Jamie Campbell's Blog
September 9, 2016
Unidentified Girl
The New York Public Library has an online database of photographs, many of which are in the public domain. This photograph is called "Unidentified Girl." As the title suggests, there is no information about the photograph. No when, no where, no who, no why. It's simply a photograph of a girl that ended up in the NYPL holdings. I found it because I was searching for cover imagery and had tagged "girl" "war" "refugee" and so forth. It's such an odd photograph. It seems to me that she knows something that I don't. It reminds me of that time when Mona said to Leo - "I'm in a slightly odd mood."
And that's the story of how a photograph of an unidentified girl ended up on the cover of an obscure book about a relatively unknown aspect of World War II. The Thankful: A novel of the May War of 1940
http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/se...#
And that's the story of how a photograph of an unidentified girl ended up on the cover of an obscure book about a relatively unknown aspect of World War II. The Thankful: A novel of the May War of 1940
http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/se...#
September 7, 2016
So a road trip?
Some like them.
Others, are we there yet?
Me? I don't mind a good road trip. So here's a video link to State Highway One - Kaikoura to Marlborough.
https://youtu.be/2ULLEkVFs5k
Others, are we there yet?
Me? I don't mind a good road trip. So here's a video link to State Highway One - Kaikoura to Marlborough.
https://youtu.be/2ULLEkVFs5k
August 22, 2016
The Thankful.
Good morning all, or evening perhaps. My latest effort, The Thankful, is now up on the various incarnations of Amazon - and for $0.99 for the next few days. It is a story of when war came to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. An aspect of the Second World War that doesn't often feature in narrative fiction.
Amazon link
The Thankful
Amazon link
The Thankful
May 13, 2016
"Marching up and down the square."
"Marching up and down the square."
Those of you familiar with Monty Python may recall the "Marching up and down the square" sketch. It's fairly typical Python. A group of soldiers when given the choice between marching up and down the square and doing almost anything else - opted for doing almost anything else: leaving the Sgt-Major to march by himself.
It turns out that the slang term for the square (or more correctly the parade ground) is "The Fizzer." I first heard the term "Fizzer" in the early 1980s from a bloke who was definitely ex-NZ Army and probably old enough to have served in WWII or at very least J Force.
So I asked: "What's a fizzer?"
He said: "It's a charge, a disciplinary charge in the Army, for misconduct."
Fizzer.
Cpl Jones used the term in Dad's Army. "You should all end up on the fizzer." Although I heard it as 'a' fizzer.
What Cpl Jones meant was that "The Fizzer" is the parade ground. The military place where crossing it diagonally was not done, and when crossing it by way of short cut - it was expected that you would march, properly - like a soldier.
When groups of soldiers needed to get their marching to a high standard they would march up and down the square until they absolutely fizzed. Fizz, circa 1930s and earlier, being a very good thing. Thus the square became The Fizzer, as in the place where practice made perfect. A place, where after sufficient time - your marching would have real fizz.
Parallel to being a place where the soldiery could become very very good at marching "The Fizzer" was also a place were defaulters were punished. So a defaulter would have had to spend off-duty time marching up and down the square as punishment. So the threat (as per Cpl Jones) was that if a solider continued being recalcitrant he would "end up on The Fizzer."
My guess is that The Fizzer (the place of punishment) became 'a' Fizzer (the disciplinary process). That's my guess. And I'm sticking with it.
In The Mean Season: a 5,150 ton short story of the sea I co-opted the term into the navy. I'm not sure if it's actually a navy term - but I liked it, so I used it. Not that I want to end up on The Fizzer or anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS5D9...
Those of you familiar with Monty Python may recall the "Marching up and down the square" sketch. It's fairly typical Python. A group of soldiers when given the choice between marching up and down the square and doing almost anything else - opted for doing almost anything else: leaving the Sgt-Major to march by himself.
It turns out that the slang term for the square (or more correctly the parade ground) is "The Fizzer." I first heard the term "Fizzer" in the early 1980s from a bloke who was definitely ex-NZ Army and probably old enough to have served in WWII or at very least J Force.
So I asked: "What's a fizzer?"
He said: "It's a charge, a disciplinary charge in the Army, for misconduct."
Fizzer.
Cpl Jones used the term in Dad's Army. "You should all end up on the fizzer." Although I heard it as 'a' fizzer.
What Cpl Jones meant was that "The Fizzer" is the parade ground. The military place where crossing it diagonally was not done, and when crossing it by way of short cut - it was expected that you would march, properly - like a soldier.
When groups of soldiers needed to get their marching to a high standard they would march up and down the square until they absolutely fizzed. Fizz, circa 1930s and earlier, being a very good thing. Thus the square became The Fizzer, as in the place where practice made perfect. A place, where after sufficient time - your marching would have real fizz.
Parallel to being a place where the soldiery could become very very good at marching "The Fizzer" was also a place were defaulters were punished. So a defaulter would have had to spend off-duty time marching up and down the square as punishment. So the threat (as per Cpl Jones) was that if a solider continued being recalcitrant he would "end up on The Fizzer."
My guess is that The Fizzer (the place of punishment) became 'a' Fizzer (the disciplinary process). That's my guess. And I'm sticking with it.
In The Mean Season: a 5,150 ton short story of the sea I co-opted the term into the navy. I'm not sure if it's actually a navy term - but I liked it, so I used it. Not that I want to end up on The Fizzer or anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS5D9...
April 26, 2016
Dude!
My short story (about 5,000 words) is free RFN.
The Day War Came: A short story of a young girl's first war
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E142UO4
Like Dumb and Dumber and Dude! Where's my car? The title explains the content...
The Day War Came: A short story of a young girl's first war
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E142UO4
Like Dumb and Dumber and Dude! Where's my car? The title explains the content...
April 12, 2016
Free Indirect Style - for free!
13 April 2016.
I've written a book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
I know that's hardly news.
It's a short story (about 6,000 words) and I have used free indirect style fairly regularly throughout. I enjoyed writing in that style and blurring the voices of author, narration, and character. Free indirect isn't for everyone. (Self evidently it's for very few - I've managed to give away three copies!) Still, it's a change from he implored, she chuckled, he exclaimed, she remonstrated...
Did I mention it's free on Amazon for a couple of days?
http://www.amazon.com/Day-War-Came-sh...
I've written a book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
I know that's hardly news.
It's a short story (about 6,000 words) and I have used free indirect style fairly regularly throughout. I enjoyed writing in that style and blurring the voices of author, narration, and character. Free indirect isn't for everyone. (Self evidently it's for very few - I've managed to give away three copies!) Still, it's a change from he implored, she chuckled, he exclaimed, she remonstrated...
Did I mention it's free on Amazon for a couple of days?
http://www.amazon.com/Day-War-Came-sh...
