1883 Magazine - Fireside Folktales Fringe Brings Storytelling Magic to Barnes

 I am so grateful to Nick Barr for this excellent article on the new Fireside Folktales Barnes Fringe Festival! He has understood and articulated the heart, ethos, and aims of the festival so perfectly - and all while highlighting so many of the amazing events we are looking forward to over the weekend of 23rd and 24th May 2026! 

For more information on the festival: shadowroad.com/fireside-folktales-fringe

For tickets: Shadow Road Productions event tickets from TicketSource.

Neun Magazine Interview!

I'm absolutely delighted to feature in this article by Maria-Teresa Rivera-Schreiber for Neun Magazine, and extremely grateful for the chance to talk about Shadow Road Productions, all the work we do, and - perhaps most importantly of all - why we choose to do it... 🎭✨💖 

The Fireside Folktales Fringe: Barnes’ Brand New Theatre Festival!

After two wonderful summers performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, my small but perfectly formed theatre company, Shadow Road, has decided to stay closer to home next year - and create something magical of our own.

Introducing 'The Fireside Folktales Fringe': a brand-new, independent mini festival of storytelling and theatre, taking place in Barnes, South West London, on 23rd & 24th May 2026!

We're aiming for:

• 🌿 Intimate shows in unexpected spaces (no big stages, just big heart) 
• 📖 Classic stories reimagined for a modern audience 
• 🎟️ Affordable tickets and accessible venues
• 🌍 A celebration of community, creativity, and connection

It’s inspired by our own 'Fireside Folktales' series: a collection of small but mighty shows that bring powerful myths, legends, and classic tales to life in a wide variety of venues, with no fancy tech - just four actors, live sound and music, simple props and costumes, and a whole lot of imagination.

This time, we’re throwing open the doors and inviting other wonderful artists in too. And that’s where you come in.

• 🎭 Are you a performer or theatre company who might want to take part?
• 💛 Are you a long-time friend of Shadow Road, who believes in what we do?
• 🙌 Are you someone who wants to support independent theatre with soul?

We’ve just (this very hour!) launched our Crowdfunder campaign to make the festival a reality and we’d love your help in spreading the word.

Would you like to take part, as a performer or production company? Do you know someone who'd be interested in sponsoring a venue, or an individual show? Whether you donate, share the link, or just loudly cheer us on, you’ll be helping us create something really special from the ground up, and we would be so grateful.

Our campaign is taking part in the 'Built by Her, Backed by Us' initiative - a brilliant programme supporting female-led projects. If we raise a minimum total of £1,000 from at least 25 different backers, by 31st July, we’ll be eligible to enter their competition and be in with the chance of winning extra match funding and other opportunities that could totally transform the future of the festival. Whether you can give £5 or £50, your donation gets us one step closer - and sharing the campaign helps more than you know!

We'd absolutely love you to help us build a festival that puts people and stories first, concentrating on the simple, shared experience. No headsets. No holograms. No horrific overpricing, or awesome, spaceship-worthy technology. Just theatre, the way it began - and the way it still moves us most...

✨ The Fireside Folktales Fringe Crowdfunding Link ✨

Thank you SO much for any help you feel able to give! 🙏❤️🥰

Secret Storytellers - The First Broadcast

 

Secret Storytellers: The First Broadcast is now complete, and available to watch online! 🥳

Following a call out for actors in the Shadow Road email newsletter last month, twelve fabulous actors came along on the 18th and 19th March to film with us. It was such fun making this short with them - and lovely to welcome a few new members to the Shadow Road family, along with some old friends and familiar faces! Even more of a delight to then host a screening of the film at the Shadow Road Studio on the 8th April, so that we could raise a glass to all their hard work and enjoy the results together! 🍾🎬👏

This short film was created as part of the Musicbed Challenge 2025 and is part of the larger, cross-platform Secret Storytellers project - the next part of which is a planned test version of a live immersive event, where audience members will have the opportunity to join the resistance for themselves and to make choices and decisions that will not only influence their own personal experiences, but may also even change the outcome of the show itself! 

