How we live

This week we buried my father. He was 91 years old, and achieved everything he wanted to do a few years ago. He came from being a poor boy who hardly went to school as a child, to becoming a teacher by 25 years old, a Headmaster by 45, an Inspector of Schools by 55, and a Senior Inspector of Schools by 60, when he retired. He loved God, studied the Bible every day, and never lost an opportunity to tell anyone about God's plan for mankind. He ate well, looked after his health, exercised, and travelled to the countries where he wanted to travel. When he retired he lived his last years between his two favourite countries -  the UK in the summer, and Trinidad in the winter.

How do we live? How do you live? Are you concerned at all about your mortality? Or are you too young and happy at the moment to bother? Do you know what tomorrow will bring?

Do we do what is important? Do we think about it? What really is important? Do we ask ourselves why we were put on earth? What are we achieving? And what are we giving back?

Do we love? Do we show love to everyone? I mean EVERYONE. And I am not talking about romantic and sexual love. Love comes in many forms. Love is showing kindness. Love is about showing mercy, compassion, helping others, looking out for those who are vulnerable, weak both physically and mentally. Forgiving others. Love is about standing up for the good of mankind. Love is about doing our part.

Love is not gossiping, ill speaking others, ganging up, thinking badly of people, feeling hate all the time, or anything that is negative.

God created us. He created love.

God demands us to love him.
To love each other - love your neighbour - AS YOURSELF.
To love our enemies.

None of this is easy. It is near impossible.

Have you asked yourself WHY does God ask this of us, knowing it is impossible to fully achieve? Is that him being unreasonable? Unfair?

This requires some thought. A lot of thought. It requires us to be close to God in order to make any sense of this. No real answers come from guesswork. What do we have to do?

We get close to God by reading the Bible every day. Just like we read and watch the news of the day. When we are very familiar with who God is, his nature, his desires, THEN we must start studying the Bible.

God has a plan. He had a plan right from the conception of the earth. The plan is for mankind to have been like Him. Like them - God and the angels. Adam and Eve changed that by their disobedience. God sent his Son to renew the promise to mankind. To make it possible for us ALL to have eternal life. But we are not just entitled to it. We must show we deserve it in order to get his grace. We must LOVE God first and foremost. Does that make no sense?

Think about your life, and see if you have any room for loving any more than you do.
Then ask yourself if you need love any more than you get.
If we need love, we must find it in ourselves to give love - to everyone.

More later!

Focus on The Birmingham RNA Chapter : Interview

FOCUS ON: The Birmingham Chapter

Next in our tour of the UK, Marilyn Rodwell answers my questions about the Birmingham Chapter

Thank you for inviting me to take part on the RNA Facebook blog. It's a pleasure to come on here and tell you about our Birmingham Chapter. We don't have a fancy name, because Birmingham speaks for itself! But you never know what will happen in the future.

How long has the Chapter been running and where do you meet?

I have no idea how long we've been running, but I started attending in 2003, and took over the organising of it almost 5 years ago. We meet for lunch in the Edwardian Tea Rooms of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlin Square, Birmingham, which has lovely new décor and fabulous ambience.

How many members usually attend your meetings and do they, as with so many of our groups, revolve around a meal?

When I started, we had about 8 members and sometimes it would be just 4 or 5 of us at meetings. In the last few years we have grown, and now have 30 members on our books. We also have visitors from the Leicester Belmont Belles pretty often. We usually have between 15-22 attend meetings. 

Meals are definitely included. We have lunch between 12 noon and 2.30pm. We mainly chat about our writing over lunch, tell of our successes, and share our woes.

It’s lovely to see such an increase in your membership. Is your Chapter open to non-members of the RNA?

Yes and no. We tend to welcome people whose membership has lapsed. Some of these were unable to get into the New Writers's Scheme. However, we do not actively seek out non-RNA members to join us. We have had a lot of new RNA members join us over the last couple of years.  

Can you tell us about any speakers or guests you've had in the past year?

We tend not to do much of this, as we meet in a very busy place that can be noisy. However, we have had the pleasure of having Jean Fullerton last year who visited us and sprinkled some of her pearls of writing wisdom over us, for which we are grateful.

We also had Sue Moorcroft the previous year, to run an all-day Writer's Workshop, which was fabulous, at the new Library of Birmingham. We used the RNA grant to help fund this event.

