Notes from the Notebook: 2016 'This is new. A revelation.'

Last Saturday I attended another session of 'Seasonal Space to Write', a writing day held at a country hotel with idyllic views, facilitated by poet Natalie Scott. (If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen this post which contains more photos of the day). And it marked one year since the first time I'd attended a session there.

The following is something I wrote in my notebook while I was there ...  

9 April 2016

At 'Space To Write'.

Spread out between two rooms, comfy armchairs, a real fire crackling, sunlight through the bay window.

Everyone is quiet. Together, but silent.

No pressure to talk.

No self-consciousness.

No need to change myself.

This is what I do.

This is what we do.

This is new. A revelation. 

***

Sounds lovely doesn't it? Sounds new and exciting and welcome. Well ... full disclosure:

.... a few hours after I wrote that I came home cried (a lot) and thought I really ought never commit words to paper ever again!!

(If you missed that particular breakdown you can read all about it in a post of its own here!)

Just an average 'shock of the new' confidence crisis, where you compare yourself so unfavourably to every one else there it makes you question all your life choices. You know how it is ...

Not that it actually stopped me returning;  I pulled myself together, put James's shirt through the laundry (after getting my tears/snot all over it. Sorry, were you eating?). And in between that first (emotional) time and my most recent visit I've had some great experiences there:

• the writers there were the first to hear the early version of the blurb for my book of Snipped Tales as I worked on it during the session last Autumn. The feedback I got really made me feel people might actually like the thing!
• And I even read out one of the tales - tricky when the visual aspect is part of the concept, but it worked well nonetheless - and several people expressed a desire to become Margot when they grew up! 
• (If you've got the book, you'll know all about Margot, if you haven't got the book ... then buy one, or two ... that way find out who Margot is and why everyone loves her, and then give a copy as a gift!)

But now that Snipped Tales is safely completed, last weekend I took a new-ish project to work on.

And, a little like that very first time, I felt a little wobbly after hearing several people read their work aloud while not having anything especially ready of my own to contribute. 

I felt a little out of place, a little awkward again and yet past experience told me the feeling would pass. I recognised the feeling ... I talked about it, then I let it slip away. My eyes, and James's shirt, stayed dry.  

And that, my friends, is what I believe they call 'progress'!  

See you soon.

Julie

***

Over on Instagram I'm using: #notesfromthenotebook and #juliesnotesfromthenotebook to keep my notebook-archive posts together there. 

Meanwhile, you can continue the conversation with me here, or there, and share your own notebook gems whenever you fancy:

Instagram ~~ Twitter ~~ Facebook ~~ Website

A 'Grand' day out: meeting Knickers Model's Own's Caroline Jones

Hello you, how were things this week? Been anywhere nice?

I've got some photos from a lovely afternoon I spent in York earlier this month if you fancy a look? Yeah? OK, here we go ... 

The 'Knickers Model's Own' Afternoon Tea at The Grand Hotel, York.

They say "Don't meet your heroes ... unless your hero is Caroline Jones, in which case you should definitely meet her." don't they? 

Well, OK, maybe that's not quite what 'they' say - but that's probably because they've yet to meet Caroline. But if they ever did, they would. 

I did, and I have because - after reading about, admiring her from afar and chatting with her online, she certainly didn't disappoint in the flesh.

Photographic evidence.

Caroline's 'Knickers Models Own' challenge (where she styled, wore, photographed, and shared a different pre-loved outfit every day during 2015) began as a way to raise money for the Cancer Research UK charity following the death of her mother to the disease.

You might remember back in October 2016 I reviewed the book which documented her challenge: 'Knickers Model's Own: A Year of Frugal Fashion':

I know a few of you will definitely remember because you told me you were planning to put it on your Christmas lists either as a gift to give ... or receive. For those unfamiliar it's a compilation of all 365 of Caroline's outfits, plus extra styling tips and advice on seeking out vintage clothes, bound together in a beautiful hardback, which continues to raise funds for cancer research. 

And the book single-handedly reignited my love of pre-loved fashion, so that once again, alongside rummaging around for the usual books and papery treasures in charity shops, I'm now searching the racks of clothes in charity shops in earnest.

So, when I saw the announcement that she was giving a talk at 'Fashion City York', an hour away from me, I seized the opportunity to hear directly from her.

