Author, editor, attempter of this thing called life. Social anxiety warrior. Re-Connections, a collection of short stories, published with Ocelot Press, 15/10/2025.
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The Dormition Abbey is a German Benedictine church completed in 1910. It has a conical roof (described as blue although it looks grey to me), four ornamental turrets and a clock tower. When we lived close to a view of the clock tower, we used to watch its “face” appear as it got dark.
(If I’d had any sense, I’d have photographed the two buildings together.)
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I’m a bit confused about what it’s supposed to be called in English, but it stands at the main entrance to Jerusalem, was inaugurated in 2008 and is now used by pedestrians and the light railway. I’m not sure it suits the character of Jerusalem, but it is impressive and was apparently the only suitable option for the light railway.
All the photos in these posts were taken by a very unprofessional photographer – me. You can easily find much better ph0tos of this hospital.
Bikur Cholim (literally “Visiting the Sick”) Hospital dates from 1826. The current building was completed in 1925 and was one of the first to be erected in what is now the city centre. It still functions as a hospital, having survived artillery fire and severe financial problems.
As I mentioned before, I’m going to be blogging about Jerusalem this month – one letter per day. With such a subject, I’m rather spoilt for choice and can only show you a small part of the amazing number and variety of sites in this relatively small town.
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The Al Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam. Its name means “the Farthest Mosque” and it originates from the year 705, although the building has been rebuilt and renovated several times since then.
So from Sunday I’ll be doing the A-Z Challenge again.
Last year I wrote about writing and about social anxiety. You can read my posts (going backwards) here.
This year, influenced by others who blogged about places last year, I’ve chosen the topic of Jerusalem.
See you on Sunday!
Hubby and I have been married for a long time. In fact we’re just coming up to another anniversary – 34 years.
For most of that time, we shared a bed – just the two of us. Now, we still share a bed, but we’ve been joined by two others.
He recently got an iphone. Now he listens to things on it and reads things. So it has joined our bed. And the other day I decided that if I’m ever going to read the books that have accumulated in the kindle application on my laptop PC, I’m going to have to take PC to bed with me.
So now we’re a foursome.
I never really thought I’d succeed in writing 100k words in 100 days, which was Sally Quilford’s challenge starting on 1st January. But I joined to see what I’d manage. And Sally wrote:
As far as I’m concerned, if you get to 9th April having written 30k words, and it’s more than you’d normally write, you’ve done well!
So today I passed the 30k mark and I’m delighted.
I did well!
Three years ago, I ventured out into the world, scared of what I might find.
I’m so glad I did.
Both involve me but are mainly about others.
Firstly, I’ve been helping to edit a series of novels by David Rory O’Neill. The novels are all connected but can all be read alone. Together, they span over a century and are full of very reachable characters, who overcome personal issues and historical events, keeping readers turning the pages. I love the stories, and sometimes find myself continuing with the editing when I should be doing other things.
One of these books, The Prairie Companions, will be free to download for a few days from tomorrow. This is a wonderful chance to sample a lovely set of novels.
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I’ve just completed an online course. I’ve never taken an online course before, so I can’t compare it with anything, but this course was everything I expected and a lot more.
It’s Sally Quilford’s Pocket Novel Workshop. She’s running another one in June, and I highly recommend it. I found it extremely helpful and enjoyable. Sally hands out plenty of information and sets useful exercises. Her expert comments on the exercises provide very helpful advice for all participants.
If you’re wondering about this genre, I did too, once. Until one day when I felt things were getting on top of me and I happened to have a romance with me and I let it take me away to another world. Pocket novels are a form of escapism. Sometimes, it’s just what you need.
After my previous post, Erika recommended that I watch a recent TV programme. I won’t repeat the link here, as most of you won’t understand it, but I’m devoting this post to it.
In the programme, three people in their forties return to the schools where they were bullied to confront their former bullies. The former bullies – two of them, in each case – are not told whom they’re going to meet in advance and have no idea what’s going to happen. The hero (that’s how they’re described in the programme) enters the room and initiates a discussion about how they suffered as children.
In each case, the former bullies react in a different way. In one, a woman, who doesn’t remember the actions attributed to her, says, “If I hit you, there must have been a reason.” Later, she tells the hero, “You need to think what you did to make children hit you.”
In another case, a man, who remembered it happening, says, “You asked for it,” meaning that the hero behaved in such a way that bullying was inevitable.
In the third case, the bullies admitted that the bullying took place and apologised.
I found the programme fascinating, but I’m not sure I agree with the way it was organised or with all the conclusions viewers were encouraged to draw. When you’re accused of something, especially something you don’t remember doing, and especially when the accusation is sprung on you without warning, you generally do your best to defend yourself. Those people might have thought differently after reflection, but they weren’t given time for that.
Nearly forty years had passed since the events described. The people had all changed since then. I don’t think it was fair to blame those people for what happened when they were young children who didn’t know what they were causing.
The suggestion that the boy asked for the bullying, or brought it on himself, was dismissed as ridiculous, but I suspect it was true – it certainly was in my case. I came to expect to be bullied and so I behaved in a way that would make it almost inevitable – not intentionally, of course.
Another thing I didn’t like about the programme was its implication that all bullying includes physical violence.
BUT there were parts I liked and agreed with completely. The fact that bullying can influence future profession, life style, country of residence and more. The importance of talking about what happened.
So if a lot of people watched that programme, I think that was good, because it showed that the effects of bullying go much further than the playground. I wish there were a simple solution. Any solution has to be based on more education and more adult involvement. Beyond that, I don’t know what can be done to prevent bullying.
Miriam Drori, Author