Hi everyone,
Well the stuff with the writing website, www.creativedge.weebly.com is going well. No offence but I've been so impressed with the quality of the writing that has been submitted to the site. There's no wonder my blog gets no views it's shite in comparisson.

I've managed to do what I needed to do with the site and provide writers somewhere to go where they might find some belief in thier work. My main aim is to get into promoting writers and their work. I'd love to do that. I'm so sick of the stereotypes that your entering somekind of special world full of snobbery and ignorance. I think a lot of the time people who deal with authors and publishing are just very busy. By the feedback I've received from writers I seem to be doing something right.

Lets hope it continues.

Rach
xxx
 

Seems a bit daft to keep writing a blog. I've been receiving some fantastic work for the website and I'm not sure I can write like they do. But I'll blog about the website www.creativedge.weebly.com

It's been a good week and the website is ticking over nicely. We have received a shocking amount of hits. I've run websites before and getting 20 hits a day was something I celebrated. My favourite part of running a website is working out where all the hits have come from. We had a forwarding via email sometime in the week which was lovely to watch. I can't wait till google recognise us and then I will get a whole load of info as to what words people have searched and how they found us. It may seem a bit of a daft obsession but if you don't know your clients how can you make sure you are giving them the right services or advertising in the right places? For example, straight after I put a note on my twitter account the page views went up considerably. It wasn't until I checked the details I realised two people had clicked on us from twitter. It must have been one of those who liked us on stumble upon and the whole thing just went mental after that. Stumbleupon is ace in my book!

The feedback from clients is good and I'm pleased with the site so far.This probably wont earn me millions, or even pounds but I know what I'm like with literature. I could happily make this my lifes work!

I wish I was in the literary world enough to be able help people progress and get published. That is my next goal to provide some kind of package service where I can work with someone and get them published. This may take me twenty years or more but I will have a go.

It's also interesting to hear people talk about their own experiences of writing. The entries we have had so far have focused on the things that frustrate them about writing. I realise you need to be inspired to write so it would make sense. I just wish it wasn't so much of a task for people. So much uncertainty. I imagine if everyone had a book out though we would find the task of being taken seriously exremely hard. One things for sure I'll have a half crazy idea one day and use it to help someone!

But until then I'm quite happy to be glued to my stats page and working out how to make everyone come and visit the site.

Make sure you do...

www.creativedge.weebly.com

Rach
xxx
 

Well I've done it. I've made my own writing services website. www.creativedge.weebly.com please have a look. I'm writing to ask if there is any interest in our blog page there. What we do is choose a blog entry each week and post it on our site with a link to your normal blog. It serves as a good way for our site to encourage writing and for you to plug your blog and get more views. If you would like to send us a sample blog entry, a small blurb about you and the blog and a link to your blog page we will publish all of this if you are selected. Just log onto the site go into the competitions page for more information. The hardest part will probably be selecting what you think is your best post. The website also offers writing services like proof reading etc. I hope you all like the site, email us if you have any suggestions.
Rach
xxx
 

Today I want to blog about facebook and in particular facebook friends who vanish. Where the hell do they go? I have a lot of friends on facebook and I understand that you can't be everyones best friend, you can't be important to everyone. I've been on facebook maybe 3 yearsish which is a long time. Over that time I appear to have 'lost' five friends. The ones I can remember. Do people wonder through their facebook friend lists thinking whose for the chop? hahahaha I'm going to delete you? Two things bug me about this, maybe three, firstly it maybe more than five, my memories crap. Secondly, ive put up with them for three years am i that irritating they cant put up with me? thirdly and finally, how f ing false! ok ive vented and im feeling a little better. I realise some people emmigrate and close facebook accounts and some people just treat people on levels of how much you can do for them but ffs. HOW RUDE. ; )
 

Well it's only fair to continue my blogging about the decade I missed out on. Last time if you remember one reader I was whized back into the late seventies and found out no one had invented haircuts or moshing in the seventies. Last night I went to see Steve Harley and I think at least one of his cockney rebels. I had a pretty fantastic time to be fair. I think the bestest thing about going to see a band is that you are joining in their happiness, your a piece of a big jigsaw that makes someone smile. If you'll excuse the rather large pun on the one song they absolutely HAD to play and they did : )
The bloke invited me to this one kinda late. I had four days to learn a whole back catalogue. And I feel again like I've been let into somekind of exclusive club. His new album is fantastic and all this research is leading me to thinking you have to go and explore music these days. It's just not enough to read the NME and be guided around, they miss people out. There's been so much good music mini genius(es/i/'s?) are being lost in time and we should all make a big effort to claim them back as our own. I'm currently studying the seventies but there have been other decades, I can't imagine all the music of the sixties I don't know and it's a shame. We only see these people reemerge if someone thinks they can sell their new CD or book. I know from writing poetry that your only as good as your last creation but what about the creations before that? The five star rated gem I had that inspired me to write the others? Whose appreciating that now? It's the same thing and it's wrong. I think todays blog is a plee to jump into culture before you try adding to it. You may just be surprised to realise someone was singing your tune 40 years ago, and probably doing a better job of it.