More news coming soon... 😍

From One Exciting Year to Another!

As you can see from these photos - and as many of you saw in person at one or more of our shows and events - we at Shadow Road had a very busy and brilliant year in 2023! We are so grateful for your ongoing support and your fabulous feedback after each one.

Now a new and even busier year beckons - and we couldn't be more excited about it! 

I've been using the first weeks of 2024 to write (two new plays), to plan (all of the year's upcoming productions, another visit to Edinburgh - along with all the fundraising that requires - and the launch of the next new project), and to learn (more workshops with Theatrical Intimacy Education, Theatre503, and the Society of Authors). Soon, however, we'll be back in the rehearsal room for one thing after another - with more writing squeezed in between times - and performing in a number of different venues, both indoors and outside. 

Here are some of the main dates for the diary (both mine and yours, if you'd like to come along and see us!) between now and the summer:

MARCH

• Friday 8th: I'm delighted to be going back to my old school, along with numerous other alumnae, to talk to the girls about working in the arts for their Careers Day!
  
  
• Saturday 30th: Our second Cake & Coffee Morning of 2024 at St Mary’s Barnes, SW13. Do come and join us to catch up on all the news, over homemade cakes baked by our wonderful cast and supporters of Shadow Road, as the fundraising for 2024 begins!

APRIL

• Friday 26th at 7.30pm: Macbeth is going to Mayfield! We are taking our fantastically well reviewed four-person production of Macbeth: Sleep No More to the Mayfield Festival of Music & the Arts, where we will perform in the round at the ancient St Dunstan's church.
  ~ Tickets are available on the festival website - BOOK HERE!
  
  
• Exact date TBC: Following our success in Edinburgh, this Spring will see us testing out the new, immersive element of our latest project Secret Storytellers with a soft launch event for a small, invited audience. Watch this space for more details coming soon!

 

MAY

• Wednesday 29th – Friday 31st: Robin Hood's Quest at the National Trust's Morden Hall Park. Following the success of 2023's St George's Quest, we are returning to Morden Hall Park's beautiful Rose Garden with a brand new interactive adventure trail, this time inviting young Outlaws (and their accompanying adults) to help rescue Robin Hood from the dastardly Sir Guy of Gisborne’s jail!
  ~ Tickets are available from our TicketSource page HERE!
  
  
• May/June – Dates TBC: Following the test event earlier in the year, the official launch of our new, immersive element of our latest project Secret Storytellers is due to take place in late spring/early summer.

 

JUNE

• Sat 15th at 7.30pm: Songs, Scenes & Swords Fundraiser at St Mary's Barnes. Join us for a special evening of music, sword fighting, and scenes from Shakespeare and beyond, to raise money for our trip to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe! (If any of you feel like lending us your talents for this one-off event, whether onstage or off, please do get in touch - we'd be most grateful!)
  ~ Tickets are available from our TicketSource page HERE!

 

JULY

• Wednesday 10th & Thursday 11th at 7.30pm: London Preview of Treasure Island at the OSO Arts Centre. This will be followed by a Q&A with the team, where we will be talking about the play itself and what goes into putting a production like this together - adapting a play, casting in general, gender blind casting, directing, fight directing, and even how to go about taking a show to Edinburgh! 
  ~ Tickets will be available from the OSO's website from April onwards.

At the end of the month, we'll be travelling up to Edinburgh to settle in and get ready for our nine-day, 18 show, run in August.

AUGUST

• Friday 2nd – Sat 10th: Edinburgh Festival at theSpace on the Mile. Shadow Road Productions will be returning to the Edinburgh Fringe with the wonderful theSpaceUK venues, reprising Macbeth: Sleep No More at 10.35am and performing a brand new adaptation of Treasure Island at 4.25pm each day from the 2nd to the 10th August!
  ~ Tickets for both shows are now available HERE via the main EdFringe website! 
  
