Mad Over Fifties Club

[nungate]

Good evening and welcome to Nungate Towers for tonight's meeting of the Mad Over Fifties Club. All here at the Towers hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, and are all set for the usual mayhem and madness which marks our weekly meetings.
On the menu tonight, there will be the usual selection of volly vonts and horses doovers, the hot plate special will be a massive Paella, and on the pudding trolley, a Crema Catalana - in keeping with the Spanish theme, tonight's Tailcock will be the "Barca Blaugrana" a bi-coloured drink featuring the colours of our beloved Barcelona FC - an intriguing mix of Blue Curacao and Cherry Brandy plus a "secret mix of ingredients"
For the rofl I offer: a box of Christmas wrapping (used) plus tags
a festive sweater
roll of sticky tape
half a Christmas pud (minus custard)
The Minstrels will be back in the gallery playing (very quietly they are all still in recovery from the Festivities of last week) madrigals and lullabies, hopefully they will be able later to give us their take on the greatest hits of Iron Maiden

Igor and the rest of the staff await your pleasure, a warm welcome to all who dare enter these hallowed halls

Carriages at midnight

[Mammar]

Oh, or did you mean books what you had wrote?

[DTCwordfan]

You should try some more, nungate, as it can be quite cathartic.

I have just rewritten one for a 5 year old with mutism (a form of mild autism) - originally it was for my oldest girl. I wonder if it would fit in the characters allowed on AB?

It covers what happens to Xmas trees when the decorations are taken down....

I'm going to have a look......

[lcg]

i have two dissertations in print and 3 dedications....you can find me in any uni listing. god....how long have i been at the bottom of the garden? before anyone says anything....i passed my first degree completely stoned from a top 10 uni....and got a first class honours. and worked 30 hours a week. no wonder my body's knackered now x

[DaisyNonna]

Dt Do you want to share?

[DTCwordfan]

I guess that could do it on Arts and Lits on the OP thread and the first response, I guess.....maybe tomorrow.....it's 4800 characters on Word.

I wonder if there would be interest for ABers for their kids and grandkids...the issue being copyright.

[DTCwordfan]

so what's the degree, lcg?

[Mammar]

I have no such claims to fame. All my books remain in my head except for the one in progress in a notepad. And there it stays.

[nungate]

I've considered it DT, maybe if I ever have grandchildren or maybe I should think ahead and write more in hope than expectation.
I used to make up stories for her about my old teddy and our Yorkie, Benji
for some reason or other she lapped them up! She also loved being read to, I was thinking of recording some of her favourites and saving them for her children - if she ever gets settled down - though if she takes after us it'll be a long time yet!

[DTCwordfan]

this is how it starts: (aimed at 5-6 year olds)

Laura’s Christmas Story



It was that time after Christmas when Mummy and Daddy take down all the decorations.

The cuddly Santas and animals are packed away for their long sleep, the “Happy” cards are taken down, the Christmas candles, cups and plates and tablecloths are put into the back of the cupboard.

My home will look so empty.

The worst moment is when Daddy takes the Christmas tree out of the house.

I laugh when he gets cross at all the small, green, pine needles that fall off.

Daddy has to clean up them up for Mummy or she will get mad at him.

I am so sad when I go around my neighbours and friends and see all the Christmas trees, that the boys and girls enjoyed so much, lying there by the road.

However, I now know what happens to the trees. And it is very special.

One day after Christmas, Daddy saw that I was sad.

He asked me “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

So, I told him all about the tree lying out there in the cold and so unhappy after being in our warm house.

Our tree was beautifully decorated and with presents underneath and now it was out there near the lane, forgotten and miserable.

“Darling, the tree has not been forgotten. Santa knows that it is there and, if you like, I will tell you what happens.”

I replied, “Yes please!”

And this is what Daddy told me.

[DTCwordfan]

I used to do that, nungate, with my god-daughter in particular.....we had Arthur the Burglar, who was always caught because of his very smelly, black and yellow striped socks. Totally verbal and she used to make up half of the yarn.....

[lcg]

i have a social work degree (boo hiss - i saw the light and did something else) and a psych nursing degree. currently doing a management / education masters and not looking forward to the dissertation on that.....20,000 words. what on earth am i going to say with that many words? i can't think of anything interesting enough....mr kicker has just finished a (wait for it....) social policy, social research and social statistics masters. i think he did it because it had such a long title! and the boy is currently doing an economics degree. my house is covered in cats, paper, books, ink and computer devices! x

[Mammar]

Don't stop now! Or perhaps you should, publish and make us buy a copy! It sounds like it could be a supplement to Raymond Briggs's Snowman

[lcg]

it does sound good, dt. do you write as a main occupation, or as and when? x

[DTCwordfan]

I can understand that, lcg - a little trick that I use for my Ed is to write a min of 1500 words a day - and proofed, though I am lucky as I can write fairly cleanly.....At the end of the working period, I do a final proof and then hit word count, running a bank balance for the bad days or to get me head of target. Given that your work is academic, you may wish to set a target of say 500 words a day.......and it will soon accumulate (not withstanding quality of course!)

[nungate]

Queenie's only ventures into the literary world consist of writing letters to her pen friends - some of them replies she sends take weeks but it goes on for about 20 pages! I don't mind her writing the long letters but I do object to her pinching my stamps to post them!

[nungate]

I wish this laptop could spell and so forth ^ should read some of "the" replies" not "them" urrgghh!

[lcg]

i'm a last minute, girl dt. i wrote my last essay (4000 words) in 2 days. it makes mr kicker sick as he writes the traditional way. i don't think i could ever do it as a living....i'd drive myself mad. the next one's due in 4 weeks, i haven't even looked at what it's about....something boring, i expect! x

[DTCwordfan]

Then you would know who I am!

I could put the rest out tomorrow......on A and L?

I do write professionally, an awful lot of boring technical stuff, mainly converting science and engineering issues into marketing and PR communications material, structured at various levels in client organisations.....for example, the Board do not need to waffle on about the intricacies of design - it is all about the benefits and how risk is minimised.

[DTCwordfan]

lol, lcg - I used to be like that and used my holidays to catch up and to try and write (quality) papers.....

For the more academic shyte, I always like(d) to write the conclusions first, then the main material and come back and rewrite the conclusions.

[Mammar]

Like you, Nungate, I only make up stories for the amusement of my grandchildren now. I ask them to pick a character (usually an animal) and a name and then I let my imagination run riot. I've never written any of them down. Perhaps I've missed a trick.
Igor, fill up me bucket, there's a good bloke. I'm gettin' maudlin.