Here, it’s just part of the rhythm of things. Trying to get with the spirit, I went for my morning run down the winding narrow roads. It really was more of a “soft day” as the locals call it. It was oddly like running through a giant mister. The fog curled its way around ridges, giving everything a wonderfully surreal look to it. I passed three cars, whose drivers all waved, and one little old lady tending her garden who murmured “better you than me, miss” as I passed. razz Oh, and an assortment of amazingly cute cows and the fuzziest horses you’ve ever seen. I’m going to have to ask after the horse breeds—they’re sooooooo cute heart
Stiff, wet upper lip or no, the rest of the day was more writer’s workshop stuff. My friend and I have been doing semi-competitive writing exercises. Oxbridge does us the honors and comes up with wicked ideas which our pride (usually) makes us agree to. For example, he’ll say “write a dialogue between a cat and a mouse where the cat accuses the moue of being up too late. V, you’re the mouse.” Fun party game, really, and a nice way to spend an afternoon in a pub with good cider (NOT the local plastic jugged scrumpy whee ) and abysmally greasy fish and chips (about the only place we found open, as sadly the very tempting semi-veggie pub kitchen was closed). I had to make up for that in the evening by baking everyone some potato, veg and cheddar pies, followed on with a bottle of blackberry wine (Why on earth can’t you find that in the states? Yummy, yummy). And of course, more writing assignments. Oxbridge is relentless, once you get him started.
We’ve been doing a fair amount of handwriting, which is a good way of shaking up the mental gears—less of the constant revision that I do with word processors. Much more “direct from the mind to the page”. As oddly liberating as it is, I still find myself in even greater awe of the Jane Austens before more who wrote novel after novel with quill pens (!). I sometimes wonder if I ever would have become a writer without my word processor.
I’m afraid I don’t have many pictures today, so here’s some gratuitous fuzzy animal pictures. We ran into these cows at the base of the Tor. As you can see, one wasn’t entirely thrilled with my close on photography.