Previous to that, I had a Writer's Day at my home and one of our members, Emma Daley, presented to us the ins and outs on publishing on Amazon.

What do you have lined up for the rest of 2016?

We have just had our Writers Day on March 5th, at a lovely venue, The Radisson Blu Hotel, in the centre of Birmingham. The day went very well, and we had 25 attending from 3 Chapters. We used our RNA Grant left over from last year to subsidise our brilliant speakers - Alison May, Sally Jenkins, Bella Osborne, Helen Barrell, and Lizzie Lamb. The feedback I had from the attendees was excellent. Thank you to the RNA for facilitating this.

What in your opinion makes your RNA Chapter so special?

That is a hard question to answer without bragging! In fact, I may suggest that we can rename ourselves, The Brilliant Brummies. We have grown quite fast in a short space of time, and at times it seems overwhelming, particularly when we try to organise events. But we really appreciate our meetings because we meet only a few times a year. This is due mainly because some our members come from as far as Shropshire and Cheshire. 

A couple of years ago I started the (closed) Writers' Support Station Facebook Group. It isn't RNA affiliated but now has 167 members of writers of any genre. So any writer wanting to join can send a request.

The most exciting thing about our Chapter is that with our growth and our support to each other we have had a number of success of all sizes. This year, we have three people nominated for Romantic Novel of the Year Award in March - Alison May, Bella Osborne, and Janice Preston. All three started at the Birmingham Chapter in the New Writer's Scheme, and we have watched them become multiple published, and win various awards over the last few years. But the Chapter has also recently seen other successes, such as short story publications, long listed and short listed for various prizes and competitions, self-publications and traditional publications, prizes, articles published in magazines, and non-fiction publications.

What a thriving group you are - and I love idea of The Brilliant Brummies! Who is the contact for new members? 

That will be me - marilynrodwell@btinternet.com

Thank you for having me on your blog! Telling you about us has been a pleasure. Don't forget, we welcome all visitors.

Thank you for joining us, Marilyn. I have no doubt you will receive many applications to join your Facebook group.

World Book Day

On World Book Day, March 5th, I was one of three writers from Bardstown Writers Group, who went along to Myton School to talk to Year 7 pupils about Creative Writing. We were asked to talk to these pupils, age 11-12, about our writing journey, and what made us start writing. All three of us were as nervous as if we were about to meet the Queen. And our fears grew when we learnt that instead of the initial number of about 12-20 pupils, for 20 mins, there was now going to be 60 pupils for one hour, along with the English teachers, the Librarians, and the Deputy Head. But we were brave. We accepted the challenge, even though none of us had ever done an author talk at a school before.

When we got there, the staff tried to put us at our ease, and offered us tea and a selection of home made cakes! But alas, we were too nervous even to eat cake! However, as soon as we got started, we realised that this very large group of pupils were keen to learn from us, and really listened to what we had to say to them about writing. I was amazed at their responsiveness and interaction. They had no fears about participating in the little imaginative exercises we gave them. They had no problem generating a plot from the one sentence. 

We did some readings of flash fiction, poetry, and from my novel, which they applauded. So I was pleased they weren't too bored. They seemed a bright lot, who are very interested in Creative Writing, and write their own stories in different genres - Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, and more serious topics, such as racism. I gave them a handout of my Top Tips for Writing, and some Writing Magazines.

The school later got in touch with positive feedback. The pupils enjoyed our visit, and the school hopes to invite us back next year. I say that hour spent there was well worth it, and I hope that our visit creates a positive memory for them. I would not be surprised if one of two of them turn out to take up writing seriously. Seriously! I was impressed.

PARSNIP AND CHESTNUT ROAST/STUFFING

PARSNIP AND CHESTNUT ROAST OR STUFING

 

 
 

This is a very tasty recipe which is versatile both for meat eaters as well as vegetarians. I did this at Christmas this year, when I needed to alter my usual Chestnut Stuffing, to one which was suitable for vegetarians, but still retaining the wonderful rich flavour at Christmas. I made this for the Christmas meal at church for 60, and the vegetarians could not believe it was really for vegetarians! I suspect that meant it was a hit. I also made it at our family Christmas lunch.





Apart from anything, this is a nice winter recipe. We had it twice in December, and as soon as my family have forgotten about it, I will be doing it again.

As a Stuffing, this recipe will serve 8-10 people.
As a Main course, it will serve 4-6 people. 
It will keep in the fridge for a week, or will freeze.

