Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “hat.” Use it literally or metaphorically. Have fun!
Hats are great things, aren’t they?
They cool you in the summer and can warm you in the winter.
They can be protective, or add a splash of glamour to your look.
Equally, they just add character to some people.
Now, when you have curly hair, hat-head can be even more of a thing for you, compared to your straighter haired compadres… Because curls do like to hold certain shapes, or they like to frizz up.
I also have the problem of when I sleep at night, I can end up with one side of flattened curls and one side still full of bounce, and I don’t wash every day because I don’t have the time to do the styling involved every morning!
This has led to some more research into products I could and should be using, and how to combat flat head, and one thing I read about was using a satin/silk sleep bonnet or pillowcase to reduce frizz overnight, and also satin or silk-lined beanies for the colder months, when you need a hat, but could do without the silly way your hair moulds to said hat, retaining its shape on your bonce, once you have removed it!
So I bought some satin sleep hats, or bonnets off Amazon (good old Amazon, you can say what you like, they have been a lifesaver for me!) and, though I look like I am about to go to bed with a shower cap on my head, they actually do retain the curl, and feel so comfortable to wear, too! I have been amazed, and even my colleagues at school have commented upon how much curlier my hair looks, on the middle days between washes!
And, the proof is in the pudding, so I am even baring my bonce, along with sleep bonnet, for you to see. This is a pic from this morning, without any extra curl spray, (and no make up or filters, sorry!) and I promise, I didn’t colour coordinate my pyjamas! It was just pure luck!
May thanks to Sheila for giving me a chance to read an advanced copy of her newest release, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire!
Warwickshire, often known as Shakespeare’s county, has a host of strange and mysterious tales ranging from ancient legends and stories of the supernatural to more modern documented cases. Curious beliefs and customs were once widespread in Warwickshire’s towns and villages, some of which still flourish today.
These strange and spooky stories include the quirky death of the Roundhead commander who owned Warwick Castle; the association of the great author J. R. R. Tolkien with the town; the story of the hand of glory obtained at Warwick hangings, and the threshold protection spell widely practised in former times. Stratford-upon-Avon’s historic buildings have witnessed many strange events over the centuries and more recently the Crackley Wood sprite has been sighted at Kenilworth. Other stories include the Wroth Silver at Knightlow Cross; the discovery of the holy grail in a box in Rugby; a violent 800-year-old ball game played annually at Atherstone on Shrove Tuesday; the sightings of a Beast at Barford; the annual wassailing ceremony at Brandon Marsh Nature Centre; and the unresolved mystery of the 1945 murder at Lower Quinton associated with witchcraft, along with other weird tales from the surrounding towns and villages.These strange and spooky stories are accompanied by the author’s photographs of places featured in the text, both present-day and historical, in this hugely entertaining book.
I have been lucky enough to give you a taster with an extract, which centres around authors associated with Warwickshire!
Famous Individuals Not Usually Associated with Warwickshire
Find what you seek, That fame may cry you loud.
All’s Well That Ends Well (Act 2, Scene 1)
J. R. R. Tolkien, Creator of Middle-earth: Inspired by Warwickshire and by the Town of Warwick The fully realised vision of the great fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien, which emerged in his most popular works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, arose from a rich blend of his experiences, relationships, and inner life from earliest childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. For the most part, no single element of his creation, Middle-earth, can truly be said to have emerged solely from a single source. Nevertheless, he is known to have told his publisher ‘The Shire is more or less a Warwickshire village of about the period of the Diamond Jubilee.’
That refers to Queen Victoria’s sixtieth year on the throne, 1867. More commonly associated with Oxford and Birmingham, it is not widely known that Tolkien was inspired by the Warwickshire countryside and specifically by the town of Warwick itself.
Having spent his infancy in South Africa and his childhood in Birmingham, John Ronald Tolkien married his bride Edith in Warwick, at the Church of St Mary Immaculate in West Street, on 22 March 1916. While Tolkien and his
family called Sarehole, in Birmingham, their home, Edith lived in lodgings in Warwick for a while immediately prior to her marriage. Edith shared her home with her cousin Jennie and received instruction in the Catholic faith from Father Murphy, parish priest of Warwick.
