A trip down memory lane

[George 1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

George have you ever tried self confidence classes? I cant advise for or against them as i have no experience of them, however i can't see what harm it might do. I have had this conversation with my son who actually chooses to have no friends or a girlfriend and is happy in his own company. He is intelligent and not at all withdrawn but simply chooses not to mix with others so i guess this might be social phobia as you like to describe it, he will happily interact on facebook or by text but will always avoid face to face encounters where possible.

I do get a monthly magazine posted to my address which lists things that happen locally, and I do see things like mentioned from time to time - I had to admit that when I first read "self confidence" I nearly thought it said "self defence" which would have also come in handy as well. Things can get so bad that there is the instance that there happens to be a local group for people who have anxiety, but the irony is that my own anxiety is preventing me from attending - I do feel that I lose all round at times.

I hope that one day things will happen positively and that I will meet someone, and the horizons will open up for me at long last - the end of the tunnel is a few miles away for me yet however.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

George have you ever tried self confidence classes? I cant advise for or against them as i have no experience of them, however i can't see what harm it might do. I have had this conversation with my son who actually chooses to have no friends or a girlfriend and is happy in his own company. He is intelligent and not at all withdrawn but simply chooses not to mix with others so i guess this might be social phobia as you like to describe it, he will happily interact on facebook or by text but will always avoid face to face encounters where possible.

My son is also not all that sociable.. not with his parents or us oldies. Not so sure he has all that many friends either. As for girlfriends.. he says he has plenty of them. So I ask him "Marc when are you going to settle down and give mum and I grand kids?" He tells me he is fussy and has not yet met the girl who melts his heart . Bloody hell. I will be in an old folks home by the time he is ready to make a family.

[tex]

Re: A trip down memory lane

I do get a monthly magazine posted to my address which lists things that happen locally, and I do see things like mentioned from time to time - I had to admit that when I first read "self confidence" I nearly thought it said "self defence" which would have also come in handy as well. Things can get so bad that there is the instance that there happens to be a local group for people who have anxiety, but the irony is that my own anxiety is preventing me from attending - I do feel that I lose all round at times.

I hope that one day things will happen positively and that I will meet someone, and the horizons will open up for me at long last - the end of the tunnel is a few miles away for me yet however.

Hi George, checking out your profile i see you list your occupation as writer, if it's not being too nosey can i ask if this is how you earn a living? are you published? The reason i ask is because again my son Simon is a prolific writer in a non professional capacity. He writes articles on several websites but is struggling to find paid work in the sector.
The writers domain is ofcourse quite a lonely one with little interaction with others, if i am wrong in this assumption i am happy to be corrected

[staffslad]

Re: A trip down memory lane

I used to attend the occasional youth club when a teenager. It was a good place to at least be able to look at girls, even if you didn't stand much of a chance. One used to put on a monthly disco, which was quite well attended, and would have reasonably decent DJs--probably amateurs but not bad. Churches often ran youth clubs, but I didn't often attend those. They tended to be run by a trendy curate. Don't get me wrong, they were well meaning and decent guys, but I always felt a bit awkward, like having to be on your best behaviour when your posh aunt visits. I was in the Scouts for a few years, though I never really considered that to be a youth club.

[staffslad]

Re: A trip down memory lane

A few random memories....

Friday night used to be my mom's bingo and beetle night at our local working men's club. She went with our next door neighbour and I also went occasionally when I got older. I remember she won this big early 70s white table lamp and a small cheap AM radio. I had that radio for many years--well into the 80s. When mom was at bingo I got to stay up late and watch the then traditional friday night horror film. That was when I first saw Brides of Dracula on our old B/W TV and it scared me to death, particularly when the old servant is coaxing the vampire girl out of her grave.

When I had to go to see my GP there was no making appointments; you just turned up and waited for your turn--first come, first served. I remember he had one of those date stamps with the little rollers to adjust the date. He would have to stamp the prescription. He would always position the stamp on the prescription then let me press it down to make the mark. Also, no tablets in nice bubble packs with instruction sheets. The chemist would just put them in a small tablet bottle with a screw on top that was certainly not childproof. No expiry dates either. I used to get very bad hayfever with made me wheeze like I had been on 80 a day for 40 years. The doctor would prescribe Ephadrine and it really worked well. I believe it was discontinued many years ago. As there were no expiry dates I was taking those thing years and years after we had gotten them from the chemist as we would just put the ones left over with new ones.