Ingredients

12oz (unpeeled) parsnips. Peeled and chopped in small cubes.
12 breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
200g chestnut puree
5 sprigs fresh sage - chopped finely  - small handful
5 sprigs fresh rosemary - chopped finely -  small handful
1 tsp salt
black pepper
4 oz butter
2 medium onions, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, chopped small
2 tbl spoons olive oil

(optional - pine nuts or softened dried cranberries)

Method

- Use a large frying pan and melt butter.
- Add olive oil.
- Add parsnips and onions and cook for 10 min or till soft.
- Add garlic
- Using a large mixing bowl, put in breadcrumbs
- Add rest of ingredients, including the contents of the frying pan.
- Mix evenly with a wooden spoon or using your hand.
- Use an oblong or square oven proof dish, and grease it with butter.
- put all the mixture into the dish and spread it evenly.
- Cover with tin foil.

(This can be kept in the fridge overnight if necessary. But remove it from the fridge for a few hours to bring to room temperature so as not to break the dish when putting it into a hot oven.)

- Heat the oven to 200C, and put into the oven for 20 mins.
- Remove tin foil, and leave in oven for 5 mins.
- Remove from oven, and cut into portions.

Serve with roast potatoes and steamed vegetables.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The date makes no difference, but it can. New Year Resolutions help us think about where we need to refocus our lives.

For me, I realise I need to keep up with my blog more often. So I am sorry to all my visitors from various parts of the world. You amaze me though. Thank You! I intend to do better this year.

Like all other years, I have many intentions to do better this year than last year, where I am concerned. But at the end of each year I realise that all I have done towards my goals is possibly the opposite, or just the same as the previous year. So either I am doing something very wrong, or I am doing what I do best. On balance, I think I put other people's needs before mine. Not through choice always, but though habit. I realise though, that that in itself is also a choice!

This year my family have had many positives, and that means for me, it has been a very good year. The few negative things also need acknowledgment and assistance in making changes wherever possible. But in the end, we must do what is do-able. Not everyone can be helped. Not everything can be done. We must bear that in mind, and turn to what is achievable.

So far as my blog is concerned, I did put it on hold for a few months the end of last year. But that will change!

HAPPY 2016!

I intend to post more of what appears to be popular - My recipes in particular. According to the stats, the Christmas ones have had the most viewings. I do have a few new Christmas recipes but I won't put up those yet. But I do have a very nice Vegetarian Stuffing recipe which is an excellent one for winter and maybe I will start with that one first.

I have had a request from my future son-in-law, who "would like to spend some time with me in the kitchen" (quite a charmer, and lovely young man), who has requested help to cook casseroles, and cooking with less fat or oil. So various low fat casseroles will feature during the next few months, which are both healthy and very tasty, as I do have a healthy set of Trinidad tastebuds, even though these are not strictly authentic Trinidadian recipes - they are mine.

So my next blog post will be Parsnip and Chestnut Roast/Stuffing, which will do as a very nice main meal for vegetarians, or a wonderful accompaniment for roast chicken, turkey, or pork.

Keep a look out for the new 2016 posts, and I will look out for any questions you might have.

Cheers!

Marilyn x

THE LAST YEAR OF CHILDHOOD, is complete

At last! The LAST YEAR OF CHILDHOOD is finally complete at 111,688 words, redrafted, and edited 5 times, and about 20 smaller edits.

It has been an epic journey for me as a writer as it is the 3rd novel completed, so the learning curve was steep. I learnt from them all, but this one the most. I feel confident that I am doing something right, because this January, the novel was long listed for the Exeter Novel Prize - for unpublished novels.

But it is my characters who have made it come to life. It is they who told me what they thought, felt, did, and wanted to do. It is their voices who were written. I had little planned, though notebooks full, A3 sheets with plotting maps and timelines around the study, and notes pinned up to my walls and shelves over my desk. Authors say if you're not plotting you're Pantsing. But with all my efforts to plot, and even when I had the end truly pinned down hard to the board, it changed by the final edit. Why? Because the characters shouted out to me.