  

As for what will happen after August? Well, some irons are in the fire and things are looking interesting - all available digits are very firmly crossed in the meantime...

New Interviews!

THAT MENTAL GINGER SHOW - JANUARY 2022

Auditions, Money and Sweeping Generalisations with Emma King Farlow

On today’s show we talk to actor and director Emma King-Farlow about her journey in the arts and her new podcast The Price of Love. (And yes, her Christmas Carol show was a success!😊)

Please check out The Price of Love wherever you get your podcasts. 

Until next time, take care, stay safe, bye bye. Audio-only link HERE

PRETEND WORLDS REAL PEOPLE - JUNE 2021

Episode 41: Emma King-Farlow

" Find what you love, make your own work."

This week, we're joined by the incredibly talented, Emma King-Farlow! The donner of several different hats in the world of theater. As a Writer, Director, and Producer; Emma has created both fantastically-original worlds, as well as genre bending adaptations of classic works for the stage. She takes Steph and Tyler through her battle with stage fright, finding her niche in writing, and spreading mental health awareness in the arts industry. What are you doing? Check it out!

#StoryGivesBack Winners Announced!

I am absolutely delighted that my tiny theatre company, Shadow Road Productions, has just been announced as one of the two winners of this year's #StoryGivesBack initiative from Story Events!

Following the online vote, first by previous visitors to Story's renowned London Christmas Party Show and then by the wider public, we have been named as one of the two boutique suppliers they would most like to meet! As a result, our prize is the offer of a free stand at the 2021 show on the 7th and 8th September, so that they can do just that!

You can read more about the company and the show - and find out how to register to visit yourself - on the #StoryGivesBack page on their website.

As some of you may already be aware, Shadow Road is a small independent theatre company which specialises in bringing exciting pieces of theatre for all ages and occasions to unusual venues and spaces in creative new ways. Our work usually involves a charitable aspect of some kind – raising awareness or funds - or, as with Fireside Folktales in particular, taking live entertainment out to people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy it.

We are now aiming to branch out into events, corporate entertainment, and private parties – offering something original and exciting to these markets and, in turn, enabling us to fund more of our voluntary and charity work elsewhere. Winning this competition is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet many of the people who could help us take those next steps into the future and we can't wait to show everyone the fantastic entertainment – festive and otherwise – that we have to offer!

Shadow Road Productions' New Brochure!

My small independent theatre company, Shadow Road Productions, specialises in bringing exciting works of theatre, for all ages and occasions, to unusual spaces in creative new ways.

As well as continuing that tradition with Fireside Folktales, retelling myths, legends and classic stories from around the world as original short plays performed by a company of four professional actors, we also offer much more, including the UNBROKEN Festival & Short Film Prize, a variety of murder mystery events, full-scale theatre   productions, and our soon-to-be-launched cross-platform venture, Secret Storytellers.

This fantastic new project will see us producing some exciting online content based in a new, immersive story-world, in order to enhance the impressive work of our two-person teams, who will be busy delivering a range of thrilling live performances. In common with Fireside Folktales, and in keeping with the world in which the overall project is set, all music and sound effects are performed live by the cast, so no electricity or technical equipment is required, once again allowing us to be extremely flexible in terms of venue.

Finally, whether for team-building purposes, school visits, or those with a simple interest, we also offer several creative and educational workshops. Some of these are designed to accompany a particular production, so that you might watch the play and then take part in the workshop afterwards, while others - such as the general Drama Workshop, An Introduction to Playwriting, and An Introduction to Stage Combat, etc - can be delivered as standalone events. 

So that we have all the information in one place, we have put together a shiny, new PDF brochure outlining everything that Shadow Road has to offer theatre lovers, schools, events organisers and private clients with parties to throw! We hope you will find it both interesting and helpful. If, after reading, you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch - we would love to hear from you.

Anyone interested in finding out more can download the brochure HERE.

