Seeing the good even in bad situations...
No one should go to work and not come back home again. It is with a heavy heart I pay my respects to Ann
Maguire, the teacher lost her life in Leeds whilst doing what she loved to
do. I pass my sincerest condolences onto her family and all those affected by the needless loss. So many people have been affected by the horrific events of this week but out
of grief and horror, always comes a sense of pride for a city that rallied
around and came together in people’s hour of need. The true community spirit is very much alive in Leeds.
Kellie of @PeopleofLeeds on Twitter ran a truly
inspirational hashtag #thankyouteacher allowing you to tag or talk about a really
inspirational teacher that left a mark on your life. The tributes were very
moving and demonstrated the positive influence good teachers have on all of our lives.
Mine was Colin Burgon at Foxwood School. Listening to his advice at the age of fifteen
didn’t really make sense but the clarity today is astounding. It’s one of those
IF ONLY moments but I am getting there now!
I was thinking what were my favourite twitter moments this
week? There have been quite a few. My fellow LFC supporters have kept me truly entertained
with their indisputable scouse humour. BUT this week I have two tweets of the
week – both made me smile for two very different reasons.
Sant Angelo is an Italian restaurant and wine bar in Wetherby. Until I
have enough money to fulfil a dream trip, it is my little corner of Italy in
Wetherby. They posted a rare photograph of their chef this week that has caused
a bit of stir. It made me smile. An Italian Chef!! What can I say?? The food is fabulous, by the way! Give them a follow on Twitter @SantAngeloWethe. 
The most inspirational tweet goes to this one of two women injured in
the Boston Bombing – how inspirational.
Before I move onto other matters I would like to thank
@BookViral for their support this week with their tweet campaign.
At the end of April, I caught a glimpse of the UK Amazon sales
ranking and this is it. Not bad… still rising. Thank you all for your support.
First Event BOOKED
I will be holding an Author talk in October at Wetherby Library. Still lots to do before then including some up and coming book signings. I will let you have the dates once they have been arranged. You can get hold of the book in a number of ways.
You can purchase the book from
OR ORDER FROM YOUR LOCAL BOOKSHOP.
Paul’s Fundraising Campaign.
This week sees the first of Paul’s events. The hypnotist Al
Shea will be performing on Friday and I hope the event raises lots of cash for
Paul’s two worthy causes – The Sick Childrens Trust and the Rugby League
Benevolent Fund. You can give on Paul’s Justgiving
page. http://www.justgiving.com/teams/givingplentytotwenty
Through Paul’s blog, he launched the #Shelfie and it is
hilarious but has a wonderful message behind it. Donate to the charity and post
a picture of your favourite shelf on Facebook and Twitter or any other social
network site. Be sure to use the hashtags #shelfie #shelfieSCT. It’s a bit of
fun holding a great message and helping very worthy causes. Over £200 was
raised in the first few days after it was launched.I haven’t done mine yet – I need
to clean the house first, haha.
You can donate through JustGiving or text SICK66 £1 TO 70070
or text TRYZ77 £1 to 70070 (or more if you would like).
Good luck Paul on your first event. Thank you to everyone
who has embraced this inspirational campaign. Let’s keep the support going.
Beyond the Past
I think the book is selling but I won’t know how
well until the end of June which seems years away! The next few months could be
very exciting with some decisions being made on short story competitions I have
entered. I will of course keep you all posted.
Beyond the Lies is moving along at great speed now. You may
recall I didn’t have a plan with Beyond the Past, I just wrote it from the
heart. There is an incredible amount of literary responsibility with a sequel and it is very challenging. Not being
one to shy away from a challenge, I have planned or should I say plotted the
sequel. For the last couple of months I’ve
had issues to deal with which have affected my creativity but with those issues
behind me now, I am back on track and loving every minute of it.
Without giving too much away, this picture gives you an idea
of the plot. Yes it is meant to be blurred – you’ll have to wait for the book
Chelsea lost today – will it be significant? We will find
out in 24 hours time! After 24 years with no title, just the fact Liverpool FC
are up there fighting for it, fills me with immense pride in a club that gave
me so many happy childhood memories and hopefully now that will pass down to
the boys.
I am proud sponsor of one of the Sheffield Eagles scholarship players. Congratulations to the Sheffield Eagles Scholarship this
week. They played really well as a team and I am in awe of any kids that get
off their backsides and give up their own time to work towards their own
future. The scholarship is a development programme that provides so much more
than rugby league skills. To see the progress the boys make in relationships
and professionalism is so pleasing and makes me so proud. It provides them with
the opportunity to see how professional organisations operate and that has to
be a positive thing in today’s world. Keep up the good work all.
I can't go without mentioning the anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, the sole reason I am a Formula One fan. I will never forget that day but can't believe it is twenty years ago and ten years ago since I was at Donington Park with my eldest celebrating the life of Ayrton Senna with his sister and the late great Professor Sid Watkins and the 'funny man from the TV' (my son's description, not mine), Murray Walker. How time flies but some memories never fade. Oh, just a quickie before I go. I watched the British Touring Car Championship today (BTCC) and sorry guys but you were outclassed by the Ginetta Juniors, what a race!! The rising stars were incredible.
Well that’s my ramblings for this week. Have a great and
happy week. Remember it costs nothing to be positive but can make someone elses day as well as yours. Have fun
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