Category: Review

NaNoWriMo – Day 17

There is a host of details to be dealt with when a funeral occurs.

I’ve been lucky, usually I just have to turn up, seat in the back stalls, remember the person who has died, express my grief, and then go to the wake where we can remember all the good things about the person, and his or her transgressions are forgotten.

It’s different when it’s one of your family.

But, given the differences between my father and myself, which has resulted in a five year standoff, the first words spoken between us today were hostile. I asked if he needed help, and I was told where to go.

Yes, weddings and funerals bring out the best in us all.

With that, I decided my story needed me more than an ungrateful father, so I put it out of my mind and moved on.

I had a soldier to be injured in a fight, a leader to push the group on, despite setbacks, and the search for a needle in a haystack, literally, on the cards.

Cue horses, actors – action!

And by mid afternoon, I was almost there, but the requisite words for the day were written.

Just as well. My elder brother called, and yes, the negotiations continue. He at least was interested in what I said, and no, I don’t think I was going to be his proxy at the funeral. Not unless someone tells me where it is.

For the statisticians, 2,840 words today for a running total of 40,958.

NaNoWriMo – Day 16

It was a slow start to the day, and when I had planned for an hour of so of writing, that went out the window when I got a call that my mother have been taken to hospital, and was unlikely to survive the morning.

We have been expecting this for about a year, and the time had finally come. I will write more on this later, but suffice to say, I did not get back from the hospital until after 11 am.

Yes, she died at 8:30 in the morning from complications brought on by dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Perhaps it was lucky that I had some excess words from the day before, and these combined with the few I did today, as you can imagine, he heart just wasn’t in it, I managed to get 2,736 words for the day, and a total of 38,118 so far.

I’m not sure how things will go tomorrow.

Searching for locations: Vancouver

It’s always a given that whatever city you stay in unless it’s overnight, you go on a tour and see the sights.

Even when you’re staying a short distance from the city, you make the effort to catch a train or bus, then get on the hop on hop off tour. There’s always one in just about every city you visit.

Vancouver was no exception.

Except…

We arrived in the rain, went to sleep while the rain came down, woke up to the rain, and a heavy dose of jet lag or perhaps it was more that we had spent 24 and a half hours traveling from Brisbane to Vancouver via Shanghai.

But…

We had an excellent view out the window of our room looking towards a shopping mall, and an excellent view of the steadily falling rain. I felt sorry watching the construction workers on the building site that was the main vista we had to look at.

It could have been worse. Endless mountains with snow on them.

What to do? Venture out in the rain and go on the tour, or pop over to the shopping mall and pick up a few boxing day bargains, no, sorry, boxing week bargains.

We have had some interesting experiences going on the hop on hop off tours in open-top busses in winter and rain. And the last time was not a pleasant experience, even though we learned a valuable lesson, not to stand in front of cannons and yell ‘fire’. Apparently, that’s how Admiral Nelson lost his arm.

Again, but…

The shopping mall won.

We’d wait and see if the weather improved. Hang on, isn’t Vancouver near Seattle and doesn’t it rain the 300 days of the year?

Not holding my breath.

I feel sorry for the construction workers again. Still raining, still cold, and still no reason to get out of bed.

Day 2 in Vancouver turned out to be the same as day 1.

Hang on, there’s a development.

We’re on the 16th floor and up at those lofty heights, we can see not only the rain but intermingled with it a few flakes of snow.

Whilst we procrastinate about what were going to do, the snowflakes increase into small flurries.

Yep, we’re off to the mall again and go for a walk in the snow.

On the way back we drop into the Boston Pizza, which has a sports bar and there you can sit, drink, eat, and watch the ice hockey, or whatever sort is going at the time.

Today it’s a junior ice hockey tournament, but Canada was not playing. Just the same, a long cold beer and ice hockey?

I can now cross that off the bucket list.

Day 3, we’re going on a great rail journey, well, we are going to get the train to the city and collect the rental car, on the booking form, supposedly a Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar.

Of course, ‘or similar’ are the words to be feared here because in truth the rental company can throw anything at you, so long as it matches the brief, three people and three large suitcases.

And, you guessed it…

The ‘or similar’ got us a Fort Flex.

Not quite the same in name or prestige.

Oh, well… When in Vancouver!

NaNoWriMo – Day 15

Half way!

I managed to get this far, and I still have energy in the store.

But, ideas are coming along while I’m writing the parts that need to be written, and it’s a constant battle to keep focussed on the writing, and scribble on those pesky post-it notes those ideas I want to keep.

The other problem, finding a pen that writes.

Don’t you find that as a writer, who uses pen and paper as well as a word processor, can never find a pen that writes when you need one.

Frustrating, and time consuming, and sometimes an idea is lost.

Enough of being sidetracked. For the statisticians, 2,271 words for the day, down on my usual totals (blame the dry pens) for a grand total so far of 35,382 words.

Searching for locations: Lake Louise, Canada

The Fairmont at Lake Louise, in Canada, is noted for its ice castle in winter.  This has been created by the ice sculptor, Lee Ross since 2007, using about 150 blocks of ice, each weighing roughly 300 pounds.

When I first saw it, from a distance, looked like it was made out of plastic  It’s not.  Venturing out into the very, very cold, a close inspection showed it was made of ice.
And, it’s not likely to melt in a hurry given the temperature when I went down to look at it was hovering around minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
And that was the warmest part of the day.

NaNoWriMo – Day 14

It’s nearly half way through and I don’t feel as though I’m going to make it.

