My Novel - Same As You

I have just finished a novel -well for the time being - and my agent is sending is out. In fact she may have already started to send it. Of the 5 novels I've written, 3 have been published, and this one, which is called Same As You, will hopefully be my fourth - the two central characters are identical twin sisters.

I'm not entirely sure how long I've been writing the novel for, but I've certainly been thinking about it for about four years and I've been at work on it for at least two.  Of all my books, this one has taken the longest for a few reasons. There was quite a bit of research to do about identical twins, talking to mothers of twins, reading about twins etc etc. Then through facebook I was in contact with my old school friends from boarding school, and they helped me remember some details of that grim place, where some of the action in the past, takes place.

I wanted to write a bit about the darkness of those days at school,(late seventies) and how cut off we all were from any kind of parental input/love/guidance. My particular school was a grim place, run by grim staff, and compared to today, the philosophy of teaching children was so different. I tried to imagine something terrible happening there, as it so easily could have done, because neglect and boredom bred rebellion.

The boarding school days have been weaved into my novel as a sub-plot in the past, combined with  a story about the twin sisters, who are estranged (in the present) when the book opens. The novel is really a background of their estrangement- how it happened, and whether they can come to some kind of rapprochement in the present day, when they are brought together by the death of their father. The book delves back to their teenage years, when they both loved one particular boy, and were separated because of him - one going to boarding school and one staying at home. 

I have really enjoyed writing it and I hope you will all get to read it. Fingers Crossed. It's such a nerve-wracking time, and i've had to go through it a few times.

My problem now, is that I can't seem to get down to thinking about another novel to write. Ideas come and go but none seem quite right. I hope something will come soon, because I am bereft without a novel to be immersed in.

Ripleys Believe It Or Not

To be honest, I'd never heard of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not  Which is strange, because I have lived in London all my life and I am the mother of two children aged 8 and 11, and it is situated in the middle of Piccadilly Circus. It is  the largest of the 33 Ripley's around the world and has houses a collection of  more than 700 weird, wonderful and chilling artefacts. Piccadilly Circus, is however, one of my least favourite places in London- a tacky tourist mecca, complete with Macdonalds and brightly-lit advertising, and stalls selling extortionate mini Red London buses, and the ubiquitous Union Jack Tee-shirts, but Ripley's is  easy to find, right outside one of the Picadilly Tube Exits. Once you enter the lobby, and find the model of the tallest man in the world playing in a band, alongside a model of a three legged man, and a tiny man in a birdcage (who was apparently held captive in a birdcage after he'd been arrested for stealing something) you will have forgotten the tack of Piccadilly anyway.

HOLAGRAM OF RIPLEY

My 11-year-old  son had read the Ripley annual at a friends' house and loved it. He and his friend (who we bought along) are the absolute ideal visitors to Ripley's. My eight-year-old daughter had decided that visiting Ripley's was going to be really boring, (rather like going to a museum) but her conclusion was that it was 'awesome.' My sons's favourite exhibit was a life size knitted Ferrari and all three children loved the holagram of Mr Ripley talking about his collection.

Mr Robert Ripley was born in 1890 in Santa Rosa California, and was apparently one of the most famous people in the world during the first half of the 20th Century. He was  a cartoonist, explorer,  reporter, adventurer, illustrator, collector and seeker of the odd and unusual. He explored India, but his favorite destination was China, and for several months after he first traveled to the Orient, Ripley signed his cartoons Rip Li. It was also during these travels that he picked up many strange souvenirs that were the first of his huge collection.

BELLE INFRONT OF THE RIPLEY PORTRAIT MADE OF SWEETS

My son has asked me to add that the collection is not for the squeamish - there are some shrunken heads and a two headed lamb and a 'scary' man with crocodile teeth, who starts talking as you pass by (which made me jump and scream) and a model of  man being electrocuted - push the button and watch him fizz.  There are also models of the tallest man and the fattest  and one of the smallest road-worthy cars ever produced. The experience is like a kind of 3D Guinness Book of Records .

