Dean's Blog

As I got on the train today I found myself in a rather unusual position of actually having a seat instead of the usual standing.

I was sat next to a group of four elderly people (I would say in their 60’s) who were on their way to some convention in central London. Just as the train pulled away one of the gentleman’s phone sounded a message alert and much to his friends interest said it was a Facebook alert.

Over the next twenty minutes I listened intently as one man informed the other about the benefits of the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter concluding in the other man saying he would sign up for both. It got me thinking about the benefits of social network sites for various age groups and how we tend to use them. Certainly there are various sites that cater for the younger age bracket and it is good to see that recently the security of these sites have improved.

Now I don’t now about you but when I first joined Facebook it became very addictive, it was an avenue to meeting new people, finding old friends and sharing views on any topics that interested me. It comes as no surprise that there will be an expected 400 million members by the end of 2010. I don’t tend to use any of the novel applications as to me it is a pure method of communication.

Also since the Iphone I have become something of a Twitter addict though I have no celebrity friends on my profile (I don’t care what Kerry Katona is shoving up her nose or had for tea). Now there is Google Wave. This is Google’s attempts to bite into the instant messaging/Social networking environment. At first it appears clunky and cumbersome but I am sure once people begin it will become a vital communications tool. With all these methods of communicating with people it has never been easier to stay in touch or keep people informed about what we are up to.

E-mail somehow seems a bit too old fashioned these days, yet is it killing the art of communication? How many of us are guilty of sending a text or an email when we could so easily have made a phone call? My conclusion is that social networking is an exciting and vibrant way of re-connecting with people we have lost along the way; it is also a wonderful opportunity to meet new people. I doubt were going to see another site like Twitter or Facebook, the numbers are far too large to change.

Yet it is sad that the art of communication is dying but above all what worries me most is that these gargantuan websites, no matter how great they are monitoring our every move.

They are watching you……

What can someone write about after putting nearly 60,000 words into a novel within three weeks.

My head feels like a vacuum right now, just a vortex of empty space. I’m going to take December off from writing the novel as I need some space in order for my head to relax. It will also allow me the opportunity to read the rather excellent Stephen Lawhead. As this is the first historical novel that I have written there is no doubt that I will be influenced by his wonderful way of writing.

The chief aim for November was to complete NanoWrimo which has been done. However I slowly became obsessed with writing this story, it was the first thing I thought of and the last before I went to bed. The basics of the novel are done, I now just have to put the “flesh on the bones” as they say.

Yet now my mind feels vague, empty and void of any kind of inspiration. Exhaustion has crept it. Maybe I’ll start writing some poetry again, that could kick start the creative juices. My head, like my body needs a vacation, this is long overdue.

So today we finally see the first elected President of Europe. A leader who will have a huge £45 billion pound budget at their disposal. The power to wield laws across Europe that every country signed up to the Lisbon Treaty will have to adhere to. A man who will be elected by the current European leaders. So far I hear it has been deadlock in the choice of President.

I just pray that it is not Tony Blair. Just the mere thought of the injustice of our own unelected Prime Minister voting for the very man he not only replaced but also detested makes my blood boil. Gordon Brown is a dead man walking. Was signing the Lisbon Treaty his own way of sticking two fingers up at the British people?

So with no agreement on a candidate, the EU's 27 heads of government will arrive in Brussels this afternoon for a special summit called to select a president and foreign minister.

Despite weeks of intensive behind the scenes negotiations brokered by the Swedish president Fredrik Reinfeldt the leaders are no closer to deciding who should take the new posts.

A frustrated Mr Reinfeldt said tonight's dinner in Brussels, which was meant to be a rubber-stamping exercise, 'might take all night'.

Diplomats have warned the meeting could even run into the weekend or have to be reconvened next month. For me that is a month too long. If we have signed up for this treaty then we have to get a President sworn in as soon as possible. Maybe it will be former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga who is aiming to become President.

She called on the EU to 'stop working like the former Soviet Union' and said a woman should get one of the key posts.

Some diplomats believe the lack of a preferred candidate means it is still possible that Tony Blair might get the £270,000-a-year job, despite earlier suggestions that his bid is fading.

Downing Street yesterday said that Gordon Brown remained 'full square' behind the former PM's bid.

Reinhard Bettzuege, German ambassador in Brussels, let slip yesterday that Chancellor Angela Merkel is backing the Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy for the presidency.

Mrs Merkel is said not to be a fan of Mr Blair, reportedly commenting that she didn't like the idea of 'having to listen to Mr Flash all the time'.

Mr Van Rompuy, 62, is the frontrunner but has been unable to cement his position.

