Deafness* *An inability to hear properly OR unwillingness to hear or pay attention. I would dearly love to be classed as the latter but regrettably my hearing is very limited and continues to deteriorate. There are numerous reasons why someone has difficulty with hearing and the severity ranges from mild dysfunction to total deafness. With … Continue reading Deafness*
Throughout February we asked you to send in flash submissions on the topic of “Love Languages”. We’re delighted to share the winning entry of David Thompson, Frome in Somerset, with you. It’s also his 89th birthday today so happy birthday David! He also published a poetry collection recently – Days of Dark and Light – with Hobnob Press. Language … Continue reading Love Languages – Winning Entry
Autumn Voices is delighted to share Jo Clifford’s words on International Women’s Day. Jo Clifford is a proud father and grandmother, playwright and performer, based in Edinburgh. She is the author of over 100 plays, many of which have been performed all over the world. Plays include: Every One, The Tree Of Knowledge, Faust Parts One … Continue reading Jo Clifford on International Women’s Day
The Background A few years ago, we invited a Buddha to run a Mindfulness Workshop with our group, Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Tinnitus Support Group and he suggested writing a letter to our tinnitus. This, for me, was many years after my own tinnitus had started. When my tinnitus appeared, my life was happy and … Continue reading Creativity and Tinnitus
‘In my bairn days, I hed the speech o a bairn, the mind o a bairn, the thochts o a bairn, but nou at I am grown manmuckle, I am throu wi aathing bairnlie.’ (1 Corinthians 13:11 – New Testament in Scots, William Laughton Lorimer, 1983) As a bairn, my first leid was Scots. Till I was … Continue reading The Oor-Wulliefication o Scots?
Born in my grandparents’ house in Cardigan in West Wales, I was surrounded by my mother’s family speaking Welsh to each other, with the casual familiarity of the monoglot. Then Dad came home from the war and our little nuclear family moved to their own house and the dominant language changed to English. Dad was … Continue reading I’m glad I’m Welsh!
Throughout January we asked you to send in flash submissions on the topic of New Hobbies. We’re delighted to share the winning entry of Finola Scott, aged 71, with you. Finola Scott’s poetry and short stories have appeared in anthologies and journals including Gutter, New Writing Scotland, The Fenland Reed, Lighthouse, RAUM and The Ofi Press. Her work has … Continue reading New Hobbies – Winning Entry
Shetlandic / Shetlan/ Shetland dialect That subtitle could bog us down in the dreaded question: ‘Is it a language or a dialect?’ And ‘what should it be called?’ Let’s not go there. Shetlanders just say ‘we’re spaekin Shetlan’. Leaving the politics of language aside, Shetlan or Shetlandic is somewhat distinctive, a ‘relic’ as the linguist … Continue reading What’s not to love about mother tongue?
I avoided learning Gaelic earlier because it seemed too much of a cliche for such a fervent Scot as I, especially when all my people were Lowlanders. I finally succumbed to it when we lived in Glasgow from 1992 until 1996. I had known it was nothing like English and was one of the Celtic … Continue reading Suas leis a’Ghàidhlig
I have always enjoyed writing. At school I remember having bits and pieces published in the school magazine and winning the senior poetry writing competition. In later years I dabbled in short story writing and then occasional pieces of journalism. Editors like people who can supply photographs and words – it saves them having to … Continue reading The Poetry of Entanglement
It was inevitable – having mastered the basics of photography and having trained as an architect – that I spent a lot of time photographing buildings around the world. For reasons that I mentioned in my previous blog, I had discovered the joy of nature and wildlife photography and when I wasn’t photographing buildings, I … Continue reading Street Photography and Annan Through a Pandemic
Throughout December we asked you to send in flash submissions on the topic of Coorie & Hygge. We’re delighted to share the winning entry of Christine Law, aged 66, with you. Helpful Aide Living in sheltered housing, I keep away the winter blues by exercising a neighbour’s Jack Russell Terrier dog called Alfie. He is … Continue reading Coorie & Hygge – Winning Entry
As a youngster, I hated having to line up on some special occasion for a family photograph. Once suitably posed, there was the universally understood ‘cheeeeese . . .’ followed by ‘click’. It was in the gap between ‘cheeeeese’ and ‘click’ that I would pull a stupid face that would only be discovered on the … Continue reading Photography: How It Started
Orlando Lloyd-Jones, Agony Uncle and General Boss-Cat at Autumn Voices, recommends: The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide (Picador, 2014) I was tempted to recommend The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, a truly unusual and beguiling novel encompassing all manner of juxtaposed themes and ideas. The feline character of the book, however, isn’t a pleasant … Continue reading Orlando’s Jolabokablog
Clare O’Brien, Marketing and Competitions Administrator at Autumn Voices, recommends: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (Macmillan, 1973) In the run-up to Christmas I like to re-read a children’s book, but not for nostalgic reasons. Published in 1973 when I was 15 and more interested in glam rock than ancient mythology, Susan Cooper’s The Dark … Continue reading Clare’s Jolabokablog