After looking at the exhibits, we all loved running and screaming through the Mirror Maze, which is a series of columns and arches surrounded by hundreds of mirrored reflections in every direction. The floor lighting enhances the "infinity effect" by giving the illusion of continuing hallways. It was fun  to be excited and silly, all too often I have watched on the sidelines as the children have a rip roaring time, so it was good to join in. They  found getting lost in the maze hysterically funny.

BELLE GETTING LOST IN THE MIRROR MAZE

The absolute highlight for the children was the laser game on the ground floor. They had to race against  the clock, one at a time, ducking and diving so as not to touch the lazer beams.

For a family ticket you would normally pay over £80 for a ticket to Ripley's but if you go to the moneysupermarket site, you can find discounted vouchers for all sorts of experiences, including Ripleys. We were lucky enough to be given a family ticket to review it for you.

BELLE DOING SOMETHING STRANGE WITH  THE LIZARD MAN

JUDE NEXT TO THE MODEL OF A TOURIST

Opening Times Open 365 days a year from 10:00 AM –  midnight
Last entry at 10:30 PM

Address: The London Pavillion
1 Piccadilly Circus
W1J 0DA
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3238 0022
Email: info@ripleyslondon.com


Prices for Ripley's Believe It or Not! London
(Ultimate Explorer tickets – includes Mirror Maze and Laser Race)
15% off price when booking online at www.ripleyslondon.com
Adult Ticket: £26.95 per ticket
Child Ticket: £21.95  per ticket
Family Ticket: £87.95 per ticket (2 adults, 2 children)
Concession Ticket: £24.95 per ticket

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Christmas (Part 2)

Christmas is a time for dressing up in your BEST dress from I Love Gorgeous.

Getting together with your cousins and family- that's my son at the end of table.

Bonding best with your special  girl cousin

Having Christmas Lunch with the family. Last year we were in the South of France. It was sunny!

  Watching SANTA arriving in St Tropez harbour by boat. Funny he happened to be there, the year we stayed nearby.

And reflecting on the year past and the year ahead in a special place - mine is the The Abbaye de Thoronet, I've been three times - the first time on my honeymoon, the last time last Christmas.




This is my entry for the #O2GuruMagicofXmas Linky, sponsored by O2 GuruTV

#PKTMNY Challenge

This is sponsored post for  #pktmnyparents Linky on BritMums.

What my daughter wants more than anything, is not imaginative or 
interesting, but she really really wants it - an ipod touch. She's 8! I hate to disappoint her, but she's not getting it for Christmas - as we've already bought her a trick scooter, (like her brother) and a Sylvanian hotel, which I think she will have outgrown by the time Christmas arrives.  She getting some surprise Xmas money from Granny, so that will go towards the ipod. Since setting up a PKTMNY account, she wrote down the ipod as her saving up goal. At £1 a week, it will take a long time! Granny's money will help.

Christmas

Christmas, don't you love it? And hate it, all at the same time? I am inspired by all the festive lights, the parties, the carols, the baubles, berry wreaths and the Christmas Tree. But there is the flip side: All that tension to get the right presents for the children, the exact scooter - in the right colour, the stocking presents, the endless calorific mince pies, the money gorging from the bank accounts.  And I don't like Christmas food on the whole -Turkey, mince pies and Christmas pudding I could easily do without.

It seems everyone is wanting to save this year. My husband photographed the Xmas windows of Harrods, Liberty's, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges for Vanity Fair. He said they must have all been in cahoots, because last year, the windows were lavish and theatrical and beautiful and this year, they had all toned down completely, and were just windows advertising products.

My own  #ChristmasSaving Tips include:

Not buying last minute - I have to admit that I started in October.

Shopping around online at Ebay, Amazon, Casabu, The Book People etc.

Agreeing to tone down presents with your partner   - I'll give you a chocolate/sugar mouse if you give me one.

Sharing festive food at the family gathering: This year we will go to Luke's sister and we are bringing Stilton Cheese and Christmas Crackers (Not the cheese crackers)

Knowing when to stop buying presents for the children, it's rather like writing a book - you never quite feel finished. This morning I decided to stop once and for all. 

This year we are lucky, as my husband Luke has a book out, called, The Irish At Home, so we are giving it as a present to all we know and love. 