Rach
xxx
-- just as an aside I'd like to start a petition to beg UFO to reform so I can go out with the bloke again lol : )
 

Had a bit of a tiring week and a lot of a good week. I think that evens things up quite alot really. My new job is fantastic. It's amazing how easy it is to read without a load of very contradictory and complicated stupid rules to follow. I can just translate the stuff that is given to me and pass it on. It's also alot easier on the phonelines too since, when given nice customers to read for, you can tell them what you want to tell them. So liking my part time job career change.

I'm off out on Sunday with the bloke which I'm absolutely buzzing about. I went out shopping to buy something to wear. I seemed to wander into a shop for middle aged women. The top that looked extremely tarty in the shop fits. Thats no good is it?

Anyhows I'll find something decent to wear and hopefully have a whale of a time on Sunday : )

Other than that I have no news. Still not got the guts to ask the bloke to graduation. I am dead useless aren't I? It's just if he says no I might not want to go myself and although my dear father may not attach much importance to the occassion I do think it's improtant to go. Not sure how to word that it's extremely in his interests if he comes with me. But I'll find a way around it on the chance he might wear a suit ; )

Right I'm offskis, going to wait for my published writer friend to come round and see me. It's all very glamourous round here

xxx
 

I appear to have a stalker, or there were eight very bored people riding the wave of writing.com yesterday. So I thought I'd write and give some input back to the kind/derranged person/people who have bothered to read my blog.

Firstly, I'd like the whole wide world to note that my fantastic bloke who isn't in the slightest bit mine but most definetly a bloke is lovely and fantastic.

Secondly, I like to say my Dad is smelly. He cannot come to my graduation so I'm going on my own and I'll have to record cheering and play it really loud. Yes it's graduation number two and a sily hat is a silly hat no matter how many times you look at it but ffs father it was your flippin idea I put myself through the hell on earth that is teacher training. How rude.

Thirdly, now I have determined my blokes ace and my Dads crap how do I get the bloke to come to graduation instead?

I'll keep you updated.

Rach
xxx
 

Well it's sunny today : ) I've had a decentish rest and I fel a bit more like myself so all is good here : )

What to blog about today. I think I'd like some suggestions please for a new word. The definition of this word is when you want to write but don't have a clue what you want to write about. I'll call is complusivecloggyexpressionism for now and I'll look forward to thousands of better suggestions.

Blackpool are playing at Wembeley today. I don't think they are going to win which is not a great sign but considering my track record on guessing football scores correctly I have about a three in ten chance of being right.

I'd quite like Blackpool to win though. The football ground becomes alive with random traders selling anything orange they can fit on a table and it's the 'buzz' I like of it all. The feeling that one minute no one cares for this second rate, oddly coloured bunch of nobodies and the next minute everyones off to see them at Wembeley. cheering them on like they have known them all their lives.

Money wise it's only something like a squillion pound game this, so no pressure lads eh?

At times like this it makes me want to job swap for the day. What does the manager promise them for winning a match like this?

Anyhows, I'm off out to the supermarket so I'll catch you later : )

Rach
xxx



 

I've finished alot of my work from the PGCE. If anyone is reading this and thinks it might be a good idea to go and do a PGCE in one year let me take this chance to remind you of all the hard work and sweat it will take to complete it as I will completely forget all of this within two weeks of finishing the course.

I've been resting and reading. Truely shattered is not the term to describe how I feel here. Empty and deviod of human emotion may describe me better right now.

I'm supposed to be happy I know but sometimes things take too much effort and by the time you've finished you just think fuck this was it worth it.

Anyone who decides that teachers aren't trained enough can go stick their heads up the backside of a particularly large elephant. I'm just one person, I'm not lazy or stupid but good God this year has drained the very life out of my soul, curdled my blood until my ever present zombie state has taken over and led me to believe I couldn't give a shit about anything. The only time I feel like myself is when I'm planning lessons and delivering them. The rest of the time I'm battling people who talk the talk, a talk specifically designed to say absolutely nothing but seem very much like it means something important. And to make it even more difficult to work out people who design educational websites don't have a clue what they are on about they maliciously type the patter in code. They seem to speak in a language of abbreviations and buzz words which is dead helpful when your trying to understand something. Honest.

So when I've finished moaning about my last assignment and accepted that some people just get jobs because interviews are really easy if you can manage the skill of talking crap that someone can attach a meaning to if they truely try, I will sulk off and continue my resting period.

I'm supposed to be elated and I truely feel like I couldn't care less about my 'success'. I'm a complete failure at all the life skills needed in life but very good at Education. I think this course has taken over my life so much that I haven't time to do the other things other people seem to busy themselves with generally.

Ironing for example, and holidays.

Im going to go and sleep and hopefully I will return to my eager puppy like self shortly.

