibit the distribution of free refreshments on land designated by a London borough council. It would also be an offence to cause another person to distribute such refreshments. To be designated, land would have to be in the open air, and open to public access. Unlawful distribution of free food would be an offence, and would be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale. Exemptions would be included, for example, the distribution of refreshments to people taking part in sporting events or giving out free samples outside retail premises. Comments are welcome on the proposal to prohibit the distribution of free refreshments in designated areas.

In case you're having any problems getting to grips with the meaning behind this bureaucratic blurb, they're talking about banning soup kitchens for homeless people!

The deadline for registering comments is TODAY!

Please, please, please email oliver.hatch@londoncouncils.gov.uk

You can use this template below or create an email of your own.

Dear Oliver,

I'm writing concerning the proposal to restrict the distribution of 'free refreshments' as contained in the "Proposals for a tenth (London Local Authorities) Bill" for Deposit in November 2007.

I am concerned by the lack of recognition of the important role that organisations wishing to assist the homeless have. In addition to the premises-based services on offer to homeless people, such 'refreshments' or 'soup-kitchens' provide an essential supplementary service to homeless and destitute individuals. Soup kitchens enable distribution of food without expensive overheads.

I would urge London Councils to completely drop this proposed legislation, or to substantially modify it to allow services to continue without causing undue disturbance to nearby premises.

[Suggest your own solution - e.g. a license.]

[Give your own story about how you may have helped homeless people, or about people you know who help]

I look forward to your response. I can be contacted on the details below.

Yours sincerely,

[your name]

[your address]

I am here. Honestly.

Doh!
Am I the only one who has these stupid problems with my emails?

I've just received one from someone concerned that I hadn't replied to their previous one a couple of weeks ago.

But I did!
It's in my sent items list.
And it didn't bounce back.

So does this explain why I haven't had any response to various urgent emails I've sent recently?
Did they not get through?
Or did the replies to me not get through?

How come I never seem to have problems receiving spam? Over 50 items a day of the stuff?

Bloody bloody bloody techy stupidity.

UPDATE: And now bloody Blogger won't let me play either! I've just wasted an entire morning trying to comment on other people's blogs - without success. Doh and double doh!

Some of FB's gorgeous friends

Debi and her Dad. Part 7

I seem to have spread quite a bit of doom and gloom about the NHS with this series of posts.

But in essence - and compared to countries where the equivalent doesn't exist at all - it's a wonderful service and one we should never give up on, but must fight to maintain.

You see, sometimes things go RIGHT!
And it's nearly always down to the hard-working and committed people working within the system.

Yesterday dad went for his appointment to have a 24 hour tape fitted to monitor his heart.
Having failed to speak to anyone in Cardiology, I gave him a letter to take with him.
Early afternoon, I received a phone call from the Cardio Dept.
A very helpful woman told me the tape had been organised as a result of his recent falls.
She explained the procedure to me and said the tape could be removed a day later and a courier would call to collect it, to save dad having to come back to the hospital.

At 5.45 his carer called saying she could get no reply from dad's flat which was in darkness.
I phoned Patient Transport (heart racing a little) but no one answered.
I tried Cardio (heart a-flutter now) assuming there would be no chance of getting through.

Instead, a Real Live Human Being answered!
She called Transport herself and, when there was no reply, she sent a colleague round in person to check what time dad had been collected.
Meanwhile, she regularly came back to the phone to apologise for keeping me hanging on.
Finally she said there was no one in the Transport Dept but maybe the traffic was bad ...
She asked me to call her back to let her know what was going on.

Having no idea what else to try, I phoned dad (heart thudding).
And guess what - he answered, sounding chirpy and energetic!
Presumably he hadn't heard the doorbell ...

I said I'd be round the next day to deal with the tape.
'Tape? What tape?'
'The one on your chest!'
'Eh? There's nothing on my chest ... Apart from some hair. There's something in my pocket though ...'
'Oh. Right.' (Heart sinking.) 'Well don't worry. I'll come tomorrow and we can sort it out then.'
'You're coming tomorrow? Oh. Hang on. There's something stuck on my chest ...'

I call Cardio back to tell them I've tracked dad down and all is well.
'Oh, thank G-d!' the woman breathed.

You see?
She really cared.
Like the woman who had called earlier, spoke to me in a way that was both clear and helpful and organised the courier.
And the carer who was concerned enough to call and alert me to a possible problem.

What a difference people who care can make ...

Very very sad news

I had all sorts of plans today including a few light hearted posts.

But that's all changed now.

I frequently check Dina's blog and though I have a lot on today something drew me there first thing.

The last post - on October 23rd - was, in typical Dina style, a picture of a gorgeous hat.

But then I checked the comments and found that Dina died on Monday night.

You don't need my words to tell you about Dina.
Read her own - in her blog and her book and her regular Guardian column.
And, if you feel so inclined, donate to the charity appeal in her name.

Minx and the Merkans

Look out, US of A!

Dorcas is coming to your shores.
Break out the purple bunting ...

A Message - Just for You (and you and you ...)

