Fi Phillips

Last month was stupidly busy and productive but as the days passed, it all felt like the tag end to 2016. There were strings to tie off, chores to finish and niggles to appease. This month feels like the real start to the year. My job search has led me to a new path for not only my income but also my writing career. With a new contact in hand, I'm moving into copywriting as another string to my creative bow. Like the door at the end of the alleyway in the image (left), it all looks very promising but until I've stepped over the threshold I won't know exactly where I stand with this new development. At the end of last month and the beginning of this, my daughter and I were involved in a pantomime with the local amateur dramatics group . We enjoyed it immensely, although we were exhausted by the time we helped pack everything away (scenery, props, even a mobility scooter). We made new friends and I rediscovered the buzz of performing. Returning to the stage has also rem...

That was what I was posed by a recent commission. An am dram group approached me with the following request - a 'non murder' mystery play that would fit into the December/Christmas slot and include pantomime props. Oh and it had to appeal to a family audience too. After much brain strumming and drinking of coffee, I came up with the idea that it would be fun to people the play with a cast of pantomime characters. Ok, sounds good but what would bring these characters together? Maybe the fairy godmother was retiring? How about a wedding? And what would the crime be? Strum, strum, sip, slurp. In the end, I chose the scenario of a talent competition - familiar to most of us after the popularity of shows such as 'Britain's Got Talent' and 'X Factor'. The cast were drawn from various pantomime stories - Dandini as our annoying presenter, two evil judges, a dame and side kick and a handful of other pantomime contestants. Pantomime characters of course require panto...

It's the first day of July and we have rain - not the nice, refreshing sprinkling that would have been welcome after the last few days of blazing sunshine, but the kind of rain that brings grey to the skies and frowns to our faces. It chased me around the garden this morning as I rushed to bring in the washing and then soaked me as I carried my shopping from the supermarket to the car. Wet t-shirt and dripping hair is not a good look on me. Now I'm back in the house and the shopping is put away, all I want to do is snuggle up with a coffee and a book. I'm not exactly short on reading material (my main shopping habit) but what book would suit my mood today, a day when I want to feel cosy and warm indoors? The first book that comes to mind is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I have an old battered hardback from the 1940s that belonged to my aunt. A tale of passion and tragedy, the setting of the Yorkshire moors is described in a way that reflects the hard lives and cruelty...