Hold that Front Page!

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes

I have always wanted to say that, in the same way I want to jump in a London Cab and yell “follow that cab”.    I have to say that I did achieve the cab one a few years ago, not quite in the dramatic action packed fever of a Bond film or spy thriller but a group of us stood in the rain waiting to go to some event or other.  As you can see it was most unmemorable and dull but the essence was it was pouring and we didn’t want to walk.  

We hailed two passing cabs, half got in the first and I led a smaller group to the second with of course the immortal words “follow that cab”.  The story maybe needs some spicing up and a little more drama than just a bit of rain.   More importantly, I seized the moment rather than later on realising the lost opportunity.  So often in life the right retort or repartee springs to mind only later whilst reliving the eloquent rhetoric of the ‘could have been’ conversation or moment; too late to do anything useful with it.

Dreams and ambition I have loads of, but how many are really achievable number far fewer.  Those dependent on my numbers coming up on the Euro Millions are very unlikely but are there in case I need the plan when it finally happens.   Imagine being caught out winning millions and not knowing what to do with it.  Ooh – just imagine.   The same plans will hold when I get my act together and Memories is published and goes global becoming a best seller with a commission for the next in the series.

Currently just getting through the mountain of work is ambitious enough with the printers baying for my magazine and my late delivery meaning I cannot get it back when I want it back.   Finally this month I had uploaded it,  with relief I settled to that aftermath of self-congratulatory down time I admit to relishing in.    It was late in the afternoon when a pang of unease hit me, an inability to settle made me re-open my mail box to read the mail.

We have a clearer picture now is it too late to do an editorial?

This was the breaking news I had been waiting for over the last three months – the papers had not got wind of it, my competitors had not heard about it and it was not even being bandied about on facebook.  I had the scoop of my editorial career but I had already gone to print.

Hold the front page! Hold the back page and hold everything in the middle –  The printers managed to stop the plating up process.  Frantic calls back and forth discussing if it could now be changed, how quickly could we get the story to the printers if it could.

I designed, the advertisers wrote, I edited, the printers waited.   The children arrived home tired and hungry wanting of all things tea.   Short on extra vocabulary they soon got the message they had to fend for themselves.

I changed the wording slightly, I viewed it from afar, I viewed it from close up.  I changed the font and tried differing fonts, I converted it to a jpeg image, back to publisher and then PDF format.  Finally I was happy it was good to go.  I uploaded; then I breathed.

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A long slow breath filling my lungs which had been starved of regular oxygen intake as I realised my heart was racing and I had been holding my breath.  For how long I did not know; I would imagine I had taken various breaths in the last hour and half and just hung onto them.   I felt dizzy with the rush of oxygen to the lungs then the brain. I felt sick to the stomach with the sudden surge of dissipating adrenaline that left me weak and jittery.  I felt elated with emotion that we had managed to succeed with our breaking story.

A bucket of tea drunk with shaking hands concentrating hard on just raising the cup, sipping it slowly and then breathing deeply.

Another dream realised.  I had another first fulfilled and another never to be repeated heart stalling, adrenaline filled, total focus moment accomplished.   I take my hat off to all those newspaper editors whose lives must be filled with such moments.  Do they actually get used to it or does the regular lack of oxygen supply finally send them loopy?

Writing

True life is interwoven with so many threads stretching out before they knit themselves back into our life fabric.  I don’t believe in coincidences but I do believe in fate,  although…..   Imagine my delight half way through this blog when I again held up the publication this time of the post to the internet to read an e-mail just coming through.

I am delighted to tell you that your Take A Break World contribution has been chosen for publication in Take a Break and appears in TAB1344, which goes on sale 24/10/13.  Your £75 cheque will follow in approximately six weeks’ time.

Had I read that right:  ‘has been chosen for publication’,  ‘your contribution’.  Did they mean my contribution, something I had sent to them.   Was it something of mine they were going to publish in a magazine, a proper magazine, one that people pay money out to buy magazine.   It dawned on me that again I was holding my breath as read and re-read the email.  My hands were shaking as I took the laptop upstairs to show Sexy Sporty Dad.

Following my inspirational trip to Swanwick I had sent off various fillers to magazines in a bid to pay for next year’s trip.   This may not be quite the same as having my book accepted by a publisher but it was earning, earning from something I had sent out.   It was a filler,  the first to be accepted and the start of my 2014 Swanwick fund.  Sexy Sporty Dad slightly less amused to be woken up with the news suddenly commented “they are paying you how much?”