That clever Sarah Salway, together with fellow writer, Lynne Rees, has come up with a new lit blog project involving messages, a blog, a book, a charity, November, tenuous connections and the number 300.

Whether you would like to be directly involved - or prefer to watch from the sidelines - go here to check out Your Messages.

How to Silence Your Inner Critic

If you've ever put pen to paper or fingertip to keyboard to create something new from your own imagination, you'll know who I mean by the 'Inner Critic'.

It's the one who sits on your shoulder and whispers insidiously in your ear, sapping your energy and draining your confidence.

'You can't do this,' it says.
'Why are you bothering?
You'll never get anywhere.
You're doomed to failure.
And quite rightly so - you're crap.'

Sometimes you get on a roll and can manage to push it into the background -
- but inevitably the time comes when it's back, dripping with malice.

It may surprise you to know that just about every writer - published or unpublished, bestseller or midlister - has one of these spiteful demons challenging their urge to create.

In the BloggersWithBookDeals Forum there was a discussion recently about this phenomenon.
Realising the problem to be universal, but our responses to it to be personal, we thought we'd share the conversation by posting it on Bookarazzi.

You can follow the thread here.

While you're there, you might want to check out the other fab new material on the site, including a new Tips for Writers section.
Oh and there's another post about procrastination (the thief of time) just gone up.

The Fall Guy

Ouch! Ooof! Splat!

I just fell over in the street.
You know how it goes - it looks spectacular enough to send a woman scurrying over to see if I'm ok but all I'm worried about is looking like a twat.

So of course I struggle to my feet, assure her I'm fine, and hide the bleeding palms and bruised knees.

But what I want to know is - at what point do you stop 'falling over' and start 'having a fall'?

Debi and her Dad. Part 6

So yesterday when I go to dad I find an appointments card for a 24hr tape at Barnet Hospital Cardiology Dept next Wed.
I have no idea what this is about or where it's come from - and of course dad has no recollection either.

I phone patient transport to arrange for him to get there.
They tell me they can't accept a booking from me - it has to be arranged by the dept.
I phone the Cardio Dept.
Answer machine asks me to leave a message and they'll get back to me.
I leave a message saying I'll be at dad's for the next hour or so and leaving his number.
An hour later I call again and leave another message asking them NOT to call dad as he'll just be confused.
I leave my home no and mobile.

No response.

This morning I try ringing Cardio again.
Answer machine says there's no more space for messages and to ring another extension or dial zero.
I dial zero and am told it's not possible to connect me.
I ring the main switchboard.
They ask for the name of dad's consultant.
I say I have no idea but the appointment is for a 24hr tape - which I assume means he will also have to return the following day.
The operator says all the numbers are on voicemail.
She suggests explaining to transport.
She transfers me to transport.
Transport say they can't possibly accept the booking from me.
I should try the GP.
(Oy vey!)

I call the GP.
Sorry, the receptionist tells me, they can only arrange a first transport and this isn't dad's first.
I patiently explain the problem and she says she'll make an exception 'just this once' and will arrange it.

Of course I'm still going to need to talk to the dept as I need to know if he'll have to go back the following day to have the tape removed.

Great gig - great cause. What more do you want?

A friend of mine has organised a gig in aid of ALDLife - both of her children have adrenoleukodystrophy - you can read their story here.

Montague Arms
289 Queens Road, Peckham, SE15

8.30-midnight Friday 2nd November

The Original Sinners
ParaFernalia
Jeanette Murphy
Fiona Branson
Trip Team DJs
Big Ron
Icon's Choice

£5/£3 concessions.

The bands are all appearing free.
All we have to do is turn up and enjoy!

Debi and her Dad. Part 5

For some time dad's been complaining of pain in the sole of his foot.
A trip to the chiropodist a few weeks ago helped but didn't provide the miracle cure I'd hoped for.

So when I went with him to the doctor's today for a flu jab, I took my opportunity.
(Remember this is the crap GP practice I've mentioned before.)

Me: While you're in with dad, would you mind taking a quick look at his foot please? He says it's really sore and it was actually very hard for him to walk here at all.

Nurse: Oh no, that won't be possible. I'm very busy doing the flu jabs. You'll need to make another appointment.

Me: (through gritted teeth) Yes I understand, but as I said, he found it very difficult to get here at all and it is very sore and since we're here I'd be very grateful if you could just have a look please ...

Later ...

Nurse: I've given him his flu jab and then I realised his Vit B12 jab was due too so I gave him that as well. I've put a padded dressing on his foot and moisturised his foot and legs. You should change the dressing in 3 days - here are some spares.

So there you go.
As dad always says, if you don't ask, you don't get.

UPDATE: I replied to the GP's email I told you about here by asking who I should contact and what was the best method ie phone, email, letter, visit etc.
That was nearly 2 wks ago.
I've yet to receive a reply.

What am I doing wrong?

First I get called Nice, and now Marie has only gone and said I'm sweet!

Don't forget - you can break teeth on candied apples ...

I'm supposed to nominate other sweet people, but I ain't gonna cos I'm really nasty and evil.
So there!

A good deed in a naughty world.

I posted here about the kindness of strangers and how small deeds can make such a difference to the quality of our life.

