A visit to a Oakdale Infants School

At the end of November I was invited to go into Oakdale infants school to talk about my book.  I went into two classes in the morning and one class and then the nursery in the afternoon.  I took costumes, Horace, a participation poem and some of my other work.

I started off by telling the children how I became a writer and took in my 1993 diary featured in my You Tube video   http://youtu.be/rpurx3fRGO8  We read the participation poem which encourages them to take a look inside my book.

I then read some of the poems and the children dressed up as the characters.  This always goes down well.  I tried to vary the content and showed them some examples of new ideas to inspire them to write poems.  It helped having a background in Nursery Nursing.  The children all seemed interested in the book and I hope to go back and help them write poetry on another occasion.

The highlight for me was seeing my Nephew who attends the Nursery.  He seemed amazed to see me and was delighted to be given Horace to cuddle.  'Your Aunty is here' one of the staff told him.
'No' he replied  'Not Aunty, just Fifi' he told her.    I then read toddler tales and he informed his friends he was the monster.  I just hope when he is bigger he will forgive me as the monster is a snotty one.

I really enjoyed going into the school and hope to return in the spring.

Halloween Competition Winners

I had great fun on Halloween, I dressed up as a witch and called myself Hagatha or Hag for short.  My friends daughter came dressed as Lola a character out of my book.  The weather was really bad and every time I tried to do a reading the rain hammered down, maybe our magic spells went a bit wrong.  

In the morning the children were younger and I read the extract from the book and we acted out some of the poems.  In the afternoon there was an older crowd and we wrote a poem together.  There was a bit of apprehension at first but we soon got into the swing of it and I think most were pleased with the result.  

By 3pm I was started to get very tired but a young lad came and asked me when the next reading was and I told him it had finished.  He was so disappointed that I offered to write a poem with him.  We sat together and completed one, which I signed for him.  


The winners of the competition were announced at 3pm Eloise won the under 12 section and Roddy won the under 7, they both were there at the time and I presented them with their prizes.  They were both well deserved winners and seemed delighted with their prizes.  Great to boast to their teachers anyway.

The staff at The Value Stores,www.valuehousestores.co.uk in Weymouth were so helpful and I cannot thank them enough for having me there, to help create a Halloween Spooktactular for the children and parents.  We even mad the local press.  http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/localnews/10024738.Ghostly_goings_on_for_Weymouth_youngsters/

Half Term Spooktacular

On Wed 31st October I will be at the Value House Stores in Weymouth.  I will be reading and signing copies of my book 'Down The Plughole' from 11am to 3pm.  There is a prize for every child in fancy dress and there will be pumpkin carving all day.  

The Value House store have been very supportive in my suggestion of a Poetry Competition on the subject of Halloween.  There are two age group's under 7's and under 12's.  The closing date is Oct 26th and it will be judged by Sue Simms who owns Poetry Space who published my book. www.poetryspace.co.uk

There are two prizes for the under 7's a copy of my book and for the under 12's a copy of Moira Andrew's Wish a Wish www.moiraandrew.com  I have some entry forms at home or they are available from The Value House, in Weymouth. http://www.valuehousestores.co.uk

I hope to see as many children and parent/gran's and grandadad's, aunt's and uncle's as possible and show them that poetry is not boring and it can be great fun and help with learning.  

Aunty Don't Touch

Aunty Betty had white hair, big teeth and odd strange large glasses that sat on the end of her pointy nose.  She was my Grandad's sister and she also lived in Blackpool.  When my sister and I were dragged to her house for a visit, she greeted us both with a horrible wet slimy kiss.  'Come in, come in' she enthused, her eyes widening with the joy of visitors.

Her house was in a terrace 
near the lovely Stanley park, two up and two down, with a small garden at the back which had many plants in pots.

We both entered nervously as she was a bit of an odd ball to us.  She made my Grandad a cup of tea and my sister and I two glasses of orange squash, which she brought to us on a silver tray with a doily on.  'Drink up' she urged rubbing her hands together with glee.  We did as we were told and drank it one, replacing the glass back on the tray.  She never took her eyes off us, watching our movements like a hawk.

