Night(morning)mare!

I woke up at around 4am and took my morning medication. Mistake! A short while later, I began to feel really unwell. Everything seemed dark and 'drizzly', I heard 'white noise' in my ears. I couldn't stand up - I was too weak. I was desperately thirsty and hungry. I woke Simon and told him how I felt. Mistake! He wasn't pleased that I'd woken him at such an unearthly hour and got him to get me a drink and something to eat. After I'd had a drink and eaten, I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. I was unwell for the remainder of the day until nightfall. Tomorrow, I'll leave taking my morning medication until after I have breakfast

'Working' Week

I've been 'working' on a number of things so far this week.

• Transcribing the interview with Rima and selecting quotes to go into the second draft.
• Writing and editing my handout 'Writing for Magazines'.
• Writing text and html coding for my downloadable 'Information and Resources' handout. You can find it at http://richardhill.co.uk/respect/
• Researching and creating a 'LINKS' webpage. It's at http://richardhill.co.uk/links.html

I was working late last night, so I'm planning to take it easy this afternoon/evening. I need to re-organise my bookshelves. I have quite a few books that I no longer need so will probably give them to a charity shop.

Simple Sunday

 I've had an easy day reading (researching) and writing material for my article on the 'Cinnamon Trust' And been reading and studying various books on 'Creative Writing nonfiction' etc.

I've been listening to Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' & 'The Songs of Distant Earth' this evening.

That's it for today!

Otter.ai

I've just found an audio-text transcription service. It's called Otter.ai and it's brilliant. I've just used it to transcribe a 30-minute audio recording of an interview I conducted over the telephone earlier in the week. It created a 4-page transcription which saved me so much typing. It costs around 16USD$ per month.

Weekend Work

I've been working on 'recycling' previously written (and published in other magazines) articles. One about 'Does your dog make you happy?' has been submitted to a new magazine.

I've also been coming up with new ideas including one on a garden nursery that employs, supports, and trains adults with learning and/or physical disabilities. When completed, this will be submitted to'Able' magazine who, in August last year published my article on Eliot Best and his two assistance dogs.

I've also been researching, approaching, and applying for a grant to study the 'Narrative Non-Fiction' short online course mentioned in my last 'posting'.

Next week, I'm going to research (in detail) the work of a charity that looks after the pets of elderly, infirm and/or terminally ill patients. It's going to be challenging to write as a piece of nonfiction. I will be interviewing (by telephone), the 'leader' of the charity and a couple of volunteers and the people it supports.

PHOTOGRAPHER NEEDED! If you are an amateur and aspiring photographer and live in the Maidenhead area of East Berkshire and would like to see your work 'in print', please drop me an email at sloughwriter@gmail.com Please attach 2 or 3 examples of your work.

Training

I'm ready to move on.

I'd like to write for a wider range of publications, in more depth. Therefore I am interested in studying the 'Narrative Non-Fiction' short online course run by the City University of London. The course runs for 10 weeks, (one 2-hour session a week), and costs £395 (No VAT). Further details are at https://www.city.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/short-courses/narrative-non-fiction  Alas, the course cannot be paid for in installments and I can't afford the £395 in one lump sum.

I would like to know if you, or anyone you know, can advise me on where I can obtain a grant, bursary, or loan to enable me to study this course.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Richard

Tubular Bells 50 Years Anniversary

There's a 50th Year Anniversary tour of Tubular Bells. If you are a Tubular Bells fan, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wv3oDeO3Mo Enjoy!

A Pleasant Day

It's been a good Sunday. 

I've been researching material for an article about serving prisoners who are gaining experience (and qualifications) in training puppies to become 'assistance' dogs. It's a two-year course and it's fascinating.

Watch this space!