We look forward to working with you!

Fireside Folktales

An ongoing project begun in 2019, Fireside Folktales sees the Shadow Road team retelling a growing collection of myths, legends, and classic stories from around the world. Each is presented as an original short play (see the Playscripts page for more information) performed by a company of four actors. In keeping with the back-to-basics philosophy of this particular storytelling project, all music and sound effects are performed live by the cast, with no electricity or technical equipment necessary.

Having previously staged Fireside Folktales productions in Shadow Road's own beautiful 8m bell tent, in the open air, and at a wide variety of indoor venues, we know they work in almost all imaginable settings.

We were delighted to launch Fireside Folktales at the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival over the weekend of 11th-12th May 2019, where we delivered no fewer than six performances of Aesop's Fables, Persephone & the Pomegranate Seeds, and A Tale of Robin Hood in our superb Story Tent, each to a packed out audience!

After the BCLF, we moved on to other venues - including the magnificent National Trust property, Ham House, and Horace Walpole's gothic wonder Strawberry Hill House - before moving indoors for the winter to Southside House and other venues with our new production of A Christmas Carol. 

The return of these productions in 2020 - and our new shows, Macbeth and The Musicians of Bremen - has been postponed by the outbreak of Covid-19 but we will still be back later in the year...

We are also now available for private bookings for parties and events for both children and adults, or for school visits - including optional workshops and Q&A sessions, alongside the performances.  

As well as our usual selection of tales for all ages and occasions, we are able to create a bespoke event, writing a new piece of work specifically for your celebration, if we are given sufficient notice.  Should you wish to discuss a private booking of any sort, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at firesidefolktales@gmail.com!

We look forward to hearing from you - and perhaps to seeing you at one of the public events we will be appearing at throughout the year, bringing the magic of myths and legends to life on your very own doorstep!

* * * * * * *

For more information, please visit the Fireside Folktales website, follow us on social media (Instagram:@firesidefolktales & Twitter: @firesidefolks), like our Facebook page, or have a listen to the Fireside Folktales podcast!

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

The cast & crew of 'The Lion, The
Witch & The Wardrobe' 2018

“Utterly brilliant, spellbinding and wonderful.  I have a lump in my throat as I think about it ....” Celia F

“Great evening last night - your show is amazing!!! Well done and very pleased that the BCA supported this production.” Steven Mindel, Chairman of the Barnes Community Association

“Emma King-Farlow has mounted a truly magical production…” Mia Gibbons, Churches Together in Barnes

Edmund (Alice Hope Wilson) & Lucy
(Lucy Evans) in the Narnian snow

“This production was such a pleasure.  The fine story by C.S. Lewis was performed by a great team of actors, all of them perfectly in character. The Christian allegory worked gently but effectively in the beautiful mediaeval St Mary's Church, Barnes. Acting the part of Aslan, the lion King of Narnia, is inevitably impossible, but Will Forrester gave it drama and dignity.  The White Queen & her wolf were superbly malevolent & frightening!  The opening 40’s dance set the scene in wartime Britain, from where the evacuee children escape through the wardrobe to Narnia.  Costumes were inventive & the simple set was used imaginatively.  Many thanks to all. A special evening.” Anonymous audience Member

Maugrim (Carly Borrow) captures
 Edmund (Alice Hope Wilson) 

These were just a few of the many personal reviews that we received from audience members, following our recent(ish!) production of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe at St Mary’s Barnes (29^th Oct – 3^rd Nov 2018).  The show turned out to be rather more of a challenge than I first envisaged, and perhaps not quite as financially successful as it could have been if we hadn’t found ourselves up against the final of The Great British Bake Off early in the week!  It was, however, even more successful than I hoped in terms of the glowing feedback received and, it seems, the very different but similarly positive experiences enjoyed by cast, crew and audiences alike.  Indeed, the cast and crew - quite possibly the loveliest group of people I have had the privilege of working with - remain astonishingly close knit and in regular contact, and we are still hearing how much the audience thought of the show nearly three months after closing night!

