Welcome to justthoughtsnstuff

I started posting to jtns on 20 February 2010 with just one word, 'Mosaic'. This seemed an appropriate introduction to a blog that would juxtapose fragments of memoir and life-writing. Since 1996, I'd been coming to terms with the consequences of emotional and economic abuse that had begun in childhood, and which, amongst other things, had sought to stifle self-expression. While I'd explored some aspects of my life through fiction and, to a lesser extent, journalism, it was only in 2010 that I felt confident enough to write openly about myself. I believed this was an important part of the healing process. Yet within weeks, the final scenes of my family's fifty-year nightmare started to play themselves out and the purpose of the blog became one of survival through writing. Although some posts are about my family's suffering - most explicitly, Life-Writing Talk, with Reference to Trust: A family story - the majority are about happier subjects (including, Bampton in rural west Oxfordshire, where I live, Oxford, where I work, the seasons and the countryside, walking and cycling) and I hope that these, together with their accompanying photos, are enjoyable and positive. Note: In February 2020, on jtns' tenth birthday, I stopped posting to this blog. It is now a contained work of life-writing about ten years of my life. Frank, 21 February 2020.

New blog: morethoughtsnstuff.com.

Monday 19 April 2010

all quiet on the allotment

Spent several happy and productive hours on the allotment over the weekend. Dug the rest of the potato area on Saturday then planted Cara and Charlotte (salad variety) yesterday. The potato dibber has now been put away for another year. Also planted shallots and onions (Yellow Moon and Sturon, respectively)--the patch of ground I prepared for these was amazingly easy to work and couch-free. The hard winter was a good friend when it broke down the clods.

Apart from the occasional roar of a power-cultivator and a rotavator all was blissfully quiet. Brize Norton has been brought to a standstill by the effects of the Icelandic volcano. For a few idyllic days living in the village really does feel as peaceful as it should do, given how tucked away it is.

Trinity Term online creative writing course launches later today. In theory this should be less affected by cancelled flights than face-to-face courses, although if people are stranded abroad they might not have full access to computers.

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