The elements of Warwick so attractive to Tolkien can be detected echoing in his works throughout his life. Tolkien’s foremost biographer Humphrey Carpenter also notes that during the late sixties, Tolkien’s residency in the town was celebrated, and ‘students at Warwick University renamed the Ring Road around their campus “Tolkien Road”’.
The beauty of Warwick in former times was especially significant in relation to Tolkien’s scholarly interests as professor of Anglo-Saxon literature. Anglo-Saxon Warwick, on its rocky outcrop, commanded a crossing on the River Avon. We know that Tolkien admired the stone-built castle on its rock rising above the river, commanding a lofty position from which a wide panorama can be seen. This became a model for Middle-earth locations such as Minas Tirith. Tolkien’s early poem ‘Kortirion Among the Trees’ was written in Warwick during army leave in autumn 1915, when Tolkien’s peers were beginning to be cut down on the battlefields of Europe. In this poem he evokes a fading town overshadowed by towering elms, which was built by elves on a hill close to a river, and it contains what were to become some of his most characteristic themes. He suggested within his vision that it was no longer the dwelling place of elves as its ancient mythical beauty had waned. Nevertheless, Warwick’s remaining beauty and importance to his personal life was such that he dedicated his poem to the town and returned to its image again and again in his writing throughout his life.
The book is filled with wonderful illustrations to add depth to the words you read, too!
I thoroughly enjoyed S C Skillman’s last foray into Warwickshire history and was thrilled to have been given a chance to read and review this next book. Warwickshire will always be dear to my heart, and it was great to be able to read some historical tales and facts about the county, with all the fabulous photos to enhance the experience! Add in the extra tidbits about famous local authors (and bards!) that were included, and it made for a fascinating read!
SC Skillman lives in Warwickshire, and writes psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction and non-fiction. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Association of Christian Writers.
Her two literary nonfiction books Paranormal Warwickshire and Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire are published by Amberley, and she is now writing a third book in the series called A-Z of Warwick.
Her novel, Director’s Cut , is out with publishers and she is currently working on Standing Ovation, the sequel.
She began her publishing career with the duology Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit which are both set in the same mysterious English manor house in the heart of England – the beautiful Cotswolds hills. There, gothic themes, paranormal events and ghostly tales are never far away. She has set the books in contemporary times, not far from her present home.
She has also written Perilous Path, A Writer’s Journey which is a self help book for those writing a novel, or who would like to write a novel. Packed full of tips and friendly reminders, it’s encouraging and motivational. It’s also for anyone who loves finding out about writers, their lives and works.
SC Skillman was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, and has loved writing stories most of her life. She studied English Literature at Lancaster University, and her first permanent job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later she lived for nearly five years in Australia before returning to the UK. She has now settled in Warwick with her husband and son, and her daughter currently lives and works in Australia.
Happy Monday to you all! Half a term done, half to go until the next half term break, not that I’m counting, or anything…
Right, so, have you got your drinks ready?
If we were having chai I’d start with school…another bank holiday means a change to routines which is always interesting. Still, we managed to have a mostly good week, although a lot of children have been off, with either ear-related viruses, or sickness, and the other class have chickenpox doing the rounds. the topic this term is growing, and they all planted sunflower seeds last week. The children are amazing us with what they are picking up and remembering! And it is this time of year when you really begin to see those switches flicking for a lot of them. Looking back to September, and seeing how far they have come, is immense! I am so proud of each and every one of them! And our management has been extremely concerned about ensuring everyone’s wellbeing is looked after. Each Friday morning they do a quiz and doughnuts session before the kids come in, but on Friday last week, it was Hide And Seek! There was a period of 15 minutes where everyone taking part hid and three seekers had to find the rest of the staff! Might sound silly to some, but it really helps with teambuilding and staff getting a chance to be together for a change, especially after all the segregation of Covid and the different strategies we had to put into place.