Maybe I can convince him there is money to be had in this writing lark after all and he will let me give up all my other jobs.

 

Tiggy

Have a look at what I am up to with my food blog at  https://tiggy-tea.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

 

 

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Stir Fry Veg

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes


How often do we have odd vegetables left over; not quite enough to feed the whole family but you don’t want to throw them out? In my house they sit there and fester and end up being thrown out and I am annoyed at the waste and that I have not used them in something. 

A curry or a stew can take any left over vegetables cut up small and added to the pot.   One of my favourite methods however is stir frying them with sweet chilli sauce at the last minute and then serving them with the main meal.

Necessary ingredients 
Oil 
Onions  chopped finely 
Ginger chopped small 
Garlic chopped small
Sweet Chilli Sauce 
Spinach and or Watercress  -This is added at the very end and not cooked

Optional ingredients 
Carrots sliced
Green beans sliced
Courgettes sliced
Red and Green peppars
Fennel, Mange Tout, Celeriac cut very small 
Bacon Lardons 
Chilli chopped small depending on how hot you like it
Button Mushrooms or larger Mushrooms cut into small chunks 

Have all your vegetables ready chopped so you can concentrate on stir frying, take you eye off it and that is the point it will burn.   I find a wok the most useful pan for this , but a frying pan will do the job just as well.

We like the freshness of this dish and the crunch of vegetables. You can pre-boil the vegetables if you want but remember you take away the texture and goodness if you do this.  I don’t pre-cook them for this recipe.




About 5 minutes before serving heat the oil then add the onions and garlic to fry gently.  


Add the remaining vegetables,  root veg first with lighter vegetables at the end.  Keep the spinach and watercress out at this time.   If you are using bacon add it early as it requires thorough cooking.  Cut up small enough it will cook very quickly.  


Keep stirring  adding the other vegetables (keeping back the watercress and spinach still) as you stir.



Just before serving add in the sweet chilli sauce and make sure all the vegetables are coated.  You do not need a lot. 

Turn the heat off and put in the Spinach and Watercress, stir gently. Cover the pan and take to the table.  The steam and heat will wilt these leaves and allow them to retain all their goodness and vibrant colour.


Serve as a side dish or as a topping for baked potatoes. 

We had it with Risotto.   My children will not eat risotto with any additions so instead I add a separate dish and serve it as a topping. They are quite happy with this – so am I.  Not only do the children eat their vegetables, I have cleared the fridge of all the odds and ends.  

I have sometimes added left over cooked vegetables at the last minute as well.

See how this goes down.  It also would be great for a student all in one pot – add some sliced new potatoes (pre-boiled if possible) and keep the bacon, then use the vegetables available.    They could add kale or  spring greens a few seconds before end if they cannot get watercress or spinach.  

Let me know any other combinations that could be added.  I have served it with bbq sauce instead of sweet chilli, as a warm side salad to burgers or sausages.

Tiggy

See how life is treating us in  my other blog Tiggy Hayes
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5 Minute Meal

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes


Five minutes and Five easy steps! 

This is such a fabulous store-cupboard quickie and absolutely perfect to send off to those youngsters starting out in the unknown territory of student digs.     I rarely do this as with a family of five it no longer takes just five minutes and I forget that just because it is a fast foods it still provides all the essentials needed at mealtimes.   I would agree it is not the most elegant meal served up but quick, convenient and cheap are all essentials a young student will need.

I use packet mash potato as this was given to me by a vegetarian cook who balanced all her meals. Packet mash contains certain necessary nutrients lacking from real mash, it also means the meal can be produced in 5 minutes. 

Packet of instant mashed potato
Tin of Tuna 
Tin of baked beans 
Cheese – cheddar grated




Mix the mash according to packet instructions.  




Empty the tin of tuna and mix in






Add the baked beans and again mix in 







Finally put in half the cheese and stir through 



Top with remaining cheese and cook in the oven, under the grill or I have been known to zap in the microwave.  As the potato is already hot when you begin this all takes minutes to prepare.  When the potato browns and the cheese melts it is ready.  My son loves it with lashings of tomato sauce,  I prefer a sprinkling of course ground pepper.  You don’t really have to add anything it is fine as it is.

Sit down at the table and enjoy before rushing back to finish that essay.


See how this goes down,  it is easier and quicker for one person than for a family but is such a great standby in case.  Do you have any student recipes let me have them to share?