In the comments, Kath T gave this example:
I dropped my purse on the bus a few years ago and a lady of mature years came after me to return it. Obviously very relieved I tried to buy her a coffee, she refused and told me to do the same for someone else, which I try to do.

And Carol G gave this one:
I live out in the sticks in Scotland, one night my car broke down on an unlit road, miles away from anywhere and to top that, I couldn't get a signal on my mobile. Plus the sweet sound of two teenage girls in the back screeching about getting their trainers wrecked if they had to walk through the fields!

An angel came in the shape of a man who'd just collected a takeaway pizza. He let us share it with him as we huddled round the engine lit by his headlights. Then, even though I lived 30 miles away from that bleak spot, he towed me all the way and helped my husband push the heap onto the drive.

He said he wouldn't like to think of his wife and kids stranded on a lonely road like that, and wouldn't have been able to sleep if he'd driven past us.

My dad always said that in every encounter with a fellow human being, no matter how small or transient, he hoped they went away feeling better than before he'd met them.

Let's go for a karmic shift here!
Please give examples of small acts of kindness that have happened to you.

Action Reaction

Following the Blog Action Day on the environment on Monday, here's how it went:

20,603 blogs participated ...
There were 23,327 posts (some bloggers posted more than once - guilty as charged, m'lud) ...
Reaching an approximate readership of 14,631,038.
There's more - the Day was also picked up by all forms of traditional media around the world including TV stations, radio stations and newspapers.

And yet more - Blog Action Day was officially supported by the United Nations Environmental Programme.
'UNEP welcomes the simple yet powerful concept of Blog Action Day and calls on bloggers around the world to participate.'

So what - if any - tangible difference did all this make?
There are obvious limitations to this kind of initiative.
There's a strong possibility that we're preaching to the converted.
There are no guarantees that anyone previously sceptical may have been converted to the cause simply by reading a blogpost.
And there's a danger that - as with events like Live8 - people will sit back and feel smug - they've done 'their bit'.

In response, each of us should resolve to do at least one more thing for our planet than we currently do. It's not like there's any shortage of choice:
recycling, using energy efficient lightbulbs, not leaving appliances on standby, not using the car for short journeys, buying local produce, avoiding excess packaging, not taking plastic bags, turning down our thermostats by one degree, changing to a green energy supplier ...

If every one of those 14,631,038+ people implemented one or more of these suggestions, that would make a tangible difference.

But the main outcome we have to hope for is that initiatives like this contribute to such a groundswell of opinion that they lead to a cultural shift, whereby pressure is put on governments and corporations so that it becomes impossible not to factor in the effect on the environment of new policies, projects, products etc.

Now that's what I call making a difference.

Salad days

Neatly linking the Blog Action Day on the environment with Maht at Moon Topples' Phoctober project ....

The best way to deal with food miles, packaging, additives etc is to grow your own.
If, like me, you have only a balcony, there are still ways you can eat what you grow.

Blog Action Day

Heads up!
Today is important.
It's Blog Action Day.



All around our beleaguered planet, thousands of people are blogging today about the environment.

Go here to see Absolute Vanilla's passionate call to arms around housing developments.
Go here to see a post about plastic.
And here to see one about butterflies.
Here's one about recycling.
This is the list of 4 officially supported charities for the day.

Thousand of blogs.
Millions of readers.

What's your excuse for not getting involved?

The kindness of strangers

There was a time when altruism was considered the obvious way to live.

Then along came the Thatcher 80s - and suddenly altruism was equated with stupidity.
Greed and ambition were to be celebrated and admired.
And we've never recovered.

But every so often something - or someone - comes along who reminds you that human beings still have the capacity for acting in a way that helps others, while bringing them no material gain - apart from the satisfaction of knowing you have been kind and made a fellow human being feel good.

So yesterday, my boys went to the park with 3 friends.
They were only going for an hour in the late afternoon, so I didn't bother giving them any money.

One of the friends bought 2 ice creams and apologised to the others for not having enough £££ to buy them each one.

'You 3 not having an ice cream?' the man asked.
'No - it's ok, thanks,' the boys replied.
'Why not?'
'We don't have the money - but that's fine. Thank you.'

You can guess, can't you?
Not only did he give them each an ice cream - he even gave them strawberry sauce!

Now that man's never going to be rich.
But he made their day.
And when they told me, it made mine too.
And now I've shared it with you.

We don't know his name, so he has no way of knowing how far his actions are being celebrated and lauded.
He won't even have the satisfaction of knowing how much they have been appreciated.

But he put a little bit of goodness into the world.
Can you put a value on that?

PS Still having some techy problems.
If anyone's trying to reach me by Googlemail - be warned. I can't get in.

I'm going out. I may be some time.

Gulp. I'm about to change ISP ...

Wish me luck.

If I disappear from your screens never to return, you'll know why.
It's been a blast ...
So long and thanks for all the fish.

(Mounts steed and gallops into virtual sunset clutching cd, modem, 4 wire thingys, 2 plugs, 1 unidentified techy object and a leaflet telling me it'll be a breeze.)