Wednesday, May 27, 2009

What do David Cameron, Cherie Blair and a writers’ retreat in the Cotswolds have in common? Me!

Okay peoples, it's been a manic week or so. So, should you care, here's where I'm at:

Writers' retreat




Me and three writer buddies spent the Bank Holiday weekend holed up in a cute cottage in the Cotswolds, a friendly mouse included, so we could crack on with our books. We're all writing novels (two of them are on their second, the show offs) and genres include urban teenage fiction, sci-fi for teens, chick lit and literary fiction with an element of erotica. All good stuff. We critiqued each others' work over a pub lunch, swapped ideas and spent much of the weekend glued to our laptops, save for lunches in the sunshine and a walk to the local pub. Brilliant. Feel totally inspired and motivated to get the first draft of my book finished by the end of June. And then a chosen few can read it. Writing a book tends to play havoc with my sleeping patterns so just to warn everyone, I am likely to be very tired from now until July.

David Cameron




I'd not long got back from my writers' retreat on the Bank Holiday Monday and made the mistake of checking my work email. Actually, it's a good job I did 'cos I ended up going into the office at 7pm to fiddle with some stuff. Why? 'Cos Tory Leader David Cameron came into work on Tuesday morning to deliver a keynote speech - not only a great honour to host the potential new Prime Minister but also a chance to showcase The Open University's use of social media, in particular the website I co-edit, Platform. It was a manic but fulfillng day and you can read all about it here or check out my student blog here.

Cherie Blair




I barely know what day of the week it is, thanks to the Bank Holiday which has thrown me out of sync. But on Friday I will be heading to London, no, not to buy Heat magazine, but to interview Cherie Blair, AKA Cherie Booth QC. This means I will have done the Blair double as I interviewed el Tonio back in 2001 when he was Prime Minister and delivering a speech in the Shropshire town of Newport, where I was chief reporter. All good stuff.

Other stuff

Other stuff to note is that my gruelling fitness campaign has been forced to take a back seat because life has gotten in the way. This will get back on track after the weekend and my attempt to run the Race for Life on Saturday - please sponsor me!