Tiggy 

See how I am coping with the business of day to day living in my other blog  Tiggy Hayes

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Warm Chicken Salad

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes



Autumn, particularly early on is a difficult time.  Just too hot for the full roast but too cold for another Sunday barbecue so what do you serve?   Having planned according to the weather forecast I was doing a roast dinner.  The day turned out to be far too hot and we ended up have an extra four people so this went down very well.

Chicken 1 – 2 for roasting
Oranges – halved
Onions – unpeeled but halved
Cranberries (I had some in the freezer.  Pomegranate seeds would work as well but I would add right at the end as decoration) – defrosted
bag of mixed Spinach, Watercress and Rocket




Stuff the chickens with the Oranges, onions and cranberries. I used four oranges so put two halves in then the onions and then finished with the other two oranges.




I did use pepper and salt over the skin before cooking.





Roast these according to your normal cooking process, removing them when they are brown and crispy on top.



In to a bowl carve the chicken, or pick it to bits keeping the legs and wings separate.    


Add the salad to the chicken bowl and mix well with hands.  The heat of the chicken allows the salad to begin to wilt.


Taking out the oranges, squeeze any remaining juice from them into the roasting dish.  Let any cranberries fall into the dish.


Pour some of the juices over making sure all the cranberries are used.   (This is when I would add the pomegranates if using).


Arrange on serving platter and then add the reserved legs and wings on top.

Serve with buttery minted new potatoes and a warm bean salad.



Enjoy  and let me know what different combinations you come up with.

Tiggy 

See the last of the Swanwick trilogy at my other blog Tiggy Hayes

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To Become or Not To Become!

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes

I was tired.

Not just from lack of sleep but from the learning overload and insightful knowledge that I had gained over the week.   There was also a sadness tugging at the emotions and the tangible fear of returning to normality that greets the final days of any holiday.  Mine ran deeper than that; the fear that when I close the door on this week would I ever be able to recreate the feeling of inclusion, of being one with the world, of belonging.

The final night brought the week to a close.   A rousing and heartfelt round of Auld Lang Syne touched a nerve unlike any New Year’s Eve version had.  These people, the same ones that only a week ago, I had once been so apprehensive about were now my friends. Should they be forgot, should they never be brought to mind; I think not.  I suspect that these wonderful, welcoming, creative people will be on my mind and in my heart for a long time to come yet.

It was a very late night, I had stayed the course and now was not going to miss a moment of the final farewells.  The early start next morning was habitual rather than with any of the previous week’s eagerness. I joined friends for breakfast before waving off the bus full of new acquaintances headed for the station and home to their various lives.

Slowly I returned to my room and packed.  No longer a white badger, no matter how many times I return I will never be that scared, timid, terrified person arriving so nervously again.    It had taken an age to unpack but a week ago, now everything was tossed carelessly, unloved into the case with little caution.   I checked and rechecked every drawer to make sure nothing was left.   I had yet another cup of instant hotel coffee using my last remaining miniscule pot of milk as I wandered backwards and forwards packing the car.  Finally it was time and with cries of “see you next year”, “keep writing” wringing in my ears I turned the engine on.

Warm in the cocooned chrysalis of my car I slowed as I said good-bye to the Swanwick lake, gardens, dreams and drove up, up over the hill to Carsington lake and back to reality.  The hill stretched up towards storm ridden skies of uncertainty until I reached the very precipice of the future.  One lake fading behind me as one emerged open and inviting before me.  Exorcising any lingering feelings of self-doubt, I drove over the abyss and back to my family, no longer a moth flittering towards the early morning light of the breaking dawn I emerged a beautiful multi-faceted ambitious writer.

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Back in the hub-bub of normal life my thoughts often flit back to my week away.    Was it all just a dream?  Possibly, it all seems to have faded quickly like any holiday memory, but inside has changed.  I am a writer maybe more so than before.   Since my return I have written a lot, I have done a huge amount of editing of Memories already with lots more to go still, the new character is emerging very much in the background so the emphasis does not change.  I have even sent some stuff to a magazine as a filler; although there is no reply as yet.   I have a short story which needs a little more editing and another in mind to be sent off.  I need to write the new blog for the magazine, not many words but time critical.

And, I have a dream; a personal, special achievable dream.