If we were having chai, I’d say that I braved another Asda delivery, on a Friday night, this time, as I don’t think it is a regular occurrence, what happened last time. As for that, I waited for a call back from management but got nothing. Then called on Wednesday and was assured someone would call back. Nothing. I called on Friday and was finally put through to the manager of the call centre. He, along with the other operators was very polite, and he even checked up to make sure the delivery that day was due on time. All in all, I got £35 compensation. Better than a kick in the teeth, eh!
If we were having chai I’d mention that Lil Man and his cricket is now in full swing with the season officially on. He played, as I mentioned in Spidey, yesterday, his old club on Saturday. And his new bat has arrived, fully knocked in, so I even tried to help him by bowling to him so he could practice batting. It lasted all of ten minutes because I am so bad at it! Them Hubby Dearest took over!
If we were having chai I would tell you that the day was beautiful on Sunday. Oh my goodness, it was so hot! I sat outside on my egg chair and read, and ended up eating three different ice creams or lollies because it was so warm!
If we were having chai I would end, as always, with my Sonu Singh. He’s up to his usual mischief. On Saturday he made me laugh, though. He was lying on me, on my bed, and since he was so chilled, I thought it was the best time to trim his claws. He just about put up with me trimming three paws, then jumped off the bed. But he didn’t run away, which is what he usually does. He sat in front of the door. So I closed it. then he looked at me, with the clippers in my hand and he just collapsed on the floor, with his paw up, as if he was totally resigned to the fact that I was going to get him one way or another, so he should just give up! He lay there patiently as I quickly clipped the last paw claws, then got up and ran off! Bless him. I did giggle! But he got lots of scritches for being a good kitty, which he returned to me by licking me lots, and then sitting in front of my kindle as I tried to read! Thanks, cat!
This week is a relatively normal week. Let’s see if most of the children are in and whether illness has passed, or not. We have dentist appointments, a beauticians appointment as well as the usual onslaught of cricket too. But something fun is next Sunday at 8pm when I am being interviewed by the lovely Amanda Prowse about the new release of Marriage Unarranged which is less than a month away, now, too! Eeeeek! Join us there if you can! In the Facebook My Book Friends Group!
And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!
Time to keep it calm and positive this week, eh Spidey! Especially after last week’s Asda fiasco!
Today I am using one of my children’s experiences to reflect on for the day.
Now, as most of you know, Lil Man is an avid cricketer, and all he has wanted to do, over the last few years is excel at what he loves the most. He spends time every day outside, practicing bowling, and batting where he can, taking on the tips of the coaches he encounters, to perfect his Leftie Spin bowling.
He was with one particular club for the first part of his cricketing career, and though he had matches and training, he never felt as if he was being pushed in the right way. Overlooked for games he should have been playing, and this was noticed by a good few of the other club members.
When he was selected to play for district cricket last year, he was over the moon, and it was suggested that a club change might be better for him, to a place where he gets pushed and is able to showcase his talents to the right people.
The house move meant that this was a viable option, which we took on, and this year the boy has been training with a club which is generally playing in Premier and First division games and boasts a good number of county players already.
He’s been really focussing on his training, and we have been supporting him in every way we can, even when he does something crazy like split his bat in half when he played a cracking shot in training a few weeks ago! (New bat was delivered, all knocked in, yesterday, phew!)
And the last couple of weeks, he has been playing some friendly games ahead of the season start. Initially, we were told he would probably be in the Sunday Development team, for the lads who are working well, but not quite at the main team levels, but he was selected for the third team this week, and for a moment was even considered for the seconds, too. (Well done, son!)
And guess who he was playing this week? His old team! He was a little worried about facing them, and the possibility of a bit of a backlash because he left them, but it was actually a joy to see how happy they were to see him!
Okay, so they lost, but with a very close score, and he bowled well, getting two wickets as well!
He sits and beats himself up, convinced that he’s the reason they lose, but cricket is a team sport, and he didn’t even get a chance to bat. And, no, he didn’t give away loads of runs, which is what he is convinced of.
But, what he doesn’t realise is that the club are already recognising his raw talents, considering they were ready to play him in the second team, today!
Working on making him realise that every day is a new beginning, every match is a new start, and that this new club will be amazing for him.
So, what advice would give a youngster who can’t see his own successes because he clouds over at the smallest of what he thinks are failures?
But I Smile Anyway... 