Britain has signaled its opposition to Mr Van Rompuy, who supports the introduction of new EU taxes.

There are still no official candidates, and yet more than half a dozen politicians are said to be in the running.

Mr Van Rompuy may reign victorious simply by virtue of being the least offensive candidate.

Mr Blair is the best known of the candidates and was the early favorite.

Either way the thing that I feel shocks me the most is that the UK public are so unaware of this very vote. Amidst the tedious X-Factor and I’m A Celebrity this news has been put so far back in the pecking order it’s not even amusing. It appears that Katie Price (Jordan) breast or Jedward are far more important topical discussions than who is about to be elected the most powerful person in Europe.

That is the thing that worries me about most people in the UK, they are being brainwashed by boring reality TV shows and simply not taking enough interest in the very issues that will affect their daily lives.

Wake up people.

(Extract from The Daily Mail)

So there we have it another NanoWrimo completed.

 

50,000 words written in the month of November though I would admit that I have finished it some two weeks early. Usually I plan NanoWrimo and once the novel is complete I leave it. This year However that has changed.

 

I really am pleased with the way this novel has turned out, the characters evolved beyond my expectations and I do have a complete story (though I am still working on the ending!)

 

My aim was to get a basic plot of the book in rough form and then once the 50,000 goal was reached I will take a month off over December to refresh my mind and then start proof reading in January before really putting some meat on the bones of the novel and ensure that the reader is left with a novel they really can get lost it.

 

Not sure why I called it “The Chimes” though, there is not one mention of a clock so I may just have to put that in.

Firstly sorry for the lack of updates on the blog. As it's NanoWrimo I have spent the most of this month writing the plot for "The Chimes of Eleanor".

The past few days I have witnessed something that I have been meaning to write a blog about. This past year there have been many references to what is now being described as "Broken Britain", a term that sums up how bad the standard of life currently is in the United Kingdom.

Anyone who reads my blog would agree that, I personally, feel that the quality of life in the UK is shocking. Crime is on the increase, unemployment is at it's highest for 19 years, homelessness on the increase. Add this to the ever increasing population growth and the poor health standards many of the tabloids would label us as a "third world nation".

Yet in reality were not that bad. Times are hard I will be the first to admit but, we as a nation, have survived FAR worse. Were a nation that has survived two world wars, two major recessions and I know were swimming against the tide of this one. Basically the political embarrassment that is the Labour government have just run around in circles like headless chickens trying to get us back on our feet. Now I am not saying that David Cameron’s government elect are going to fare any better but, come on, they can hardly be any worse.

The youth of this country have had to bear the brunt of this decline of standards within our society. A "nation of thuggish chavs", "booze Britain" are just a handful of headlines I have read of late. If the press were to be believed then all teenagers are uneducated drunken yobs wearing hoodies and carrying knives. Of course there is a major increase in knife related crime but not all teenagers are bad.

The past few months I have witnessed in London teenagers politely talking, giving up their seats for elderly people, behaving in a mature manner far above their years. Yet it was last night when two drunken guys around my age started to harass a woman on the train. One was asking her out whilst the other grabbed her hand and said "No ring, so let's go out on a date". I made my way to see if I could intervene but before I had got there the group of around nine or ten teenagers had not only held the guys back but had called the guard and a teenage girl was comforting the woman.

The police were called and the two drunks removed.

The UK press have a lot to answer for in their general labeling of teenagers in the UK. We were all teenagers once, we knew how things were. Times have not changed we just got older.

Give the youth of today a break. Not all the seeds in this apple are bad.

I don’t know about you but there is something very magical about autumn. Maybe it is because it is the season of my birth.  Possibly it is due to the brilliant colours that stand before our very eyes replacing the one dimensional summer green.

As the cold air hits us many do not like to admit their love for this season, yet I do.

A time of calm before we all rush around in the manic lead up to Christmas, a period where I like to appreciate nature more.  It is dry enough to enjoy some beautiful country walks this time of year.  I am guilty of living in a city so large that we tend to become part of that city and venturing out is often seen as some kind of chore and hassle.  But not for me.

Take a train the opposite way and within twenty minutes I am surrounded by a beautiful trail of autumnal colours that akin to a blanket on the forest floor, many animals begin to hibernate, some now greet us as seasonal guests.

Cooking is also an interesting time too in the winter, the health foods of summer are now replaced by more warming, interesting foods, the spices that I cook with are perfect for this time of year.  A cold beer is replaced with local ale and all seems different with the world.  If people do not change with autumn then they will miss the magic each year.

The perfect magic of autumn