My sister who is younger than me and easily distracted, spotted an unusual ornament on a sideboard nearby.  Her tiny hand moved slowly towards it, but before she could reach it Auny Betty bellowed 'DON'T TOUCH.'  My sisters hand shot back into her lap and she gave me a look, rolling her eyes in fear.

'Victoria' she said, your Grandfather tells me you have a lovely voice and can sing like an angel.  'Please sing for me' she demanded.  My Grandad patted her arm in encouragement and she stood up promptly.

'Fiona' she croaked. ' You can go outside and water my plants, whilst your sister sings.'  'Don't touch anything you are not supposed to.'  'The watering can is in the sink ready for you.'

So off I went as commanded by Aunty Betty.    As I was watering away, I could hear my sister singing in the background.  I didn't mind though, it was peaceful in the garden and no more commands from Betty.  

From that day onwards my sister and I call Betty Aunty Don't touch.  A strange odd lady, but she always pressed a shiny 50p in our hands, when we were leaving, so we did as we were told to get our reward.

Poetry is not all about big words, it can be fun too!

I read an article in the Sun Newspaper that was written by one of my favourite poets Roger Mcgough.  He is going to be working with the Disney Junior channel for an animated online poetry guide for parents to go alongside the TV Channel's A Poem is ........http://www.disneychannelmedianet.com/web/showpage/showpage.aspx?program_id=3136956&type=lead

It is a series of short poems read by celebrities, including my nephew's favourite Matt Smith.  Roger Mcgough is the president of the Poetry Society and was keen to get involved.  Animation is a big part of childhood and it can help to introduce poetry to children.  Poetry is ideal for some children who are intimidated by books.  This includes my son who struggled to read until the age of 7.  He hated the books at school and we used to write our own books.  I have kept them for sentimental reasons.

Poetry is included in the literacy KS1 in schools and I was invited into  Holy Trinity Infants, to read my book.  I took the costumes and my homemade cardboard rocket from the poem 'Rocket's Rule.'  They loved the interaction and engaged fantastically where a visual stimulus was provided.  I did take some other work and read this but I  soon realised 5 and 6 year old's need the fun element to keep their attention.

You can download the poetry guide at www.DisneyJunior.co.uk or find out about the Poetry society at www.poetrysociety.org.uk 

I hope to post more regularly and some work out of my bursting notepad, it seems a shame to just read to just my writing group.  Health permitting of course.  

Video from the Book Signing at Imagine Bookshop, Weymouth.

Peter Lythgoe, came down to my book signing and did an interview with me.  Amazingly all done on His Ipad.  I hate looking at myself as I always look so tired, but that is due to my M.E. and pushing myself a bit too hard sometimes.  He does these videos for free so I am extremely grateful for him spending his time with little old me.

Take a look and let me know what you think.http://youtu.be/9aHHDNUZniU

I am also extremely privileged to be asked to feature in a video for the Dorset M.E. Support group.  My son Declan of DCLN Media is making it, so  at least I can get him to photoshop my wrinkles out.

Coping With Rejection.

Rejection is such a hard thing to take when you have worked hard on a story you think is at it's best.  I was lucky to win some tickets to go to the London Book Fair and got to have a 5 min pitch with a publisher.  I was so nervous and I am not sure how I came over, but next time I will be more prepared and professional.  I got some good advice from the Writers advice centre for children and I handed over my work to the publisher with great anticipation.  He promised to get back to me in a couple of weeks.

He kept to his word and had some great feedback and advice, this gave me confidence that he had actually read my work.  Unfortunately he did not take up any of my stories and only was interested in one.  I cheekily thanked him for the feedback and asked to be given another chance with a re-write. 

It still got rejected, but I learnt so much from this process and has given me the confidence to continue and use the points he made in my future work.

No one said the road to become a sucessful writer is a smooth one.

I am currently putting together a story for the Greenhouse Funny Prize.  Fingers crossed. http://greenhouseliterary.com/index.php/blog/article/announcing_the_greenhouse_funny_prize_open_to_uk_irish_writers/

Pre-order Down The Plughole Now!

Great news the first hard copy of the book made it down to Weymouth, Dorset on Monday 26th March.  It was the first hard copy and Michelle Last and I were very excited about receiving it.  I read it through thoroughly and one word was missing a tiny one at that too. 'It' was no where to be seen. 