Those Ephadrine tablets tasted awful. I can still taste them now and even the thought still makes me shiver. What was worse was that I just couldn't take tablets with water. My mom would cut a Mars bar in half and stuff the tablet inside. The problem is of course that it is so obvious where in the bar that foul tablet is lurking, and I always seemed to accidentally chew the tablet. If anyone has had to take those big one per week malaria prevention tablets then you will know what I mean about foulness--but I think those little Ephadrines had them beat for sheer vileness.

[George 1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Hi George, checking out your profile i see you list your occupation as writer, if it's not being too nosey can i ask if this is how you earn a living? are you published? The reason i ask is because again my son Simon is a prolific writer in a non professional capacity. He writes articles on several websites but is struggling to find paid work in the sector.
The writers domain is ofcourse quite a lonely one with little interaction with others, if i am wrong in this assumption i am happy to be corrected

The writing is a hobby and not an occupation, although I would like to branch out so that I could do that for a living - I have put on my online pages a lot of things I have written about and I have approached a few publishers in the past with some of my work and not heard from them - finding a publisher which is relevant and would take an interest is a job in itself. However, last week I emailed around three or four publishers with something that I have done on and off over the past four years - they responded and took an interest. I am not going to expect it to be published (in fact I would be amazed and shocked if they said that they would), but I do feel that I am articulate enough and talented to be recognised by someone - it's just the case of "right place, right time". I am sure that as you can see on this forum (especially the opening gambits on the threads that I start on here) that the way I write is unique to myself as a DYR member, I am sure you would agree. I have always said that to a good writer, a dictionary is a writer's toybox with so many words to use and play around with. Sometimes I do think "why bother?" if no one expresses an interest at the end of the day .

I would like to write things as a living, in other words a way of paying the bills instead of the way that it happens at the moment, but it is difficult making people realise that one exists. I was even thinking of writing a retrospective of my life as it was my 40th birthday recently, but the question that I always came up with is "where does one begin with something like that? - one has to start somewhere". When I was younger, I always thought that if one knew their ABCs and found their way around the pages of a dictionary then one would be more than halfway there. Even in my English reports at school the teacher said that "he expresses himself as a free writer" which is true - I knew that the difference between English Language and English Literature was more than apparent back then even though I didn't originally. It may look easy but it isn't.

[George 1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Also, you are quite correct that writing can be a lonely thing to do where the writer can invent his own world in their mind without being part of the real world. The fact of the matter is that I have always been a recluse throughout my adult life, which stems from my school days in a way (I did have a few friends but from a class perspective I did not fit in too well). I have never really got on socially with people especially when it comes to relationships - it can be impossible from what I have found out. I know that a lot of writers are like that as it is often their way of getting around life and the world that they happen to see from their own perspective. I can easily write about my experiences and what I want to do, but when it comes to doing what I want, which of course is a different matter. I was looking at a website which mentioned about job descriptions and it did mention on there that writing was indeed a lonely occupation - all one needs is a computer or typewriter, a room, and someone with an imagination - I certainly have most of those things.

And I am certain that even famous writers have had to wait for years before getting their big break - I suppose that I am not unique in that respect but I do see things differently to most other people. It cannot really be helped I am afraid.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

The writing is a hobby and not an occupation, although I would like to branch out so that I could do that for a living - I have put on my online pages a lot of things I have written about and I have approached a few publishers in the past with some of my work and not heard from them - finding a publisher which is relevant and would take an interest is a job in itself. However, last week I emailed around three or four publishers with something that I have done on and off over the past four years - they responded and took an interest. I am not going to expect it to be published (in fact I would be amazed and shocked if they said that they would), but I do feel that I am articulate enough and talented to be recognised by someone - it's just the case of "right place, right time". I am sure that as you can see on this forum (especially the opening gambits on the threads that I start on here) that the way I write is unique to myself as a DYR member, I am sure you would agree. I have always said that to a good writer, a dictionary is a writer's toybox with so many words to use and play around with. Sometimes I do think "why bother?" if no one expresses an interest at the end of the day .

I would like to write things as a living, in other words a way of paying the bills instead of the way that it happens at the moment, but it is difficult making people realise that one exists. I was even thinking of writing a retrospective of my life as it was my 40th birthday recently, but the question that I always came up with is "where does one begin with something like that? - one has to start somewhere". When I was younger, I always thought that if one knew their ABCs and found their way around the pages of a dictionary then one would be more than halfway there. Even in my English reports at school the teacher said that "he expresses himself as a free writer" which is true - I knew that the difference between English Language and English Literature was more than apparent back then even though I didn't originally. It may look easy but it isn't.

