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.

Sunday 3 February 2013

moon, crows and snowdrops, ribs, a conscious englishman, edward thomas, publishing my edward thomas




















Yesterday, the sun shone and the countryside round Bampton really cheered up.

Beside the spire of St Peter and St Paul's, Broadwell, the moon was still out at 8 o'clock in the morning and crows flew in front of it (spot the moon and crows!) and there were snowdrops in the churchyard.

Today, the fields were stark, the trees and hedges so obviously picked clean, the gate in the picture, almost hidden in summer by foliage, now laid bare like ribs on a carcass.

Meanwhile, the official publication of A Conscious Englishman by Margaret Keeping nears--Thursday 7th February.

As readers of this blog will know, the novel is about the last years of World War I poet Edward Thomas' life. It's a terrific read. And you can find a huge amount of extra information about the poet at the author's excellent blog, Publishing my Edward Thomas.

Today, appropriately, given the weather, is a quiet day, catching up on sleep and rest after a hectic week.
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