You can now pre-order the book through the Bristol publisher Poetry Space run by the busy and talented Sue Sims.  The web address is : www.poetryspace.co.uk.  Publication date is 30th April and Book launch dates to be released at a later date.  

I cannot tell you how proud I am to have achieved this.  My dream is about to come true and I will be a published poet.  I have dedicated it to my children and family, those days of telling the poems to their friends sat on Weymouth beach make me smile from ear to ear, oh how I was I have videoed them.  

Horace the dragon, from the poem Dragon's song has been keeping a close eye on the book to keep it safe.

Powered by Pilates

Powered by Pilates

I attend a back health class every week.  It has helped me to walk again.  After finishing my class, I cross paths with Jon Emmett, we both have something in common, Spinal surgery and Pilates.  That’s where the similarities stop, as Jon is a trained athlete.  I was interested to hear his story and this has led to my fascination as to why do more men not do Pilates?

Jon Emmett is a championship sailor and he has been a professionalsailor/coach since 2000. He has been ranked number one in the UK, in the laser radial class for nine years.  He has managed to maintain his fitness through Pilates training after suffering injuries which would have stopped many others.

He trained alongside gold medal winning British SailingOlympic champion, Shirley Robertson, whilst starting his full time sailing career and in the youth squad with Ben Ainslie; Jon had to withdraw from his campaign for the 49er class after a sailing injury, which left him with two prolapsed discs in his neck.

‘My girlfriend insisted I had a MRI scan which lead to me discovering, I needed an operation’ he said.

Still sailing two days prior to his spinal operation and  even the day before, he achieved his personal best sailing time.  Family and friends questioned his decision,but Jon knew the procedure had to go ahead, even though his symptoms had been alleviated by acupuncture and physiotherapy.

On 19^th September 2007, Jon had the two prolapsed discs removed, replaced with titanium and the three vertebrae fused.  He planned to take six months off from training. Returning back home to his parents. ‘It was extremely frustrating not being able to do anything for myself and see all my fitness disappear, however my parents looked after me very well’ he said.

Whilst recuperating and spending the best part of six weeks lying on a sun lounger, Jon looked up Pilates on the internet, as it was recommended to him, by his G.P and Sport England Physio.  He was on a timeframe to qualify for theWorld Championships and had to be back racing in 2008.  ‘There is nothing like injury to focus your mind’ he told me resolutely. ‘My fitness is everything to me, I couldn’t do my job without it.’

Living in Weymouth, which is hosting the Olympic sailing events in 2012, Jon chose the Pilates Centre Weymouth to start his training. In March 2008 he began using the gym equipment, starting off with eight to 10 strength sessions every week.

He concentrated on his core muscles and glutes, getting them firing again properly.  By using the lateral pull down bar on the Cadillac machine, he began to feel his muscles engage again.  Similar to aerobics, Pilates gives strong heart muscles along with a strong core, this is easier to maintain and improves posture.  Jenny Sedona-Glover his instructor, sorted out his lower back problems first and then helped to teach him how to bullet proof his back to prevent any further injury.

Six months then turned into seven months and unfortunately Jon missed the World Championships and then had to focus on getting back in time for the European Championships 2008. With the Tornado removed from the Olympic classes Jon now began to focus on the Radial class.

Powered by his Pilates workouts, Jon went on to win the 2008and 2009 UK National Championships,coming second in 2010 and won the Radial Europa Cup series.  An amazing achievement knowinghow hard recovering from surgery can be. ‘It was a relief to win my first national champions back in the boat,especially as it was a windy event’ he said proudly.

‘Sailing is particularly bad for static holding and therefore, the core strength achieved from the Pilates workouts, means I am less likely to hurt myself and as I get older, I need to heal quickly, to can carry on competing.’

‘Many laser sailors have back problems but are too busy to try Pilates.’  ‘They need to find thetime.’ ‘I wish I had done Pilates earlier in my career, shame I cannot turn theclock back’, he reminisced. ‘I would 100% recommend Pilates as a form of exercise to any sportsperson.’  ‘I plan to continue with my Pilates workouts and I hope to coach for the 2012 OlympicGames and then examine my options.’