Mr Tumnus Sr (Martin Parsley) watches
Maugrim terrorise small children!

None of this would have been possible without the financial and practical support of St Mary's Church and help from the Barnes Community Association, who recognised the potential of the project early on and awarded us a £500 grant to put towards the considerable costs involved.  I am extremely grateful to both organisations for their faith in the production, and to Bishop Richard Harries, whose fascinating pre-show talk on C.S. Lewis ensured that, despite adding as many extra chairs as we could, we still had to turn people away on the Friday night!

The White Witch (Kat Merrick)

Finally, I am delighted that the success of the production has enabled us to make donations not only to St Mary's but also to two fantastic children's literacy charities, both doing invaluable work with disadvantaged children around the country: BookTrust and First Story.
This wonderful play brought to an end a year of exhausting and exciting achievements for Shadow Road Productions and we now look forward to an equally exhilarating 2019!

A Last Look Back!

Just when we thought that Robin Hood was all but behind us – at least for this year – another delightful review popped up in the September issue of Prospect!

Many thanks to Robin Eastwood for her very kind words about the show – we’re delighted that you enjoyed it, Robin! :-)

Our final 2016 Robin Hood-related gathering also took place earlier this month, when a small group of cast and crew members met back at the London Wetland Centre for a picnic lunch with a couple of our generous crowdfunding campaign supporters at one of the play’s locations.

The weather was fairly inhospitable, to say the least – but then, given the many turbulent meteorological experiences that we ‘enjoyed’ there throughout both the show’s rehearsals and the run, it wouldn’t really have been a proper ‘Robin Hood at the Wetlands’ event if it hadn’t been!

The brilliant Henry Weston took this photo – a lovely memento – towards the end of an afternoon filled with plenty of good food, great company, fun, laughter, trampoline tennis, ring toss and, of course, rain! :-D

Dreams from the Pit & 22 Push-Ups!

Taking its title from the work of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon, Dreams From The Pit - an original play of mine that Shadow Road Productions first staged in 2013 in aid of Forces charity Combat Stress - follows three soldiers, Razor, Jacko and Sully, as they deploy together to Afghanistan. Life in 'Afghan' is tough but for some the return to civilian life is even harder...

I was recently nominated for the #22PushUpChallenge by both Amy Bolger-Floyd and Maia Gibbons (arguably a bit of overkill there, people!) which is also designed to raise money and awareness for Combat Stress and to draw attention to the horrifying rates of suicide and mental suffering evident in both US and UK veterans.

As I am, however, decidedly NOT a fan of appearing on any screen anywhere for any reason at all - much less while doing push-ups! - I chose instead to fashion the video below, in the hope that it might have a similar result.  I actually am also doing the push-ups at home each day as well - but there'll be some severe climate change in Hell before I film them and post the video online! ;-)

I do hope you get something out of the film.  Anyone who would like to donate £5 to Combat Stress can do so by texting PTSD22 to 70004.

Thank you!

#22PushUpChallenge from Shadow Road on Vimeo.

Introducing UNBROKEN...



AN INVITATION FOR SUBMISSIONS TO A NEW MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MINI-FESTIVAL IN AUTUMN 2016

Have you written a short play or a standalone scene – or created a piece of spoken word, music, movement or dance – dealing with mental illness, its effects and consequences, or the realities and myths surrounding the subject? Would you like to? Or would you like to direct one?

As part of my tiny theatre company's longstanding commitment to the issue of mental health we will be staging UNBROKEN, a mini-festival on that very subject, in London this October and we would like to invite anyone interested in getting involved – either as a writer, director, choreographer or composer – to get in touch.

UNBROKEN will showcase a number of new short plays and performance pieces, all dealing with the issue of mental health from different angles. It will also include at least one or more panel discussions.