I booked the tickets on a chilly, post-Christmas slump of a day way back in January, and by the time the day itself rolled around York was looking its Springtime best. Here we are, in the Yorkshire sunshine, Mam and me, two intrepid explorers (don't believe anything you read: we actually got dropped off and picked up right outside the hotel) in search of some pre-loved fashion inspiration:

In honour of the occasion I wore a vintage shirt (with those 70s collars ... you might have guessed) and charity shop beads. 

And this was our location for the afternoon, York's Grand Hotel, which certainly lived up to its name: 

I mean ... at the risk of sounding like I've never been anywhere nice before ... this place was  reeeeaaallly grand. Like - greeted at the door, £3.00 for a soda water, individual hand-towels in the bathroom - grand.

Not to mention 'chandeliers in the wood-panelled event space' grand:

The afternoon's festivities began with a talk from Caroline where she described:

• how the idea of 'Knickers Model's Own' fundraising came to her;
• how she branded the project, and the steps she took to promote it across social media;
• how the project caught others imagination almost immediately;
• and how she dealt with the overwhelming response she received, including inter/national press attention and having to write the book in 6 weeks!

Here's Caroline, mid-discussion in between the two ladies who took over her Instagram account for the afternoon sharing the event with anyone who wasn't lucky/near enough to be there on the day.

Later in the day Caroline introduced me to her faithful Instagrammers @susiesoso and  @myfashionable40s - a rarity for me to meet up with people I only know online, let alone meeting people who have tens of thousands of followers between them. But they were honestly the most friendly of friendly women, with no edge, no 'Influencer' airs and graces (so that taught me a lesson in expectations). And ... altogether I'm pretty sure that this now means that I'm one of the cool people. (Please don't feel the need to disabuse me of that delusion. I'm good thanks.)

In case al that listening to Caroline had tired us out we were then treated to a restorative Afternoon Tea (yes, there were cucumber sandwiches and scones. Natch.) while a lovely young lady sang and played guitar:

Then this tasty interlude was followed by a fashion show which featured full outfits that Caroline had styled from items found in Cancer Research charity shops.

Loud gasps bubbled up from the audience when she announced just how little each full outfit had cost. Clearly there were folks there not as used as I am to sniffing out (sorry, wrong choice of words there ...) - hunting down - charity shop treasure!

After this Caroline held a Q&A where she answered questions and gave advice on everything from:

• what she plans to do in future - which, luckily for us includes a brand new website: knickersmodelsown.com
• how to have fun with clothes and accessories despite your age or body-shape;
• the relevance of 'slow' fashion in a fast world;
• the power of a good bangle!
• and, of course, the benefits of good foundation garments. Or ... knickers, basically! She has a brand to maintain after all!

After that we got to browse amongst some of the clothes from the fashion show, plus others, in what must be the poshest room I've ever rummaged for old clothes! Naturally I found something (I can't help it. The stuff finds me!) and I went home with a gorgeous, immaculate, see-through navy pinstriped St.Michael blouse (which, judging by the label, dates to the 1980s) for the princely sum of £4.50.

It was after all of that that I finally got to have a chat, a hug, and a few photos with Caroline and, it was just lovely. And - coming from an introvert who doesn't do the whole socialising thing very easily, that's saying something!

At one point she said some complimentary things about me to my Mam, and I felt a little bit like I was at a parent/teacher meeting at school ... and even that was lovely.

I don't think I've had such a nice day meeting someone whose work I admire since that time in the early 1990s when Little Angels (a British rock group) opened our local HMV and I got to meet - and kiss- all of the members of the band. (And yes non-believers, I do have photographic evidence to back up such boasting.)

In short (I know, I know, that ship's long sailed) ... don't meet your heroes ... unless they're Caroline Jones. 

(And maybe the Little Angels and you're a very cocky teenager with no shame).

See you soon. Online. I've filled my quota of real-life meetings for this month! ;-).

Julie x

***

Links:

• You can read more about Caroline at her site Knickers Model's Own
• And you buy her book Knickers Model's Own: A Year of Frugal Fashion here at Cancer Research.

Disclosure: this is not in any way a sponsored post. I paid for both the York event and Caroline's book myself. Therefore all opinions are my own, because if I paid for it all myself and then had someone else tell me what to say about it that would just be bizarre.

