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, 28 April 2014

working late, week off, planting, quartet, cowslips, ace reprint with corrections

















Not due at the library till 11 am because I'm working late this evening.

Had last week off - a very refreshing break.

Was pleased that I could fork through the allotment despite the showers and get some things planted (shallots, onions, rhubarb and strawberries yesterday).

Lovely walks and cycle rides and one or two meals out. Also really enjoyed watching the film Quartet, which is about a home for retired musicians and stars Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins. Made me wonder if there was a home for retired librarians or writers...

Saw these cowslips when cycling along Calcroft Lane (aka the gated road) on Saturday.

Have just signed off the updated edition of A Conscious Englishman (properly speaking, a reprint with corrections).
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