As mentioned above, we are open to both short plays and scenes/extracts from a larger work that are able to stand alone in performance, as well as pieces of music, movement, spoken word or dance. Each of the chosen pieces will deal with some aspect of the issue, but the precise approach taken or subject explored will be up to its creator – for example, living with someone suffering from mental health problems can, in some ways, be just as difficult or alienating as suffering from the condition yourself.

UNBROKEN is an entirely voluntary event which will be staged in connection with one of the UK’s main mental health charities. This mini-festival will be the first of its kind for Shadow Road. Given our enduring concern with the issue of mental health, however – particularly when examined in relation to the military, as was the case with our original full-length play, Dreams From The Pit – we do hope that it may prove to be the first of many.

If you are interested in getting involved with UNBROKEN, there is plenty more information available – including submissions details and dates etc – here on our website: www.shadowroad.com/page6.htm

Please have a read and then drop us a line at shadowroadproductions@gmx.com.

We look forward to hearing from you! :-)

Farewell to the Merry Men!

There are still a few more days of admin to conquer, a couple of meetings to attend, one or two costumes to return and some crowdfunding thank you’s to write and perks to arrange but, all of those notwithstanding, Robin Hood‘s day is almost done – at least for this year.

Before leaving him and his Merry Men behind, however, I thought you might like to see this lovely photo of the cast and a couple of the crew and to read the fantastic write up that the show received from local reviewer Roger Pettit… :-)

“Shadow Road Productions is a small professional theatre company based in South-West London. It specialises in presenting new and unfamiliar works in quirky, unusual ways. Its production of Robin Hood at the award-winning nature reserve in Barnes, the London Wetland Centre, demonstrates the company’s modus operandi to perfection.

Written and directed by Shadow Road’s Artistic Director, Emma King-Farlow, it’s an alfresco production – the first ever at the London Wetland Centre. Based on the Robin Hood legend, it tells the story of the outlaw’s struggle (with his band of men: Little John, Friar Tuck, Alan-a-Dale, etc.) to assist the people of Loxley in trying to overcome the ruthless reign of terror of the villainous landlord (and Prince John supporter) Guy of Gisborne.

The programme notes describe this production as “immersive”, and it’s certainly that. The audience literally follow the action as it moves from one part of the nature reserve to another. We get a wedding, spectacularly-staged sword fights, romance, death and music and songs, all skilfully staged to make the most of the spectacular outdoor setting. The cast is very talented, and I was particularly taken with Frank Teale’s performance as Gisborne. You really did want to see him get his comeuppance, thanks in no small measure to Teale’s success in portraying the cruelty, ruthlessness and sheer savagery of the character. A brilliant performance!

 

Robin Hood is family entertainment at its best. There’s something for everyone. The four people I went with (two adults and two young children) all thoroughly enjoyed it. I did too. On this evidence, Shadow Road Productions is a company with a very bright future.”

 

Roger Pettit



Robin Hood on the Radio!

The lovely Jean Somerville-Rabbitt from Wandsworth Radio's ArtsWatch programme joined us for a chat about Robin Hood in advance of this week's final four shows.  This interview was the result...

Robin Hood is on at the London Wetland Centre on Thursday and Friday evenings at 6.30pm and 8.15pm until July 1st 2016.  Get your tickets here: www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london/whats-on/2016/06/09/robin-hood

Robin Hood's Crowdfunding Campaign

Robin Hood Crowdfunding 2016 from Shadow Road on Vimeo.

 

Our crowdfunding campaign for our brand new production of Robin Hood at the London Wetland Centre has now begun and, with 28 days to go, we have already raised £415!  HUGE thanks to all of our lovely contributors - we really couldn't do this without you.