Notes from the Notebook: 2003 'She casually dropped in the most important element of the story'.

Today's note from the notebook comes from 2003.

At that time I was working as a Learning Mentor in two primary schools, and this is one of the most memorable snippets of kid-talk from that time.

It's one of those moments which - if you'd read it in a novel - you'd have said it was a bit far-fetched, a bit too clever-clever, a bit too conveniently comedic to be natural and yet ... I assure you, this is exactly how it happened ... 

-----------------------

#notesfromthenotebook

2003

A group of 10 year-olds were talking about the deaths of pets.

One girl’s hamster had died the previous night and someone had sniggered about how she’d cried over it. In a show of solidarity, a girl called Kirsty (tiny, feisty, entertaining) told her own tale …

“So what if she cried?" she asked. "I cried when our rabbit died. My sister had it on her bed, but she let go of it and it fell off and it looked like this …”

To illustrate she tilted her head to one side, while her tongue lolled out of her mouth on the opposite side; she then closed one eye and raised two droopy little hands up in front of her to mimic the lifeless creature.

She acknowledged the respectful silence saying “Yeah.”

Then …

… with a wistful look …

… she casually dropped in the most important element of the story:

“My sister has the top bunk”.

Sculpture by Sophie Ryder - taken at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

-----------------------

The top bunk!!! 

How's that for a punchline? Look at that comedic timing! She sets it up (it fell off the sister's bed) ... bides her time ... and then knocks it out of the park with that last detail! And all entirely unwittingly. 

If that ever makes its way into something I write in future ... yo'll know where I got it from! And I'll have Kirsty, and her accidental comedic genius to thank.

***

I'm really enjoying reading your comments on how the notes I've shared so far have reminded you of something in your own lives, keep it coming, it's lovely being part of a conversation. 

If you want to see inside the notebooks themselves then I'm sharing those over on Instagram - @withjuliekirk - where so far I've revealed are some ideas for a novel in 1994, a drawing of what the adult Julie might look like from the 80s and some sketches from my rock 'n roll years! 

I'm using: #notesfromthenotebook and #juliesnotesfromthenotebook to keep them all together over there. 

Meanwhile, you can continue the conversation with me here, whenever you fancy:

Instagram ~~ Twitter ~~ Facebook ~~ Website

See you soon. 

Julie x

***

Click the image to visit more notes from the notebook. 

Notes from the notebook: 'June 2006. I don't know what I'm doing'.

Hello hello. 

If you missed me sharing photo of some of my old journals, and introducing the idea of #notesfromthenotebook then you can hop back a post here.  Basically I've been trawling through my old books and plucking out the occasional scribble I think might be worth a second look 

My first delve into my archive has resulted in the following snippet from 11 years ago, a snippet which is almost painfully packed with frustration. 

----------------------

20th June 2006 

I don’t know what I’m doing. I feel that there is a stockroom full of work hiding away inside me – and I just can’t get it out. 

There are collages, cards, novels, poems – creations, stuffed inside me.

I can feel the edges of canvasses digging between my ribs; I’m being paper-cut from the inside; there are rolled up pieces of paper climbing their way up my throat and unfurling in my head, drying out my brain. 

I have ideas queuing up to taunt and laugh and poke at me.

----------------------

I actually found a photo of me from June 2006, the same month in which I wrote this piece. Here I am - fortunately looking more relaxed - while paddling in the Cornish sea. 

This was a time in my life where I was clearly hunting around for a creative outlet:

• I was unemployed having been made redundant.
• It would be one year until my work (a scrapbook page) would be published in a magazine for the first time (when a message from Shimelle Laine, who at the time worked for Scrapbook Inspirations magazine, pretty much set everything in motion!) 
• It would be two years until I'd meet my long-time friend and collaborator Kirsty Neale, and about the same amount of time until I'd first visit my local crop where I'd meet the crafty friends I still have today..
• And two years until I'd start a blog ... where my love of writing would finally find a regular expressive outlet. 
• It would also be 10 years until I'd publish my first book and decide to start writing a novel. 

I'd like to tell that Julie from a decade ago that she'll spend the next decade sorting out all that paper she felt she had trapped inside her. Tell her to enjoy the unfurling, to write it all down, and not to worry too much ... because it all turns out OK in the end. 

