Fi Phillips

On the way back to the car after a family walk, I came across this signpost and it struck me how the name of the street, 'Paradise' didn't really match with firstly, the condition of the signpost and secondly, its location in an area of city terrace houses. Even though I'm not a Christian, for me the idea of Paradise still links to the original, biblical idea (ideal?) of a beautiful garden, not a built-up row of red brick dwellings with tiny amounts of outside space. How could this be Paradise? Perhaps, the mistake is in my thinking. Perhaps, each of us has a different idea of Paradise: a break from the children and some adult conversation, freshly laid, untouched snow, or the buzz of the city. Where could you find an unexpected Paradise?

Last week I was ill, incapacitated by pain after what should have been a routine visit to the dentist. I was on heavy duty painkillers and ironically, although taking the edge off the pain they were intended for, they gave me sickening headaches. I found myself in tears for a few hours each day and felt generally pathetic. Emotionally and physically, I curled up in a ball and did the bare minimum. Even in this state of shutdown though, my muse found a way to inspire me. My inability to do a great deal physically and mentally led me to do one thing more - listen. I listened to my children talking, my husband's worries, the sounds outside the house, the news on TV and specifically to the music on the radio. One song in particular grabbed my attention because it's lyrics beautifully matched the personality and life of a character in the novel I'm writing. This in turn got me thinking about songs that could represent other characters too. I'll tell you about those other...