Start the week #36

Vets, music, and a couple of questions plus a nerve-wracking bike ride

Greetings!

I think we should delve right in and not have any persiflage at all. Here goes!

Terry

A visit to the vets

Our vet practice had an open day on Saturday, and they were giving way treats for pets, so I picked up a couple of bags for Elaine. Here are a couple of behind the scenes pics, including an x-ray of a pregnant bitch and a doggie skeleton, and an operating table:

Gloria

One of my favourite songs from my youth was Gloria, by Them. It was the B-side of Baby, Please Don’t Go, but in clubs and discos it was the Gloria that the DJs played. And no wonder: it was a great dance number, and had some great blues harmonica and organ playing. Here it is:

Years later, I really enjoyed this version too, featuring the phenomenally laid back John Lee Hooker:

Which version do you prefer?

A bike ride over a bridge

This bridge is especially hair-raising. You have to build up to about 15 miles an hour to stand any chance of getting to the top.

New Welcome/about blurb

I’m interested in writing what I’d like to write and, with a bit of luck, attract people who enjoy reading it. And attracting people in a relatively quiet way. I know this approach works because my subscriber number has already reached five figures¹.

Nonetheless, I thought I ought to really ramp up the self-promotion engine here at Freedman Towers, so I’ve changed the blurb that appears on my Welcome page. I think I added a couple of words. It’s taken me a while to get into my stride here and work out what it’s really all about, and I wondered if you think this description is accurate. I’m always being accused of underselling myself, except for that one time I responded fully to a bio request only to be met with the response “Are we supposed to be impressed?”. <Sigh> Anyway, do you think this is reasonably accurate and attractive, bearing in mind that writing anything at all there is anathema to me. I’d rather just put “Have a read and see for yourself”, but I’m not sure how many people would bother!

Musings on everyday happenings and conversations, book reviews, experiments in creative nonfiction writing, writing prompts and advice, mainly lighthearted and humorous but with deep and worthy cogitations occasionally on love, life and death.

New schedule — possibly

You may have noticed that I’m fairly prolific, publishing something or other several times a week. I was thinking of giving readers a bit of a break, and myself too, by moving to a two-weekly schedule for different things, apart from my 5 minute tip /behind the scenes articles for paid subscribers, which would still be weekly. Here is a draft schedule, knocked up in Excel:

Thus Start the Week would become Start the Fortnight², the Experiments in Style posts would be two-weekly as well, all cunningly contrived to ensure that no more than two or three articles appeared in any particular week.

Thoughts?

Articles published last week

Experiment in styles: litotes I think you will find this not unenjoyable.

Review of Clouds like dust and other poems, by

Nathan Slake

There’s a twist, so watch out!

Reply to Rebecca #19 Read this, have a good chortle, and then make sure you subscribe to

Rebecca Holden

’s newsletter for some great writing.

In Insider Peeks # 3 (for paid subscribers) I provided a free preverb generator for Oulipo fans.

And in Start the Week I put in a link to a great Fats Waller number.

That’s it for now. Do feel free to leave a comment, especially about the new blurb and proposed schedule.

Thanks!

Terry

1. And here they are:

2. Fortnight is an Old English term meaning fourteen nights.