Is it too late to wish people a happy New Year? I guess it’s
never too late to wish happiness upon others. I have tried very hard to keep
focussed on my University writing this last month. You may have noticed that
I’ve kept away from here. I’ve only popped onto Twitter and Facebook
briefly to say ‘hi’...
BUT There has been one major distraction and I can’t seem to cure myself of the addiction. Scrabble…online Scrabble, or Words With Friends to be absolutely precise. I keep having to have a quick look to see if I can place that elusive seven-letter word or an exhilarating ZA with the Z on a triple letter going two ways. You’re probably thinking that I need to get a life but that’s the problem. I have one, a very busy one, and so my addiction will have to be ‘managed’.
As for my ‘very busy life’, here is a taster:
I completed my first assignment for the MA in Creative
Writing two weeks ago. I loved every minute of it…even the hours spent
from 3.30 am the day before the submission deadline. I discovered an
artist who has depicted his early life in a Polish shtetl through the medium of a series of
paintings. I have written a collection of poems around his work, linking it to
my Grandma’s early years.
I entertained the entire family over the Christmas period
and cooked myself almost to a standstill. It was lovely to see them all, to
have them all under one roof. It rarely happens, but I have had to accept that
I’m getting old. I needed some serious rest and recuperation after the last
of my family departed.
I’m in the middle of gathering and writing up research for a book charting the formation of the Progressive Jewish Community in
Leicester. It’s a fascinating story including the long-term loan of a Czech
Torah scroll that was confiscated by the Nazis when they rounded up the Jews in
Czechoslovakia. I will tell more of that story here soon, but for now I have
deadlines and so I must get on.
Oh yes, and a happy 2017 to everyone. The sun is shining as
I type this. Maybe Spring will soon be here.