So knowing how much it has helped both myself and Jon.  I began to wonder why more men do not train this way.  After all it was started by a man and it’s been a training vehicle for elite athletes for over 50 years, including the New Zealand All Blacks, Chelsea Football Club and the SAS.  Men have figured prominently as instructors and promoters of the method throughout its history.  It was originally created for men.  Joseph Pilates himself was a boxer and self defence instructor and the legendary German heavyweight boxer Max Schmeiling was a regular at his New York Studio.

Core Strength, flexibility, balance, uniform development andefficient movement patterns are all hallmarks of Pilates training and highly relevant to men’s fitness.

I went along to a gym to talk to some men who take their fitness seriously. I wanted to show them some facts of Pilates and the benefits and what could be achieved by using their training methods and equipment.

At Future Physiques Gym in Weymouth, I met a few of the regulars. I asked them for their opinions on this form of exercise and if they would try a Pilates workout, alongside the Gym. The response was very encouraging.

‘If I had known what Pilates could do, I would definitely have given it a try, as I broke a vertebra in my back in a mountain biking accident a few years ago’ Dave told me.

‘I have lifted a lot of heavy weights over the years and now have sciatica’ another said.

‘I will go home and look it up on the internet to see what it can do to help me’. Great news I was managing to help others see the benefits.

The overall consensus of opinion was that more men need to be involved, but they were surprised to learn a top rugby team incorporate it into their fitness regime and were inspired by this.  If a G.P. recommended it to them, they would give it a try. 

Lynne Robinson is the founder of Body Control Pilates www.bodycontrol.co.uk.  She kindly gave me her thoughts on why she thinks more men should be powered by Pilates.  ‘The beauty of Pilates is that Men come to it for so many different reasons, be it to improve how they look, medical, to enhance their sports performance or to recover from injury.’   ‘You can tailor it, to get whatever you want from it.’   ‘All main sports team and most Olympic squads do a form of stability training similar to pilates in their fitness schedules.’ Lynne told me.

‘The queen of Pilates’ Lynne has worked with Pat Cash,helping him to regain his fitness after surgery, subsequently releasing a DVD with her called ‘Pilates Express’.

Her other clients include, the Football Association, EnglishNational Cricket Team and since February 2009, the medical team of ChelseaFootball Club.

She continued to tell me how there has been a huge increase in popularity for ‘Men only classes’ and ‘men’s one to one sessions’. 

‘Men are now coming in their thousands to try Pilates and feeling the benefit from it’ she enthused. ‘It gives something different to a normal Gym workout.’  ‘Many business men come in their lunch breaks’she said rather hurriedly, as her next appointment was waiting and he is a heart surgeon, need I say more.

Its popularity coupled with the efficiency of Pilates makes it an exercise phenomenon that is not another trend.  I know what it can achieve, so maybe it’s time to power your body with Pilates.

Fiona Murphy First British Serial Rights May 2011

A new friend keeping an eye on things.

Horace from my book 'Down The Plughole has been made into a felt character by the fab Michelle Last.  He now sits on my desk keeping an eye on all the the new poems and stories I write.  I know that he will be accompanying us on our book launches and we may have to have a few made to sell if there is popular demand.  It is great coming up with ideas and then turning them into reality.  It really is the best part of my job.

Good news 'Wendy French' a great poet has reviewed the book and the review will be going on Poetry Spaces's website and I have chosen a line to go on the back cover.  The reality of holding the book in my hand a little bit closer.

www.poetryspace.co.uk

Gone to the printers!

Great news my book Down The Plughole has made it to the printers in Bristol. I have spent a long time working on it along with my illustrator Michelle Last. I just need a publication date and then I can organise book launches. I have some great plans for them and I hope kids will want to come and join it. The new start in my life will begin and my long for dream will come true. So many bad things have happened to me, it is time for something to go right for me. Bring it on, I am ready world for the next chapter.

Managing time

There are only so many hours in the day. It is hard to find time to do all the writing I want too. I often get ideas when out and about, at the shops, doctors, laundrette, listening to the radio or hearing peoples conversations. I tend to type it into the memopad on my Blackberry. So If you see me frantically typing into my phone you now know why.
Yesterday I was featured on Wessex FM. I posted my You Tube video on their Facebook page and they then used it to generate a piece about children's books and what was your favourite as a child. Great publicity.

The Story Behind 'Down The Plughole'