May writers group

It was a very quiet writers group this month with only a couple of people able to attend.
Still we managed to have a chat about writing and life in general and I still set a homework.
I've got a few story ideas buzzing around in the back of my head but can't see me having time to write them down for the moment.  That was one good thing about the trip to Dublin last week, I found I had a little time between having a shower and going for breakfast which was great for writing in, in this case factual rather than fiction.  Its a shame I normally run at this time...

Homework:
Use the following as inspiration or the start of a story or poem: ‘I never wanted to be a hero…’

UX Intensive - Dublin 2014

I've just arrived back from a week in Dublin for UX Intensive Dublin 2014 by adaptive path.
Wow they really didn't lie when they called it intensive.
Over the four days we covered Design Strategy, Design Research, Service Design and Interaction Design.  The days were long and our brains were filled with a lot of information while our hands were covered in ink from our sharpies; but it was fun, the people (about 104 from 22 different countries) were great and I learnt A LOT.
Luckily they gave us some handouts, so now I just need to work out how to put it all into use…..

AltonTEN

Today I ran the AltonTEN running race.  (That's 10 miles not 10k.)  I hadn't been able to train as well as I did for the Reading Half Marathon, due to an injury and a mild cold, and so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I hoped I might manage maybe 01:30 so to do it in 01:28:31 (by my watch - still waiting for results on the website) was pretty amazing!  And into a very strong head wind at times!
But now if you look at all the races I've done you might notice that I haven't repeated a distance yet, a 5k, a 10k, a half and 10 miles.  Thinking about this I realise I'm scared of how I'll do next time.  Would I manage to get a new PB for any of these distances?  What I've managed so far seems quite amazing as it is.  Would it spoil it to do a slower time next time?  In a bid to find out I've signed up for the Brackenwood 5k again in July.  Can I beat 26:39 and does it matter either way?

After a busy weekend - a friends wedding and a 10 mile race, I have a busy week ahead.  I flight to Dublin tomorrow for the 4 day UX intensive conference.  I am very excited and can't wait to learn some cool new stuff.

Wedding post

I might be a little quiet on here as I get things ready for the wedding, but here's a little something I've been working on.  Its ages since I've done any painting so it was good fun, especially to work on something this big!  Hopefully it will make it pretty obvious where the wedding gifts should go.

Paper flowers

I'm back on to making paper flowers.  Todays are made from pages torn from a paperback novel following Valerie Lloyd’s paper roses design.  As you have to cut and curl each petal before sticking they are quite time consuming, but I do think they look amazing.  and they are big, they make me think of the really big smelly blooms you might find climbing up an old English country cottage in mid summer.
My only regret is the book I'm using.  I'd love to use the pages of something that really means a lot to me, but I just can't destroy something like that, so its a paperback from one of the local charity shops.

Another hat

I can not believe how much organisation is needed even for a small wedding.  It seems to be sucking all my time away.  I have however found time to knit myself a stripy hat using one of the patterns from St Mungo's.  As I'm still learning there are a few things I could do to improve it, but the stripes at least went to plan.

April writers group

We met a bit early for the writers group this month as Easter gets in the way.
Only a few turned up which gave us time to do a quick exercise - start with 'Not one of them believed me when I told them...'

Here's how mine went...
Not one of them believed me when I told them that my dad was a spy.
Not one of them believed me when I told them I'd seen wolves in the woods.
Not one of them believed me when I told them the school was on fire.
Not one of them believed me when I told them I'd seen David Beckham.
Not one of them believed me when I told them aliens had taken me away.
Not one of them believed me when I told them my mum was the next PM.
Not one of them believed me when I told them there was a land slip on the train tracks.  You'd think they'd have learnt to believe me by now!

For something that had no thought before hand I don't think its too bad.

For the homework:
Imagine you are going to visit someone who has lost their memory.  What will you take with your to help them remember and why?

Ceramic painting

Yesterday I attended my friends Hen Do.  It was originally going to be something to do with tea, but that fell through and so we ended up painting ceramics instead.
Just like with the writers group where we all start with the same prompt, we all started with a plate, a cup and a heart on a ribbon, and just like with the writers group the variety was amazing.
I decided to keep mine simple, but the end results from people who 'can't draw' were all pretty good.
I'm not having a hen do, but this one showed me that they don't have to be loud drunken affairs.  It was good fun and hardy a willy in sight.