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#HistFicThursdays - Inspirational Series - The Box of Delights

Kay Harker and Cole Hawlings Picture accessed via BBC  There are few things more Christmassy than the opening few bars of the theme tune to The Box of Delights . In fact, the tune is based on Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony and had been used in radio adaptations of the same novel years earlier than the 1984 television series. Clearly, everyone already knew that you just couldn't improve on that sound to evoke the magic of Christmas which - for me and for many - is so wonderfully explored in John Masefield's story. As a viewer, one of the things I enjoy most about the television series of The Box of Delights is the acting. Child actors are precarious things: too sweet and they're almost unbearable to watch, not sweet enough and they're unbelievable. They must walk that fine line between the two, and it is a perilous one! Most young actors fall into the first category, where their on-screen presence is almost dangerously saccharine.  Not so the child actors ...
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#AuthorOfTheWeek - Communicating Through Writing

Here's another blog from Susan Crow, our Author of the Week. This time, Susan is addressing the significance of using her writing as a form of communication.

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Writing is a marvellous way of communicating ideas and opinions, experiences and memories. I enjoy sharing the positivity in my life in such a way as to rekindle old, happy memories in the reader. I also want to communicate my concerns for causes and to reassure the reader that there is something we small people can do to improve all life on this planet. I'm uncomfortable standing in front of a large group of people and telling them this. I dislike telephones. I gave up on Facebook when someone pretended to be me. The very thought of it! That there might be two of me. The world may be old and ailing but it still isn't ready for two of me. 


So, since I love words and using them to express myself in writing, it follows that I communicate that way. I have a very real need to offer some of my life experiences to the reader as I know there are people who will find them recognisable and encouraging. 


I appreciate poetic language in others' writings. I like to dabble with poetic language myself. But sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it inhibits communication. In "Child of the Earth" I have mixed and matched and, if you read it, you will understand why. I wish to communicate, to the reader, my part in the natural world with all its richness and depth. I also need to get over the stark truth about where we need to go from here. That requires economy of language and carefully worded optimism. Hopefully, I have communicated my world of nature AND my concerns for the future of our planet.

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Available as both an ebook and a paperback.

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