One from my #Wordsworth250 celebrations Next Thursday (1st October) is National Poetry Day. Many years ago, I offered to illustrate favourite poems for anyone who wanted me to. I had a few people who took me up on this. I'm not sure how I managed to do it in the space of a week, but I was young then! This one was a fun commission! Poetry comes in all shapes and sizes. From tiny lines to grand epics. I have heard so many people telling me that they don't like poetry, but what they mean is that they don't like all poetry. There is always a poem which resonates with everyone whether because it carries nostalgia, inspiration, or wonder . It is fine not to like all poetry, in fact: it is right not to. We would never expect people to like all music, all films, all novels, or all artwork. You can appreciate the artistry within them without wanting to hear/see/read them!! It will come as no surprise to anyone that I love Romantic poetry. In both Day's Dying Glory and Beneath...
This month being #HistFicMay has got me thinking about my closest-to-being-finished WIP, Poisoned Pilgrimage . As much as possible, I'm attempting to answer all the prompts based on this one and hoping that it might spur me on to actually write the last few chapters... Alas, so far, time has been a rare commodity this May! That being said, we did sit down this evening and watch the announcement of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV and listen (via the most appalling automatic translation software!) to his first address as pope. Whatever your religious beliefs, this was a moment for the history books. What happens during his tenure remains to be seen, but it was a deeply significant and spiritual moment to join people in every corner of the world and look forward in hope. While the commentary teams were discussing what the choice of Leo might represent, I was able to (with a small amount of smugness, I'm not going to lie!) impress Judith with my knowledge of the fact the Medici pop...