I will return to the wonderful Swanwick and see all my friends again.  I will find some way of funding that from my writing.   When I return, I want Memories to be finished and in the hands of someone else; agent, publisher, readers.  My fading memory of the week I emerged as a writer will become an investment in my future not just another pie in the sky wish.

Tiggy

Have a look at what I am up to with my cooking blog at Tea Time Treats

 

 

 

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Caramelised Fruit Crumble

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes


My husband and I found ourselves scrumping apples from a pub garden the other day. It is not quite as naughty as it may sound; we did have full permission from both the owner and the chef who had so many apples he did not know what to do with them and these were the ones he could not cope with.  

The apples themselves were eaters but very sharp and by caramelising them they softened and sweetened.   Added to them I had other fruit needing using up so it became a full on fruit mixture.

Butter
Apples – peeled, cored and sliced
Pears – peeled, cored and sliced
Blueberries
Brown sugar
Flour 
Seeds – I used Vanilla flavoured pumpkin and sunflower



Melt the butter and add the fruit depending on what you are using.   I cooked the apples first with sugar.



When they had softened and the sugar dissolved into a dark liquid coating the apples I added the remaining fruit which did not require as long.



I cooked this stirring regularly allowing the blueberries to split and the differing tastes harmonise amongst themselves.  Then I transferred to the serving dish.  



With a crumble top I do like to use measured ingredients, this is what I use for the family of 5 or 6 but double for more people.  175g of plain flour with 75g of butter which you rub together until it resembles the texture of breadcrumbs.   



Then I add the same amount of brown sugar (75g).  Mix it through thoroughly and then scatter over  the fruit.  It should  cover the fruit liberally.  I had ready mixed seeds in the cupboard but any neutral seeds or oats could be sprinkled at this point.  It gives an added crunch to the crumble.

Cook in a pre-heated oven until you can see the fruit bubbling round the edges and the top has turned a deep golden brown.   Top with ice-cream, clotted cream, regular double cream or warm custard.  I can guarantee this will go down a treat.

Crumble is a wonderful winter’s pudding but I try to utilise what fruit is available.   Blackberries are another great free fruit that has its abundance in the autumn, with sugar added to these they do not necessarily need the pre-cooking. 


 I also serve my family a wonderful spicy plum crumble when the plums are falling and in abundance.  Cut lots of plums in half and remove the stones, add to a pan of melted butter.  Add a star anise, freshly grated nutmeg and a couple of cinnamon sticks.  Cover this with red wine, golden syrup and some sugar (not too much by now) and allow the fruit to break down and marry the flavours before transferring to the dish.  This particular crumble is great if you have visitors, it tastes exquisite and looks professional.

Fruit puddings are a fabulous way of getting fruit into children and mine love the different combinations which work well with each other. 

Have you any different combinations that surprisingly work well, share them with me and my other readers.  

Take a look at what I am up to in my day to day life at Tiggy Hayes

Tiggy 


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Beetroot and Fennel Gratin

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes

Sometimes especially with side dishes I am a little more adventurous and cook separate sides for us and the children.    We had this to accompany our fish but it would go equally well with cold meats or could stand alone as a vegetarian alternative.

In a bid to try and be a bit more diet conscious I tried to do away with the heavy cheese sauce which I know works  but used low fat yoghurt and a dash of cheap mayonnaise.  This worked surprisingly well adding an extra dimension to the dish.

Beetroot – top and tailed.
Fennel
Spinach
Low fat Yoghurt
Mayonnaise
Cheese 

Bake the beetroot in a hot oven until you can prod with a knife and it comes out easily.  About 40 minutes for the three medium sized ones I used.
Peel them while they are still warm. Then slice them roughly.

Cover the base of your serving dish with lots of spinach.


Add in your fennel.   I don’t pre-cook this as I love the crunchy texture but if you wish to pre-boil this before adding it will work the same.

 Layer the beetroot slices on top of the dish  then I mixed low fat yoghurt with a dollop of mayonnaise and dotted it over the vegetables. (Cheese sauce is a good substitute)


Cover in a good sprinkling of grated cheese.   I used cheddar but low fat varieties are available. 


Bake in the oven until it is golden brown on top, then serve as a truly delicious accompaniment. 


This is a great combination of vegetables that seem to be in abundance late summer and a change to the normal plain vegetables that I serve up for my pernickety children.

Enjoy and let me know other combinations that work together.