I had never envisaged that it is the characters who would be writing this book. The end was up to them. And I wrote it according to their wishes. Ok, there were times I had to stop them in their tracks and say, hold on a second, that is a tangent I cannot handle. So we worked together. So much so, that I took them to bed with me in turn. Truly I did. I only mentioned this once to my husband. My 12 year old Latchmin was a joy to snuggle with in bed, and she told me her heart - her fears and her joys. The handsome 17 year old Rajnath, whose temper could get the better of him had to be told at times, to think before he reacted. And the 14 year old Sumati, ran sometimes too fast for me to catch up with her wild and wilful ways. But she has a heart of pure passion, which was often mistaken for badness - a worry for her poor mother.

The novel is set in a difficult and restricted Colonial world, in 1917 Trinidad, when labourers had been brought from India, China, Syria, and Portugal, to work in the plantations, after African labourers would no longer slave for free, or even cheaply.

To my readers, I believe much of the plight of the characters, the emotion, and human need to see justice done, will resonate with you all. This novel is not just about a historical time and culture. It's global. It's about what makes us who we are today and what we expect from the country we live in, our needs, our wants, our desires, our dearest hopes, and for our children to  achieve and fulfil their dreams. It is about those who have money vs those who don't. And those who have education, and what happens to those who skip school or don't have the opportunity. It is about realising that both money and education have purchasing power, and have advantages over those who don't, in different ways. It is about striving and struggling for a better future.

The novel is about ...

Latchmin aged 12, Sumati, 14, and Rajnath 17, are all involved in each other's lives in their fight for the freedom to choose.  

The girls struggle in different ways against arranged marriage - an Indian tradition. Latchmin is well off, but desperately wants an education in order to pursue her dream to become a teacher. Sumati, a poor girl, disappears from the village, causing upheaval and repercussions beyond control. Rajnath, a plantation labourer, feels guilty and partly to blame, so seeks to make things right. But in doing so, he risks his life to confront the corruption of the prostitution business, jeopardising his own livelihood and freedom. It is only because of the conflict and consequences they suffer, do they all learn where freedom begins. It is not about what is available to take, but about what you are actually willing to sacrifice.  


If you think you would like to see this novel published, or find it interesting, please leave me a comment.  

Thanks!

Love you loads!

Marilyn x

Trout fillet - baked and healthy

Baked Trout, with mixed vegetables, and Crispy Baked Potatoes

The full plate above is a very healthy fish recipe that is also low in fat, calories, and with no more than 8 pro points. I'll let you know how I did the fish below. It is quick and easy, and cooks in a
180C fan oven for about 30mins

Ingredients for One portion of the Trout recipe 

You can multiply the ingredients depending on how many you are cooking for. Please note, I have used large fillets. If you use smaller 120 gram ones, that cuts your WW pro points immensely, and your calories. You can therefore have 2 fillets each!

1 large fillet trout approx. 200 grams
1 slice of tomatoe, and 1 slice chopped up
sea salt flakes
1 large stuffed olive, cut horizontally in half
a small shake of onion salt
two or three leaves fresh parsley, chopped up
half clove of garlic, chopped up
black pepper (from a pepper grinder)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 oz water

Method

1. Use a metal or oven proof dish large enough to take the amount of fish you are cooking, and put on oven at 180 C to heat.

2. Prepare fish by scraping off the scales from the skin with a knife. Use a pair of tweezers and pull out every bone if possible, so that your meal is not one where you spit out every other mouthful. This is not that hard and it is so worth the time. And trim off any pieces of bony, fatty edges.
Rinse fish in cold water.

3. Place fish in tin, skin side down.

4. On the top of the fish, rub on sea salt, onion salt, parsley, garlic, pepper,

5. Place slice of tomato in the middle of fish

6. Place halves of olives on either side of tomato slice

7. Sprinkle on the chopped tomato around the rest of fish

8. Drizzle on the lemon juice and pat it in

9. sprinkle on another few flakes of sea salt on to tomato topping.

10. pour in water carefully around side of pan so as not to disturb fish

11. Cover the pan completely with tin foil and tuck around sides so as to keep in the moisture.

12. Place in the heated oven and cook for around 25-30 mins

13. Remove foil, and baste on some of the water on to the fish carefully

14. Leave open and replace in oven for 5 mins.

Serve with any vegetables, potatoes or couscous



Hope you enjoy this. If you do, please leave me a comment. If you have any questions, please leave me a question. 

Enjoy! And Thank you, Saffron, Linda, and others from Warwick Weight Watchers, for asking me for this recipe! I hope it meets your expectation!

It has got me back to paying some attention to my blog!

Watch out for more recipes. I've also been asked for the Crispy Baked Potatoes.