Rach
xxx
 

God I had a good night last night and a good birthday : ) Being thirty isn't that bad when you actually get there. Infact everyone made such a fuss of me I wish I was thirty everyday : )
Instead of spending the evening downing tia maria and wardlling to various Celine Dion greif stricken money spinners I went hardcore and went to see a tribute act to a seventies prog rock band that I can't mention since I'm about to be honest about what I saw and since they made me feel gloriously young it might upset them slightly lol.

I often read books from times gone by and I like looking at them in historical context. It could of been the lack of need for it on my degree course but they never let me look purely at historical context. I had to pick things to pieces by their meaning for the working class and stick it into a marxist crit thing. Personally, I think thats a bit out of date and we should be looking at todays society and the influence of a lack of a structured society is doing to our literature to be fair. It's like a historical exercise in itself when you go trawling through to find the plight of the working classes. It is an insult to the working classes of yesteryear to suggest that working in a shop for 60 hours a week is anything like working in a mill or a pit or a shipping yard or a farm for five hours a week. Whats the worst that can happen in a shop? You break a freshly manicured nail from scanning items and the beep can be mildly irritating. Then just when your supervisior has forgot your break was five minutes ago someone is a bit passive aggressive. Oh the plight of the modern day working class! The capitalist dellusion would be a good starting point. Anyways. I'm sure the powers that be will catch up eventually. My point is I like looking at whats missing from now in things from days gone by and this prog rock fest was a mild glimpse into the decade I just missed out on.

I should start with explaining that the bloke took me to this gig as he's a massive fan of the real band. There were also three other big fans in the country that he told me he recognised from other gigs so that made a crowd of five. Just before the band came on the crowd of hired whoopers arrived so we had a nice little group of nearly twenty (?) expecting way too much from this tribute act that they could never possibly deliver what the crowd wanted.

Thing is in days gone by people made albums to listen to. It doesn't seem that single sales boosted the album sales and that just sticking three tracks on one album that were good made the record company to release it rubbing their eager hands in erm... glee. No no, after studying this band (and I have to if I want to get laid often) it seems bands were musicians, could play instruments and made albums with loads of high standard songs on, didn't do remixes and fillers, just produced something as a whole for the audience to appreciate, not buy. And theres a big difference. If anyone can play guitar as badly as me, seeing someone play it worse on a music video, whether shes got big eyes or not, is really painful to watch.
So this poor band will never be able to play everyones favourite song as theres probably 40 songs I like and I'm new to the band and never to the same standard although as a crowd we appreciated that they tried and wolf whistled when they got it right.

However, as much as I can forgive them for not being perfect, what the hell did they wear in the seventies? I swear to god I could see that mans cock through his trousers. No imagination needed, I'm sat there on a bar stool, next to the bloke, trying to look serious and like I get the point and ffs I'm playing cock watch seeing how excited he gets and if it has any correllation to the amount of applause/ big solos/ laughs at his jokes. I know what your thinking, at his age he should be thinking himself lucky he can still get it up, but good god, put the guitar in the right place and stop drawing me to your crotch. Please!

I know the bloke didn't notice, I know it's not in his nature to even begin to think if I'm with him I'd even look at another bloke. But he doesn't know me yet. And why people were allowed to wonder around in pornographic trousers in the seventies I'll never know, but there's a reason we don't have them now and that is there would only be a small (?) section of the male population dare wear them. I swear to god I've seen blokes naked and saw less of them than I saw of him. Eye rape indeed.

So other than the fashion of the seventies being different to what I thought it was (sladesque flares and platforms?) so were the hairdos. I was expecting some nice poodle perms but it appears hairdressers didn't exist in the seventies, perhaps they had all been blinded by the music fashions of the day and had to take up styling footballers hair only. But if I was on any doubt there were two Gandolf style do's there that were historically in tact that seeminlgy hadn't been touched for 40 years. This could be enhanced by a beard but again shockingly shaving seemed to be in but haircuts out in 1970.

So the gig went on and I really enjoyed it. I avoided the cock for long enough to have a nosey at the guitars and marvelled at the solos they got right, listened to the bloke telling me which album things were off like I might have a clue what that mean't. I drunk, wait for this, Mansfield Bitter, which was worth the drive down in itself and I don't care how much of an old man you think I am for drinking it. I WAS TRYING TO FIT IN!

The final striking thing that occurred to me in my analyisis of a glorious evening spent with fifty something men urgently reliving the age I'm fortunate enough to be able to still remember was the evolution of rock there right before my very eyes. OMG in the seventies no one had invented moshing! Trying not to laugh at tight jean wearing, long haired, aged dancers was difficult enough, but air guitar??? I cannot express how honoured I was to be a part of the evenings resurrection of 1978 and if you yourself have an unwanted birthday approaching I strongly suggest to plan something involving a group of people from a time long gone by and quickly while your still young enough to find them : )

Rach
xxx