 

We've assembled an exciting selection of perks for the campaign so if you're at all interested in supporting independent theatre and important conservation work, or in the Wetland Centre, any of the cast and crew, Robin Hood, stage combat or many other excellent things, perhaps you'd like to pop over to our Campaign Page on Crowdfunder.co.uk and take a look? :-)

 

You can also see some of our £10 pledge thank you videos on the Shadow Road Vimeo page.  Hope watching them amuses you as much as making them amused us!  Who knows, we could be making one for you soon, too... ;-)

 

Tickets for the show - at the London Wetland Centre at 6.30pm or 8.15pm on Thursdays and Fridays throughout June, from Thursday 9th June until Friday 1st July - are available from the Wetland Centre website HERE.

 

We hope to see you there! :-)

Robin Hood!

And the word is officially out - our summer show at the London Wetland Centre will be a new, promenade production of Robin Hood! 

Written (by yours truly!) specifically for the Centre, it will be an exciting evening out in beautiful surroundings. We'd be delighted if you would join us, Robin Hood and his men, the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham and his minions and the hopeful people of Loxley, for this immersive adventure on Thursday and Friday evenings throughout June.

With the King absent, corruption and injustice are rife in England.  The country cries out for a champion - and in the heart of the Greenwood, a legend stirs...

Dates: 9 (Previews), 10 (Press Night), 16, 17, 23, 24 & 30 June and 1 July.
Times: 6.30pm or 8pm - there will be two performances each night.
Tickets will cost £20 and will soon be available from the Wetland Centre website.

We look forward to seeing you there! :-)

P.S. Despite our deep and abiding faith in the English summer weather, we can't help thinking that you might still want to bring an umbrella with you.  Just in case... ;-)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Lately, there’s been a lot of all three around. I’m not going to dwell on the usual newspaper fodder – crazy weather, annoying (possibly corrupt) politicians, shamefully mistreated military personnel, crime, violence, binge drinking and mind-bendingly dull ‘celebrities’. I’m sure you already know all you ever wanted to (and probably quite a bit more) about those subjects. Instead, I offer you just a few examples of each from my own recent experience:

The Good:

1. The members of lovely online writing community WriteWords have been enjoying a lot of success lately. Recently published books include Mothernight by Sarah Stovell, A Vengeful Longing by Roger Morris, Chips, Beans and Limousines by Leila Rasheed, Thorn in the Flesh by Anne Brooke, Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja, and Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls - also the well-deserved winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.

2. I have discovered (via a WW tip) The Big Green Bookshop blog – it’s always been a secret (or perhaps not so secret) ambition of mine to open my own bookshop at some time in the future, and reading about how these guys have done just that is really inspiring. I wish them the very best of luck!

3. Having wanted a fob watch for ages – and more specifically for Shadow Road’s Christmas production a few months ago – but not having any money to spend on a ‘proper’ one, I stumbled across an attractive faux-silver one at my nearest tube station the other day. At a mere £6 for the watch, chain and a spare battery, I thought it was something of a bargain!


The Bad:

1. My excellent ‘Leg Master’ exercise machine has just broken down. Just as I’ve worked my way up to 1,500 repetitions in a day – I kid you not, people, I’ve (almost) sweated blood to get here – the cursed thing has given up the ghost and John Lewis have sold out of replacements. Grrr!

2. Public transport in London – crowded, expensive, dirty, slow, and, depending on whom you end up travelling alongside, occasionally dangerous. And this is what people are supposed to leave their cars behind for?

3. My inability to maintain a regular posting schedule on this blog. It isn’t that I forget to write anything, nor that I can’t be bothered, it’s more that I don’t feel I ought to post unless I’ve got something worth saying. And then I remember that just because I think a thing is worth saying, it doesn’t follow that anyone else will necessarily agree with me. *Sigh* I suspect I may take myself – and this blog – a little too seriously. I am determined to be more trivial (and talkative) in future... ;-)


And The Ugly:


I am reliably informed that this is a sculpture of a ‘Lion Dog’. Hmm, I may still resent the fact that my parents wouldn’t let me have a puppy when I was little, but I don’t think even I would have wanted to go ‘walkies’ with one of these.

Any good, bad or ugly things happening in your life at the moment? If so, feel free to share...