The reluctant writer and a warming lunch

I seemed to spend most of the morning doing anything but write. It's been a good few days since I even looked at Hallsfoot's Battle, let alone tackle any more of it - and my confidence levels were at a very low and reluctant ebb. Not that they're ever that high, mind you - I'm powered purely by sheer bloody-mindedness. Anyway, I finally got down to it (as it were) at about 11am and then somehow managed to drum out 1000 words by 1pm, which brings me to 51,000 words and part-way through the Second Gathandrian Legend. I even have a glimmer of an idea about where it should go next, which is something. Quite rare too. But let's not get too excited - no doubt I'll have to go through the same agonising process of reluctance tomorrow. Dammit.

I then went out for a late lunch with Robin - though unfortunately Liz couldn't make it, which was a shame - but Robin and I had a great chat, as well as having rather too much fun with the broccoli and stilton soup which came with bacon rashers for dipping. Only in Surrey, eh ... Anyway, it was an acceptable alternative to the usual baguettes which (shame again!) the pub doesn't do any more. Is there a baguette embargo, or have I missed yet another Government directive? Or are baguettes now very "last year" and no foodie would ever order them these days?? It's a mystery - and reminds me of the time I tried to order a Dubonnet and Lemonade from a pub in downtown Essex. They actually laughed and asked me to leave. Well, it was the '90s, I suppose, and D&L went out with the '80s. Perhaps next time I ask for a baguette, they will ban me from Surrey entirely?...

On the way home, I popped into Tesco and got my prescription for the emergency HRT patches (only I can have "emergency" HRT patches - really they should be an essential part of every older woman's first-aid kit). You never know when you might need one. I also picked up another Flu jab brochure, as I see Tesco's are now also offering them. I might think about having one next week, but at the moment I'm a bit sniffly (well, more sniffly than normal) and I dread the onset of a cold. Not sure I want the Flu jab on top of all my other potential diseases. I can only cope with one illness at a time, you know.

Oh, and I'm feeling rather low as I've just finished reading Stephen Mitchell's "God in the Bath". Really, this book was ultimately so depressing that I felt quite poleaxed afterwards. It was very muddled throughout and some of the points made seemed irrelevant and unhelpful in the extreme. When I'd read the last page, I still had no clear impression of what the book was meant to be about. The last chapter was hugely demoralising and it somehow made heaven into a very unattractive prospect. I was left with a feeling of doom and a severe lack of hope. Sigh. Hell, I can go to church for that kind of feeling, can't I? I can only trust God isn't how Stephen Mitchell thinks He is, and there's more hope and excitement to look forward to in the great hereafter than is contained in this unfortunate book. Meanwhile, in terms of my religious reading, I have moved on to Abbot Jamison's "Finding Sanctuary" with a feeling of overwhelming relief ... Surely God isn't all bad??...

Talking of things literary, and on a completely contrasting note, I have just discovered the charming writers' site, Chapter Seventy-Nine and have joined up. People there seem very friendly and I do particularly like the daily writing prompts, which look good. I haven't used any of them as yet, but even reading them makes me feel hopeful. Thank the Lord ... Could be useful for the University Writers' Group too, but I'll have to see.

Today's nice things:

1. Finally writing more of Hallsfoot
2. Lunch with Robin
3. Exploring Chapter Seventy-Nine

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - slowly getting there, but don't wait up ...