Four Fine Things on a Friday...
*in which I inflict my taste on you, dear reader
Photo credit: Gillian Silverthorn. In a tree in South London as inspired by Almanac living see point three.
1. Meditating! with Jonathan Lehman on Insight Timer. Lehman is a French-American former Wall Street Lawyer who is now a meditation teacher, his style suits me perfectly as it’s not too woo woo, he quotes Einstein and Yoda at the start of the meditations, and he does in fact help me have, as he puts it, ‘a magical day’.
2.Absorbing! the wisdom of Lia Leendertz’s The Almanac, A Seasonal Guide to 2024, this is my fourth year of having an Almanac and it’s such a delightful book! The focus each month is on the shifting season, the celestial, wildlife and folklore. The notes on the year are accompanied by beautiful illustrations and each year has a different theme too - this year it’s the garden. (Thank you Katy and Sanchia for the gifts, plural, of the Almanac.)
3. Exploring! the world of Agatha Christie via my friend Gray Robert Brown’s brilliant new podcast The Swinging Christies! I have to admit that I have never in its entirety read an Agatha Christie novel 😲 - I have read many an excerpt for teaching purposes, (I’m an educator more about that here), and of course have adored many a David Suchet Poirot, however, and perhaps owing to Christie being just so dam popular, some latent literary snobbery has prevented me from actually buying and reading one of her seventy-five books! Perhaps also too her common image as little old conservative lady has put me off. However, I have a feeling, even from episode one, that Gray and his co-podcaster Dr Mark Aldridge’s take might just change that view….watch this space.
4. Writing! a cover letter and synopsis of a (perhaps) finished novel. This process was really bloody challenging and weird. I used the advice on The Curtis Brown website here, which I found really helpful, but I’m still in a draft stage and would love to hear if any of y’all out there have any tips on either cover letter or synopsis writing for works of fiction going out to a literary agent. So please do…
Thank you so much for reading as always and if you are interested in other recommendations then please visit here, you can also explore the full archive here. In other news here is a piece on The White Eagle Lodge blog about the work this spiritual group does for the planet and its animals, it also features a bit about my grandparents and my book, Roaming Wild, which is all about them. Nan and Peter (AKA Anna and Peter Roberts) were Lodge members for twenty-five years and it was in part their alignment with this group that led them to found global animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming.
Finally, as it’s February, (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere), you may be dreaming of warmer climes if so here’s my piece on some gorgeous Grecian Isles….🇬🇷
Love,
Emma x o x o