Tiggy

check out what I have been up to at my blog Tiggy Hayes

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Commercial Potential

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes

It had taken a long time to get to this point.  Many years wasted,  wishing on the ‘never going to happen’ star.   Followed by many years of gentle hints that I might possibly wish to forgo the annual cold wet camping/sailing holiday with the family and pop over the hill to Swanwick.   Now the family were older, Sexy Sporty Dad in a moment of madness suggested I book my holiday  and the family could fend for themselves for a week.

Booked.

Irrevocably in to my dream week before he had the chance to think about what he had said; let alone change his mind.

So here I was all alone in an alien world not knowing anyone.  I had to leave my room sometime. Bravely shutting the door on my haven I followed the noise of a few chatty people outside.   Delaying any moment of verbal contact I held the door for a lady a few steps behind.

“Oh you’re a white badger”

“Yes” I replied surprised at the childlike reticence in my voice; wondering what initiation I would trigger.

“How is your room?  Do you know anyone?”  my terrified shake of the head gave me away.  “Come with me and we will get some tea.”  Suddenly I had a friend.  With our tea we met other members of her lovely writing circle who had come as a group for years.  I was embraced like an old friend by others eager to meet past friends and develop new ones.  I was no longer the frightened imposter who had arrived but an hour ago.   I was part of the crowd, part of the magic, I was a writer.

That is Swanwick all over; always a friendly face to guide you, a supportive word to encourage you and interested contemporaries to inspire you.

The welcome reception for white badgers gave me the opportunity to mingle with committee members, fellow white badgers and a few regulars on hand to guide and include.   A glass of wine softened any remaining doubt that I was gate crashing a private party.   More relaxed I was able to answer questions about my lack of published work.   I explained I was editing a novel which I hoped to get published and found I was not the only person in that position. I summoned the courage to tell of my blogging and early tweeting experiences to people interested in my attempts,  not only my successes.

The program I had been sent would be my bible for the forthcoming week.   I would refer to it countless times a day.  I wanted to do everything, I wanted to experience everything, I didn’t want to miss a moment.    I can see why people come back time and time again, there is so much on offer all crammed into just one week. Many workshops clashed, I couldn’t possibly do everything. I wasn’t even sure I could cope with the pace to do all that didn’t clash.   Days would be filled with workshops; learning, interacting, discovering in my own special world.

 

Swanwick-programme

 

 

One special event took place when I met with my 1 to 1 specialist.  I had agonised and anguished for many hours before anxiously sending the first 3000 words of “Memories”.    Would she like it, would she be the first to realise I am not meant to be a writer, would she critique it so much there is none of my beloved story left?   Self-doubt and regret at signing up for such close scrutiny both clouded and dulled my passion for my story.  I went to meet her all the same.

The most positive 20 minutes of my life.

She encouraged me, she advised me and she loved the story.  As the moments passed I became bolder asking questions about publishing and e-books.  I wanted to know where to go next.   Two simple words will ring in my ears for the rest of my life. “Comercial Potential”!  Her suggestion was that I should finish writing in the extra character and then get it professionally looked at and in the meantime think about getting an agent.

An agent.   Never in a million years had I imagined being in a position to get an agent.  What does an agent do, why are they more effective than just sending it off to any publisher?  I was now on the threshold of that next scary, exciting, wonderful step of the journey.  I attended the course on “Editing your Manuscript” given by an Agent, who answered my questions before I even asked them.  She answered many I had not got round to thinking about and left me with even more to explore.

From that point on, nothing was going to detract from the pure magic of my stay in Derbyshire.  Although to be fair the culmination of so many heightened emotions the enchanted atmosphere was going to be hard for me to dent.

Inspiration,  I got not just from the workshops and fantastically diverse but talented speakers but also from the supportive and understanding Swanwick family.   We all write, in such distinct and different genres but we all use words.  We all have aspirations and goals within our writing world and with my new friends I will take away the courage to follow my dreams.

The end of the week draws close and I must remember the love, the joy and the passion these people gave me as I must return to the outside world.

Tiggy 

 

check out my cooking blog at  tea-time treats 

 

 

 

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Cheesecake

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes




Do you remember those delicious home made cheesecakes from your childhood when they were still uncommercialised and had a lighter flavour?    I serve this up for the children sometime who actually do not like cheesecake normally, they love this version.

This is not a last minute pudding as it needs chilling to allow it to set.

Packet of biscuits – digestives or I used ginger nuts
Butter
Tub of Soft Cheese
Tin of Condensed Milk
Sheet of Gelatine 
Tin of Mandarin Pieces 



Break up the biscuits in the old fashioned way – a bag and a rolling pin or you can use a chopper to get them really small and even.