I have always had an interest in writing since my boarding school days. I used to write for the school magazine. I took creative writing course when I left school. But nothing came of it. I did pen a James Bond like story over several years. Never bothered to see about having it published. Doubt it would have been. I had the manuscrift for many years until I lost it in a house move. I did take my writing to another step by becomng a print journalist up till my early retirement.

[George 1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

When you mentioned writing for the School Magazine, I had early Grange Hill episodes in my mind when you said that, Donald! Just like when you mentioned writing about James Bond I thought you were Ian Fleming!

Seriously, I know that when I was at school they did notice my talents as a writer - we had a Writer in Residence visit the school on Monday afternoons and I was part of one of the groups, and I have to say that it really helped to express myself. I loved it and wished that I had more of those.

In recent years apart from using what amount of website territory that I have, I do like think that I am a "Henry Root" person and write a lot of letters, some of them are the "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" type which makes me feel good after writing it. I have been published in newspapers, Asperger United - the newspaper for people with Asperger Syndrome, and also around six years ago I did a magazine interview for the West Midlands Autism Society when I answered questions about Asperger Syndrome and relationships - something that means so much to me. I would love to do more of these sorts of things, spending a couple of hours on my computer putting the answers together.

Yes, I have put "writing" as an "occupation" in my profile because I thought that it would sound better than referring it to just a hobby, although I also did that because I am optimistic that one day I may get my big break and see my name on the front cover of a book, who knows? I might even autograph a copy for you if that ever happens...

[tex]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Feel i know you better George, keep up with the writing and who knows where it may lead one day, my son Simon has writen a novel and has tried many different avenues to publication but as you point out just getting it read is the first hurdle.They say everybody has a book in them and i'm sure when you reach a certain age that's true

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

You have this George?
Asperger's syndrome is a condition on the autism spectrum, with generally higher functioning.
People with this condition may be socially awkward and have an all-absorbing interest in specific topics.

Your specific topic writing?You seem to be coping well if this is what you have. All the best for the furyte. You are now 40.. double that mate.
Donald.

[Donald the Great]

Re: A trip down memory lane

I had a new topic come to mind while lying in bed trying to get some sleep. I have suffered from Insomnia for much of my life. It can be a curse.

Where did you learn to swim. This was where I took my first strokes under the tutilage of my father. This beautiful place was almost in the country when I was a kid. Today I live no more than 5km from it.


This is how the area looks today after the weir was decommissioned in 1982 and a dam built.

[George 1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

Feel i know you better George, keep up with the writing and who knows where it may lead one day, my son Simon has writen a novel and has tried many different avenues to publication but as you point out just getting it read is the first hurdle.They say everybody has a book in them and i'm sure when you reach a certain age that's true

I always say that its easy to write it but difficult to publish it - people talk about self-publishing but I actually thought that one needed their own publishing company and be an entrepreneur like Richard Branson or Sir Alan Sugar or someone like that. I have always said that you cannot build a house with just one brick, and starting a career in writing, publishing or anything else is like that.

[George 1978]

Re: A trip down memory lane

You have this George?
Asperger's syndrome is a condition on the autism spectrum, with generally higher functioning.
People with this condition may be socially awkward and have an all-absorbing interest in specific topics.

Your specific topic writing?You seem to be coping well if this is what you have. All the best for the furyte. You are now 40.. double that mate.
Donald.

Yes I have. There are people who can write very well and have severe difficulties in life - have a look at some of the books written by those diagnosed, a lot of them are published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers - indeed I have contacted them on more than one occasion myself. Just because someone can express themselves from a written perspective, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are capable of doing everything else in life. Even if I did get something officially published, would it help me get into a serious relationship and solve all my problems? I very much doubt it.

[Mulletino]

Re: A trip down memory lane

If writing keeps you occupied then surely that makes it an occupation?

I remember at junior school we read White Fang, another kid in the class who always mucked around really attached to it and wrote himself a long story (in book form) for the adventures to continue. This surprised me at the time as he was never really into learning yet writing seemed to come naturally to him and the teacher enjoyed reading the new chapters as they came. I guess he had a great imagination and was able to capture that in pen, I don't know what he's doing now or if he chose that path, but it was something that, for some reason, lingers in my head from those times. It doesn't really have much to do with this thread but I was thinking it so thought I may as well type it out too. Maybe it's the fact that writers don't have to be academics, just passionate people with the ability to share.