The writing is fine, it’s just three chapters a day seems a lot, and the latest project of the total word count, if I continue in the current manner, will be about 90,000 words.

I might have to start editing at the same time I’m writing, to keep it down to a manageable total.

Another new idea came to me, but this time it was before I was writing the piece, rather than later and have to go back.

Still, there’s time if I don’t begin to panic.

Or get writers’ block.

For the statisticians, todays word count is 2,801, for a grand total of 33,111 words so far.

Searching for locations: Lake Louise, Canada

We survived the first night and woke the next morning to look at the sun rising, and the fact everyone else was not lingering in bed when there was ice, snow, skating, skiing, and walking on (perhaps) thin ice to be done.

I was the first to brave the elements, it was about mins 10 still, or maybe a little colder, but I had come prepared with a hat, gloves, multiple layers of clothing and a (maybe) windproof jacket.

Of course, there was no wind, just cold.

Stepping out of the warm inside of the hotel to the cold outside was a shock, but after a minute or so to get used to it, I still didn’t think I’d be out too long.

First, a photo of the hotel, it was immense, and it explained why there were so many people about.

Then it was the partly frozen trees.  I suspect there had been a little thawing of the snow on the branches

Then of the frozen lake, and it is quite a large lake, and incredible one so large could completely freeze.  I’d like to see it in summer.

Then the brave adventurers who, in summer would be rowing to the end of the lake, who now were taking a hike, and praying no doubt, there was no thin ice

Were they trying to get a close look at this mountain, or considering climbing it.  Yes, there were actual mountain climbers staying at the hotel, and though we didn’t know it till later, there was a frozen waterfall which proved the most adventurous with an interesting challenge

More of course, on a unique feature at this hotel, the ice castle.

NaNoWriMo – Day 13

Friday the thirteenth, that should have raised the red flag.

But lucky for me nothing went wrong, and I have been writing on several fronts.

Ideas have been coming, and I’ve been scribbling them down. I’m just hoping at the end of the day this book isn’t 1,000 pages long.

Editing is going to be fun.

Maybe it will end up being two books, or a trilogy. Hang on, that’s what my eldest grand daughter suggested way back when we were throwing ideas around.

Anyway, the writing is going smoothly, and I’m progressing.

For the statisticians out there, today’s word count is 2,615 words for a running total of 30,310.

A movie review, “Honest Thief”

Considering that we are in the midst of a pandemic, going to a movie theatre seems like the least like thing to do.

Hundreds of people packed into a small space for a few hours, just the sort of environment the Coronavirus loves.

Well, we may have zero cases and zero local transmission, ans the theatres can open, theses just a few details first.

Social distancing means areas of seating are blocked of so you and your partner are like sitting on an island. So limited seating. Social distancing in all queues, rubber gloves and masks on all attendants, and hand sanitiser at the door, in passageways and in theatres.

Overkill? Maybe.

But despite the fact there are no blockbusters coming out, there a few interesting films about, one of which was ‘Honest Thief’

It has Liam Neeson in it so how bad could it be?

Actually for starters there were four of us watching the movie in what we designated Gold Class, very comfortable recliner seats and waiter service. And by the way the food cost more than the movie tickets

But back to the movie. Like I said, i came expecting a kick ass movie and that’s just what I got.

The premise is a man who returns from the war, used to being in high risk situations not knowing if the next day is your last, finds he doesn’t fit in, so as all similar people do, you rob banks, and very successfully.

Until you fall in love

Of course you may, by the end of it decide that being in love is not all that it’s cracked up to be, but it’s certainly a good reason to stop.

Until things get serious and you want to fess up.

The bad guys, well they’re bad, and the one man wrecking ball, well, he does what Liam Neeson does best. Think Taken and take it from there.

I always take notice of the others in the film, and was a welcome sight to see the actor who made Michael Weston in Burn Notice famous, playing such a different role. Loved the dog, too. Then there was the bad Terminator guy who just seems to get older, and now playing what might be called character roles. The love interest I didn’t recognise, but later discovered was Kate Walsh, who, I think, once graced Grey’s Anatomy.

As for everyone else, I didn’t recognise them, but no doubt they’ll turn up on TV soon enough.

For me, any Liam Neeson kick ass film gets five stars, and a pity perhaps that it will not get a chance to be seen by more people.

NaNoWriMo – Day 12

AS happened when looking at a large writing list, I got confused.

How hard can it be, you ask?

Well, I have half a dozen ideas that match chapters, and I was trying to get down all of the ideas as bullet points in their respective chapters.

So, you ask, how can that be confusing?

Easy. There’s a point where one of the characters goes down to the dungeons in search of her father who is languishing in one of the cells. Her approach to the dungeons is not be the usual method, but one that affords discretion, but when she gets there, there’s no clear, of safe way to reach him because of the guards posted.

That chapter in the original outline was supposed to be where she does get to see him.

Then, later, I wrote another chapter, possibly two, that seeks an alternate path, and then doesn’t get see him but finds an alternte method of communication.

But, since springing surprises on the reader is not exactly a good idea, I had to go back and establish how she came to realise there was such a means, in a casual conversation with another character.

The confusion?

Not updating the outline properly, and then putting chapters that came later, referring to previous events in the wrong place.

I know that sounds complicated, or confusing, but events can’t happen before the groundwork is laid before them.

So, I spent a valuable hour rearranging the wrongly place chapters, and checked a few others, and finding one in the wrong place.

The job, I fear, is only going to get harder.