Annette V Hart's Blog: The ramblings of Annette Hart, page 12

Feeling incompetent...

OK, so I have low self-esteem issues! As a result I haven't been writing. I know it's silly but when I have really enjoyed a book recently, ("Sister", "Poison Study"), and admired the style of writing, I have a tendency to think my own writing is inadequate. Hence the delaying tactics in putting pen to paper.

I know I've got to bite the bullet and return to my current story, Athlandia #4.

A Day at the Races...

I had a wonderful day in Epsom for the Derby yesterday. We always go but it was lovely to be surrounded by so many members of my family and the weather was glorious (sunburn...). Even if we had little success at picking winners, (although I think my sister and her partner were the only ones in the Queen's Stand to pick the French winner rather than the Queen's horse - is that treason?), we had a fantastic BBQ with great company afterwards. More, I want more!

Much Ado About Nothing...

I have wanted to go to The Globe for years. With my daughter keen to see "Much Ado About Nothing" this proved the perfect opportunity. I have just got back and the play (and theatre) was wonderful. And I don't care that the snotty critic in The Guardian wasn't so impressed as his arguement (playing up to the crowd too much) seemed to completely miss the point: The Globe is not a conventional theatre and it is all about connecting with the audience just as they did in Tudor times. This production managed it wonderfully and the actors playing Benedick and Beatrice put in a great performance.

I want to go back and enjoy the atmosphere of an evening show now.

adj. powerful...

It's late at night, I've finally wrestled the conputer off the children, and I have just succombed to eating a chocolate bar to help me write...

Tolkien has Faramir describe Aragorn as 'puissant'; I had to look it up to check it wasn't a rude comment, a Middle Earth style laddish remark. No, it's a word from Old French (bloody Normans) meaning 'powerful'. I think there are times when us girls could always do with one of those around!

whortle - what?

I was convinced Tolkien had made up 'whortlberry' but no it's in the dictionary (my big one, at least). Apparently it is another name for a bilberry - although that doesn't help me much either!

n. wreckage, remnant of something destroyed...

I love the word 'wrack'; there's something descriptive purely in the sound of it. Tolkien used it to describe the left over fragments of dispersed cloud and fog. And, of course, is used in the phrase 'wrack and ruin'.

What glorious spring weather! And it's set to stay for the weekend - a wonderful chance to read and write in the garden!

adj. twisted, distorted...

Ooh, another interesting adjective! I love all these archaic words and finding where they came from. Tolkien used 'writhen' to describe trees; obviously it comes from 'writhe' and paints a vivid picture.

(Mother's Day) n. a deep wooded valley...

What a lovely Mother's Day! The weather might not have been consistently sunny but I had a great day which included reading in the garden for hours with a glass of fizz while my hubby sorted the house and kids.

And I came across the word 'dingle' which means a deep wooded valley. A great place for a troop of soldiers to sleep.

n. magic, sorcery, spell...

Not long into "The Two Towers" and I have found a word that not only I don't know but is obsolete and hard to find in dictionaries. Eomer describes Gandalf as 'dwimmer-crafty'; apparently dwimmer means magic and sorcery, even occult art, and comes from the Old English gedwimor. The only citation anyone has from it is Tolkien!

adj. crooked or twisted...

Having just finished my re-read of "The Fellowship of the Ring", I'm pleased to have found at least one word I had to look up! That word was 'thrawn' which means crooked or twisted; what a great way to describe trees growing in rock crevices! I am looking forward to finding more 'new' words in Book 2.