 I should have given my son his Tesco mobile for Christmas, but we couldn't wait, as he was starting secondary school, so we signed up to a Samsung Chat. One of the reasons I chose it for him, was because the tariff is capped, so he can only use a certain amount of texts, minutes and internet.  I have just looked at his bill for November (bless him) three texts and 1MB of data - (Must be a mistake surely) You also get triple points for every £1 spent on Tesco mobile. This Christmas, they are offering a Samsung Galaxy Ace that I should think my son would like to upgrade to at £12.50 a month, including 500 free minutes, 5000 texts and 50MB of data. They are also doing a Blackberry Curve 9320 - available on pay as you go for £125, actually he would of course, much prefer that. Hey Ho Santa, are you listening?

PS I did just try to upgrade my son's mobile, but was told there would be a £120 termination fee, so think about that when you are taking out a two year contract. You can't upgrade for free, even if it's for a more expensive contract. 

BritMums#XmasSavingTips project sponsored by Tesco Mobile.

Bye Granny

About four weeks ago, I was compelled to take my children to see Tiny Granny -my father's mother. It was a Saturday and we went to Holland Park first, and then to her flat, which was very near by. I wrote about her two years ago, when it was her 100th birthday, an amazing age to reach. There was no telegram from the Queen; we think she fudged her age, and had long ago, changed her real birth date, which was in 1910.

She was affectionately known as Tiny Granny, because she was absolutely tiny  - about 4' 10" in her hey day, shorter by the time she died -but the humanist 'celebrant' who presided over her funeral, exaggerated when she said she was 4 foot, that really was a step too far.

On that Saturday, five days before she died, (There she is that day in the photo above) she was thrilled to see us - she was amazing: still astute, mobile with a stick, laughing, living on her own. She talked about the war, when she worked for the American Red Cross. She was exacting about details, like how my father's beloved terrier dog went missing during the war, she believed stolen. She also said that she had to move out of her house, in Amering Sussex, because the army needed it. Her husband went to war, and she moved into a flat in Marble Arch with a girlfriend. My father went to a prep school in the country. She remembers him coming down to London for the day to see the doctor, and when they were at the doctors surgery, it was hit by a bomb. 

She was sad that her last friend alive had dementia and couldn't speak to her any more, she was lonely, and ailing. She couldn't hear too well, she couldn't walk without a stick, or do her own shopping. It was only in the very last few months, that she had let somebody come in to fix her dinner - previously she had lived with my father for most of the week, and on her own, in London, for the rest, but after a recent spat of hospital visits, she had been living in London. For the past six months she had had to move out of her London flat, as the toaster had caught fire, and burnt the kitchen down. She hadn't been aware, it was the porter?concierge who lived in the basement, who had smelt the smoke.

The incident has made me think though: Should we really be constantly striving to prolong life? I'm not sure she enjoyed the last few years very much, and often said she had outlived herself. She spent a lot of time visiting doctors and going to hospital. She couldn't really hear, or read much any more. Each day, towards the end,  was a struggle really. It was also very boring, I imagine and lonely.

I will miss her calling up, and calling me "dear" - no one calls me dear, it's a endearment from another era. She has lived a long life, through both wars and as the celebrant said at the humanist service, won a cup for elocution at school! How quaint.

How to Survive the Sleepover

Do it at half term or in the holidays.

Don't invite child over before 5pm.

Hide all random sweets/chocolates/beauty products/dresses/shoes/cameras/computers

Rent a very long DVD

Skip bath-time

Put them to bed and give them half an hour of legal chat

Be ready for the inevitable, "I feel sick, I need a glass of water"

Give them a glass of water.

Make sure partner is in

Keep a night light on (One eight year old girl peed in my daughter's play box in the middle of the night because she said it was too dark to find the door)

Take it in turns to go upstairs and say shhssss/be quiet/this is the last sleepover before Christmas.

Very important: Wear ear plugs when you go to bed because they will get up and make noise at 5 or 6 a.m

Send a cheery text when mother of child texts to ask if everything OK

Be prepared for a very overtired, overwrought, child for the following  2 days.