I was a little bit sad when I received this card to be honest. I've spent a fair amount of time over the years walking and driving through Yorkshire Dales and it reminded me of the days when we could just get in the car and set off to go somewhere without having to necessarily plan or book days in advance. I'd been wondering what I could say in this post because I've not been doing much walking recently because the combination of Christmas and being put into Tier 4 has meant that I've not been able to put as many miles in as I had been doing. Consequently, that also means that I haven't been listening to my audiobook, so I couldn't even do a review of that. The announcement from the Prime Minister yesterday has complicated matters further, as I would usually do 2-3 separate walks every day. Only being able to do 1 means that either the dog or the child doesn't get to go out every day and I don't get my exercise walk either way! I'll be honest, I was feeling a little glum, particularly as having the 5yo at home, means I get very little writing done. Walking and writing are the two things I do for me and I know how much of an effect losing one of them has on my mental health, so to lose both in one go was hard to stomach. Don't get me wrong - I understand the necessity of it, but that doesn't make it easier to deal with day to day!
However, then I checked my emails and got some good news, which made everything look much brighter. A few months ago I entered some stories into the Southport Writer's Circle short story competition and they emailed me yesterday to tell me that although I hadn't won a prize, one of my stories had been 'commended' and I was being asked to give permission for them to publish it on their website for 12 months and invited to attend the awards ceremony and read my story. This is the first time I've ever got anywhere in a competition and needless to say I am absolutely delighted!
Now, if I can just get the 5yo to stop singing at me long enough to get some editing done and write the proposal for my novel in a year course, I'll be even happier!