Melt the butter and add the biscuits – mix well 




Cover the bottom of the dish with the biscuit mix, leaving a slight well in the centre.  Leave to chill for a good hour or so  –  I use the freezer to help things along.

Soak the gelatin according to the packet instructions – as different makes have different ways of making it.  I use leaf gelatin so it needs to be soaked in cold water.

Meanwhile, in  a blender add the cheese and the condensed milk and whisk well till it is a runny consistency.  Add in the soaked geletine and whisk again.    You could add vanilla extract or lemon juice at this point but it is fine without.

Pour into the hard biscuit base and return to the freezer / fridge for chilling.




Make sure the centre is solid before serving then remove from fridge and add the drained mandarins. At this point any fruit can be used, strawberries, raspberries or any other.

Serve to the delighted family but be warned – there is enough for about 10 people so I tried to save some for the next day.  The fridge imp was obviously hungry overnight and there was non left the following day!



Have a go and let me know any variations you come up with.  

Tiggy 

check out my trip to the Swanwick Writing School on my other blog at Tiggy Hayes











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What’s in a Name?

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Tiggy Hayes

The journey went too quickly despite every procrastinating ploy to postpone the inevitable arrival.  Just to calm the hyperactive hefalumps practising their aerobic workout in the depth of my stomach I pulled off the road just before the entrance to the school.  Tucking myself well out of sight of any passing car, lest they offer to show me the way, or worse still remove all possibility of escape.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be here; and I never thought I would ever say that about going back to school.   It wasn’t even that I was missing my family as I had only said goodbye a few hours earlier.  It wasn’t even that I felt cheated that we were not spending our holiday abroad.

I was about to join the Swanwick School of Writers.

Here I was purporting to be a writer; struggling to even finish the eternal editing of my story let alone send it off to be published.  I was going to try and wing a whole week convincing the writing world I was as good as them.  What would happen when they found out I was not in the same league as them not even in a league?  How quickly would it take them to realise I could not really write?   Why did I ever send my work off to be scrutinised in a 1-to-1 with someone who actually knows what she is talking about.  I could still turn round and spend the week in a cold damp tent watching the family sail.

Tempting as the choice may have been, a warm bed, working showers and no cooking for a week was enough to win me over.   I put the car in to first and eased slowly up the winding drive.  Glimpses at first of the country house became bigger, longer as the house grew in stature and terror before my fear filled eyes.   Parking facing the lake I wished fervently for the water to rise up and overwhelm the car taking me with it.  Ignoring my wishes the lake stretched wide and calmly to both sides, ducks lurking in the distance, reeds blowing ever so gently in the balmy breeze.

It is funny how one of my favourite songs just happened to be played on the CD player at just the point I should have been leaping in excitement from the car.  I was delayed yet again to finish listening.   With no more justifiable tactics I got out of the car and took slow deliberate steps to the reception.   A well versed welcome greeted me as I was given a room key and a white badge indicating I had never attended this annual school before.

Having unloaded the car, lugged my heavy case up the stairs along the corridor, up another two flights of stairs and round the last corner into my corridor.  I walked all the way to the end before finding my room.  Slowly and deliberately I put away everything at least twice before I considered myself unpacked and ready.  For what?

My first job that I had been charged with was to write my name on the badge so that I could wear it wherever I went over the week.  A simple task!  But which name should I choose?   I had booked in under my own name but was not sure that here at the writing school I really wanted to be known as that.

Here I was a writer, and here I wanted to be known as Tiggy, after all that is what will be on my as yet unpublished books if I survived the week and was not uncovered for the fraud I am.   Nobody knew who Tiggy was; she had no room allotted to her and no 1-to-1 meeting to discuss her work.  Another dallying technique took a few attempts batting backwards and forwards the merits of who I am or who I was going to be.

Finally I wrote my name clearly and boldly with pink trim and clipped it proudly to my chest.   An extra splash of perfume and a new fresh layer of makeup and the transformation was complete.  I could now face the welcoming white badges reception; I could immerse myself in the magical world and join enthusiastically in with fellow writers safe in the persona of my penname.   Tiggy stepped into the unknown welcome of likeminded, published and unpublished, struggling and successful, beautiful world of Swanwick.

 

Tiggy white badger

Tiggy

Check out my cooking blog at Teatime Treats with Tiggy

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