Mick Canning's Blog, page 5
July 2, 2023
July Sale…
I never remember that I should promote my books – which is probably why I rarely sell any. But Smashwords are having a Summer / Winter sale and the e-book of my novel set in rural India, Making Friends With the Crocodile, is half price for the month of July on Smashwords here . This …
June 29, 2023
A Bit of Digging
Well, they arrived yesterday. I have finally got my family history book formatted and printed, and I reckon it looks quite decent. So all I need to do now is to get it posted out to family members. While researching all this, I naturally made a lot of discoveries. Some were certainly more unexpected than …
June 25, 2023
In Another Lifetime I could Have Been…(2)
…a monk. Yes, you heard me correctly. a monk. Regular readers of this indulgence will know I pour scorn on organised religion, but also that I have a hankering for the simple life and for solitude. I would love to be disciplined enough to do without fripperies, but I never quite seem to get there. …
June 15, 2023
Nepal – Annapurna Region (Reblog)
In 1988 I went to Nepal for the first time, travelling by bus from Delhi to Kathmandu. Although the trip took almost 2 days, and the bus was particularly uncomfortable, it was one of the most spectacular journeys I have ever taken, and a most remarkable experience. And then I trekked the Annapurna circuit, still considered …
June 7, 2023
In Another Lifetime I Could Have Been…(1)
…a folk musician. There are any number of reasons why I haven’t become one in this lifetime, only one being a lack of any obvious talent. Perhaps if I hadn’t gone abroad when I did, I might have inveigled myself into a group of musicians and played a little more, and a little more regularly. …
May 29, 2023
Old
God’s bones. Cold stone skin covering A hewn wooden ribcage that Conceals a petrified heart. A fossilised giant wallowing in a garden Growing nothing but death. . We know we will get old But it takes you by surprise all the same. Perhaps we refuse to see the signs – Unexpected offers of assistance, A …
May 17, 2023
The Long Man of Wilmington…
You have met before. I’ve posted about him in the past in connection with the musical suite On Windover Hill by Nathan James, but here he gets to star in his own blog post. There is a fine day’s walk to be had from Polegate, just north of Eastbourne, with a handy railway station, along …
May 13, 2023
At Tunbridge Wells Literary Festival
Tunbridge Wells now boasts a literary festival. Over four days this year it hosts talks from well-known writers such as Michael Rosen, Michael Parkinson and Sheila Hancock. But not just the big names. Yesterday was the day local writers could book a table and hawk their wares. It’s some time since I’ve taken part in …
May 8, 2023
Ah, Bluebells
At the weekend we went for a walk to look at the bluebells. Nothing else was happening, so it seemed a good opportunity. They always look superb in this wood a couple of miles away from where we live and the sun even came out for a while. I reckon we might just be into …
May 3, 2023
May Day Mayhem
The May Day festival, Beltane, is a survival, or revival, from the Iron Age, celebrated in Celtic communities – Scotland and Ireland particularly – and revived as a full festival in Scotland in the 1980’s by the Beltane Fire Society. Beltane was a fire festival, although nothing of that remains in the festivities carried out …
