Wednesday, June 15, 2011

memories and ghosts

Current work: Medical
Listening to: Bach
Reading: Rachel Vincent, My Soul to Keep (enjoying)

Still up to eyes. Have been reminiscing about school, and my kids can’t get their heads round the fact that my school buildings used to be part of a military hospital, i.e. they were Nissen huts and freezing cold in the winter. They’re also freaked by the fact I had school on Saturday mornings. And that when there was too much snow on the hockey/rugby pitches, you were sent for a cross-country run round the whole school grounds in said snow and you weren’t allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms: it had to be PE kilts for girls and shorts for boys.

Ghosts? Ah, yes. It was allegedly haunted.

So all this was quite good fodder for a novelist in training. (I did eventually use the school pond and the ban on ice-skating on said pond in my last Medical, The Firefighter and Nurse Loveday.)

Oh, and just in case you think I’m joking about the Nissen huts – there’s a nice aerial shot here at the Wymondham College Remembered website from my first year at the school. Definitely character-forming :o) (And kudos to Bill Atkins for putting all that material together. Fascinating stuff!)

Righty. Back to the typeface. Must put in more effort today and not let get self distracted because the book is at THAT stage, i.e. I think it’s a pile of poo and hate it. Next week, it will be better, but this is the sucky writing week. Just as well I know my process or I’d be hitting the chocolate!

3 comments:

catherine.britton said...

Do you remember the time when the snowdrifts were so deep we actually went on strike and sat down in the sports hall and refused to go on a run? I think the boys were still made to go, which was either very noble or very stupid of them. Ah happy days...

Lacey Devlin said...

I'm very disappointed in my school now. Where were the ghosts, huh?

I hadn't realised publishes authors still go through the pile of poo stage. I'm there too. Wouldn't it be nice to put it in a draw and start another... ;-)

Kate Hardy said...

Catherine - that must've been the 78 drifts? (I remember being snowed in, so I might not've managed to get to school and had to miss PE. Shame.) As for the boys - hmm, I think stupid rather than noble!

Lacey - you could always make them up :o) And yes, this is my 49th M&B, and I still get the pile of poo stage. Hope yours improves soon. (And don't tempt me to stick it in the filing cabinet - I too would like to be writing a different one!)