Monthly Archives: July 2015

Writing prompt – bridges

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Clifton Suspension Bridge cr JDarleyThere’s something breathlessly astonishing about bridges, the way they span dizzying gaps, link places and people. Iain Banks set an entire novel on a bridge (one of my favourite books, actually), and it makes sense when you consider the possibilities they present.

By its very nature of hanging in space, a bridge offers an element of danger, while equally providing a sense of safety, potential for escape, and, of course, outstanding views.

This week, begin to write a tale set on a bridge, and see where it takes you.

If you create something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to JudyDarley(at)gmail.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.

Book review – The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

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The-Miniaturist coverThis richly detailed, immersive book draws you into the life of Nella Oortman, 18 years old in 1968 and freshly married to a man she barely knows. At the start of her story, she arrives in Amsterdam, a very different place to the rural Assendelft she’s left behind. Her life is on the brink of changing forever, but not in the ways she anticipates.

Told solely from the point of view of this naïve yet spirited girl, The Miniaturist is a story that crackles with suspense, straining at the seams with vivid descriptions and characters so finely sketched they seem utterly real. Within the first few pages we meet Marin, the stern sister-in-law with a hunger for distant shores, and Cornelia, the servant who will prove a crucial ally as the novel unfolds, and Otto, the first black man Nella has ever seen.

The actual miniaturist of the title, however, is a far more intangible creature, difficult to meet and impossible to grasp, yet armed with an uncanny knowledge of Nella’s new household and its many mysteries.

Continue reading →

Eco-art in Bristol

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Bristol Whales2 cr Judy DarleyI recently encountered a pair of whales in the centre of Bristol. Not in the harbour, where you might expect the occasional sighting of a cormorant, but in a fountain on Millennium Square.

Bristol Whales cr Judy Darley

Made from Somerset willow woven into the two immense marine mammals, it’s a truly imposing work, with 70,000 plastic bottles, collected at the Bath Half and Bristol 10k forming the swirling, glimmering ocean they swim through.

Bristol Whales, the tail-cr Judy Darley

And yes, those are bottle tops hanging from its imposing tail.

It’s a really dramatic, beautiful way to draw attention to the 15 million bottles we send to landfill every day – apparently around eight million tonnes of plastic end up in oceans each year, equivalent to the body weight of 45,000 blue whales.

So the message is, avoid single use plastic, upcycle and, when you’re thirsty, think of the whales.

The artwork will be in situ until 1st September 2015, when, I presume, the whales will migrate to warmer waters. Find more details at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-33548708 and www.bristol2015.co.uk/bristol-whales/

Writing prompt – cloud

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A Cloud Being Born cr Judy DarleyI was at the beach last summer when a strange fog rolled in. One of my companions said it was the result of a cloud being born far out at sea, and forgetting to rise before travelling over the land. Curious!

As we lay there, trying to soak up the sun, we found ourselves bathed in icy water droplets instead. I think it makes an eerie shot – what other reasons, supernatural say, could there be for such an event on a hot summer’s day? What if, instead of dispersing, the fog just kept getting thicker?

If you create something prompted by this, please let me know by sending an email to Judy(at)socket creative.com. With your permission, I’d love to share it on SkyLightRain.com.