No large knickers for me!

I was thinking of reflecting on 2012 before deciding that I would make no resolutions this year. Resolutions it seems are set up to fail. No large knickers for me!

As briefly as possible, 2012 has been a difficult year. Health has been an issue. My marbles are looser than ever and all I see ahead is a baggier future. Oh, how those old people used to annoy me when I was young. ‘You don’t know how lucky you are to have the speed of youth and all your marbles, wait until you get to my age and then see how you feel.’ Didn’t they go on and on and on and of course they were right. I remember an old aunty who said, ‘It doesn’t matter what you wear as long as you are warm, I’d wear a tea cosy on my head if it kept the cold out.’ I remember thinking, I will never be like that. And now? I wear the occasional tea cosy.

Some good writerley things about 2012:

I judged a short story competition for the Chris Evans Breakfast Show 500 WORDS competition. Having entered competitions myself, I know how important it can be to be objective when reading stories. I also discovered this when judging the Greenacre Writers competition entries, there were stories that I personally did not enjoy but the language and composition far outweighed my limited interests.

As co-host and tutor for the Greenacre Writers, this year I both ran and co-ran writing groups and workshops. I attended the NAWG festival where the Greenacre Writers Anthology had been shortlised for the anthology competition. We came third in the National Association of Writers Groups (NAWG), Denise Robertson Group Anthology competition. Quite an achievement as it was our first anthology. I met some interesting people including Linda Lewis, Pam Fish and Edyth Ward (who was 85 years young). Edyth was full of fun and said, 'Whenever you're feeling a bit down in the dumps, look for a white feather, and you know that everything will be okay.'

And of course not forgetting our Literary Festival, the first to be held in the borough of Barnet. The Greenacre Writers Mini Literary Festival was held in May and attended by some lovely writerly types: Alex Wheatle, Emily Benet, Andrew Bradford, Lane Ashfeldt and Paolo Hewitt. As well as our own Greenacre writers and co-host Lindsay Bamfield.

Don’t ask me how, inbetween all the various activities, including being involved with the Occupied Friern Barnet Library, I found time to enter some competitions. Of the five I entered, I was either long or shortlisted.

And so to 2013. My non-resolutions:

This is what I will do:

Be kind.

Read a book a week.

Write every day.
Enter competitions.
Support Kiva.
Support Water Aid.
Support Save the Children.
Try and count to ten before I scream.

That's all folks. Wishing you all what you would wish yourselves plus peace on earth.