Penny Legg, December 2009

Crumbs it has been a long time since the last post! My new year resolution will have to be to blog more. I wish there were a few extra hours in the day though. That would be handy.

Well, what have I been up to?

Working really. I wish I could say it was something more exotic!

Finishing the editing, proofreading and printing of my book, Folklore of Hampshire, so it can go off to the publisher, took quite a long time. I am just sorting out the final photographs for the book and then off it will go and I will move on to completing the next book, Southampton Past and Present.

The next edition of The Woman Writer has to be with the sub-editor soon, so I have been busy with that too. This is always time consuming, particularly when dates or venues for future events change at the last moment. The increase in size of the magazine, from 24 to 32 pages, means I have a lot more to do. The next edition, out in January, will be the first of five 100th Anniversary editions published in 2010 to celebrate the centenary of the magazine.

I have started tutoring on another course for The Writers Bureau. This is interesting. Proofreading and copy editing are useful skills and the new course from The Writers Bureau covers everything you need to know about the subject, with lots of hands on practice. As a tutor it is interesting to gain an insight into my students' minds. Sometimes their logic takes me unawares and I have to really stop and think! Great fun. If any of my Writers Bureau students are reading this, I have to say, it is a joy to read your work, whether it be non-fiction assignments or proofreading. You might want to look at the Writers Bureau blog pages too, I have been asked to be a guest blogger and my first blog should be up on the site soon.

I now have a copy of The Woman Writer, the history of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists by Sylvia Kent. This has been written to commemorate the centenary of

the birth of Joyce Grenfell, the Society's President of 22 years, and covers the SWWJ in all its glory. For those

interested check out page 34, where I am mentioned.

I have been sent a review copy of Courting the Bull, an anthology of expatriate literature in Spain, which features a short story by my writing buddy, Rob Innis. This book is a mixture of the best of the fiction, verse and memoir written by expats in Spain and reflects their efforts to come to terms with the new culture they have entered. It's a super read.

My story, on the Veterans events in the summer, complete with numerous photos, are in the Winter edition of This England magazine. Another story, on the Living Collection of WW2 memorabilia in Cornwall, will be published in January's edition of Cornwall Today soon.

I have also been recently to see that great country tradition, the Mummers Play. Otterbourne

Mummers perform their play on one day a year and this year they braved the snow and ice to bring this traditional entertainment to the considerable crowd who had braved the freezing

temperatures. We watched as King George and the Turkish Knight battled it out with swords and I felt very sorry for the Knight when he had to lay on the ice in the road for some time until the doctor arrived with his magic potion to bring him to life once more. Great fun and it is wonderful that this centuries old tradition is alive and well and residing in Hampshire.

I do not know if I will have time to blog again before Christmas and so wish all my readers a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Penny Legg in Manchester

Manchester has changed a bit in the nine or so years since I was last there. It was not cold for a start as it was the last time I was there, although I had been led to believe it would be and had packed accordingly. There were a lot more people in the streets than I remembered, the tram lines are slowly inching across the city and there is a smart, and very comfortable, new hotel, The City Inn, just a stones throw from the railway station.

Why was I there? Well, it was conference time at The Writers Bureau and I joined several of my tutor colleagues in a pilgrimage 'up north' to the company's city centre offices. I flew up on Flybe from Southampton, which I have to say, was a great way to get from A to B. No stress, no hassle and a much shorter travelling time than if I had gone by train.

I have been tutoring for The Writers Bureau since August, so am a new face on the scene. I was curious about the set up and there was a lot for me to take in. The meeting covered all kinds of things, from the latest happenings in the company to problems caused by the postal disruption. Some of my colleagues were busy filming for a forthcoming YouTube short, and had tales of multiple takes, caused by buses outside in the street going past just at the wrong moment!

Later, after the business of the day, we met up in the hotel restaurant for an excellent meal and a good gossip. Perfect!

It was great to put faces to names, to learn about the company in more depth, to network and to feel I 'belonged'. My profile will shortly be going on to the tutor listing on The Writers Bureau website. I am sure that my students will like this. It is always reassuring to know that the person teaching them actually knows a bit about the job!

Simon Whaley has posted a photo of us on his blog. If you peer really hard, you will see me!

Penny Legg - a busy life!

Crumbs, it has been some time since I last blogged. Shows I have been busy.

I heard recently that I had been successful in my proposal to write a fourth book. Southampton Past and Present will be published at the end of 2010 by The History Press. This will be an interesting project as it will involve taking archive photographs and recreating them in colour in a modern day Southampton. The contrasts will be interesting, I think.

I have been asked if I would like to tutor non-fiction writing for the Writers Bureau. As readers of this blog and my website will know, I launched a writing consultancy some weeks ago. Tutoring for a major distance learning college will be an interesting challenge, which I am looking forward to taking on.

I will be off to Cornwall soon to follow up stories in that part of the world. I grew up visiting the West Country and love it. Recently I have not been in a position to go there as often as I would have liked as I was abroad, and so to be working there for a short while will be a pleasure. I hope that Martin's dairy is still in Looe. They have, in my humble opinion, the best Cornish ice cream in the world and their clotted cream, well...... You know where I will be heading for part of the time I am in the county.

I also learnt that I had passed my latest Open University course. The Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing consists of two courses, both undergraduate level and very interesting. I took the first course in the current academic year and heard on Friday that I had a good pass, so I am pleased.

In the meantime, Writing Buddies is coming on leaps and bounds. We had a dozen writers last Friday and several new faces, which was great.

On the home front, have you ever played on a Nintendo Wii? I hadn't until yesterday when my husband and I were staying the weekend with my brother, who has just bought one. He has the Wii Fit too, which I have to say is brilliant! It told me, after I had fed in all the preliminary information, done some exercises and been scanned by the machine, that my body is that of a woman 13 years younger than my actual age! How great is that? Women everywhere, you must buy one of these machines. They are the best ego boost you will ever have!

Ok all for now. I am off to write some more folklore...