***

If you'd like to share anything from your own notebook archive, please feel free ... I loved hearing from you in the comments on my last post. 

There are so many stories out there worth dusting off and sharing with  friends. 

Julie x

You can find me here any time:

Instagram ~~ Twitter ~~ Facebook ~~ Website

#juliesnotesfromthenotebook    ***    #notesfromthenotebook

Notes from the notebook: a life in journals

Before we begin: I've picked the two winners of my Snipped Tales book giveaway (one winner here, one over on Instagram), and I've now been in touch with both winners. Thank you to all those who expressed an interest, it means such a lot!!

---------------------------------

Hello you, can we take a minute to talk about notebooks?

("Just one minute?" I hear you ask, "I can talk about note books for longer than that." And that's exactly why you and I get on so well here.)

I have a lot of notebooks. Shocker eh? But - believe it or not - I've actually written in some of them.

Actually, I'm not being fair on myself there; granted, I do have many, many a blank, as-yet-un-written-in, notebook lurking on my shelves, because: notebooks. Who can resist?

• They're exquisite papery bundles of potential; entirely blank and utterly filled with inspiration at the same time.
• More mind-expanding than alcohol; less expensive than paying for another online course to inspire you.

So, yes, alongside my collection of journals, I do have something of a backlog of empty books that I can't seem to help adding to. And yet, I have actually written in more than just some of them. 

Which is what I'm here to talk about today. Because, when you've lived a life of thinking on paper ... what do you do with all those pages?  All. Those. Pages.

The notebook corner of my workroom. 

There's clearly an issue of space.

• Failing knocking out those eaves and extending the roof-line of my house, there is really no more room for more notebooks on my shelves. Some of the old work diaries could probably go in a box in the loft ... but do I really want to pack away all of my ideas, scribblings, thoughts and musings resting in between some of those pages? 

Because there's an issue of content too.

• Not everything I've written down, not even half, has since been worked-up into something finished; something complete.
• Of course there's a lot of old nonsense in there, but equally, there's so many inchoate ideas loitering around, untapped, overlooked. 
• Plus, there's a huge chunk of me flattened between those pages. I have work stretching back to when I was 8. 
• To sit in front of a page I've written years ago is the closest thing to time-travel; I've been there before, held that book, pressed those words into the paper. And I can often remember how I felt, where I was, or what was happening when I originally wrote it. 

A few of my journals from the 80s and 90s.  

So what to do with it all? What do I do with all those years of scribbles?

Well ... I've taken two approaches:

• If you're of a nervous, bookish, disposition then look away now because ... I tore up some of them!

Genuine notebook remains

 Before you report me for bibliocide (although, if you haven't done that already, what with my book-destruction reputation, I'm probably safe) I only destroyed the scrappiest of books, the ones that didn't hold any great sentimental value for me. There were many which I'd used mainly for practical things like lists and project planning etc and they were never going to become the basis of any book I might write in the future. They were more admin based. And I could spare them.

I saved any pages that held little gems, and copied-out any quotes or interesting snippets I'd noted down, and recycled the rest.

As for the full books, the fertile, fit-to-bursting books, I've hung on to those. Of course I have. But, rather than let all those words go to waste ... in a process that's ongoing, I'm sifting through their pages and panning for notebook gold.

A few books from the 2000s

And 'notes from the notebook' was born ... 

Whenever I stumble across a pithy thought, a funny phrase, a mini-story, an observation etc that I think might be worth sharing, I'm typing it out and adding it to my #notesfromthenotebook archive. And in the months to come I'll be sliding some of them under your nose, here on my blog.

I won't be editing them, completing them, or even particularly explaining them - I'll just be revisiting them, airing them off, getting the light to them. And I hope that in amongst my 33 years worth of words, there'll be something there that'll chime with you, or make you smile, or inspire you to write some of your own. Or share some of your own even.

Currently empty; apparently I have a thing for motivational slogan notebooks these days.

So how about next week then? How about I dip into my back issues and put some of my old ideas to work ... wake them up ... drag them into the present day and see what they've got to offer?

OK, then, next week it is. I'll make a note of it. 

Julie x


p.s: I'm here for any and all notebook related chat. What've you got? My ears/notebooks are open ... get in touch

Find me here any time >>>> Instagram ~~ Twitter ~~ Facebook ~~ Website