A to Z Challenge – An introduction

Whilst going through the sign up list I came across The #atoz of Aunty Amo and I loved the idea of introducing yourself to fellow challengers with an a to z, so I’ve stole it!

A – Amydot – My nickname, and twitter name. Just something my Mam and Brother have called me for a longtime.
B – Bradford – My second home for about 3 years. Haven’t been back since 2010 and they have the best takeaway curries!
C – Cherry Blossoms – A tattoo I have on my foot that I got when I was 18. Only ink I have and I still love it.
D – Dan – The name of my brother and my boyfriend is a Dan also. Two of the most important people in my life.
E – Egypt – In primary school I wanted to be an archeologist, and have always wanted to see the sights of Egypt, and I still would. Call me Amydot Tomb raider!
F – Fashion – Studied fashion at college and received top marks, something which I am very proud of. I have created work for dancers and had work shown in a museum.
G – George R R Martin – currently reading through his Song of Ice and Fire series. Best books I’ve ever read.
H – Heights – My biggest fear, have tried to conquer this by climbing York minster and abseiling the Tyne Bridge but I’m still a wimp if my feet aren’t on solid ground.
I – I; a name I call myself!
J – Javisnail – the first poem I wrote for this blog, about a snail that travels the world.
K – kindle – it has changed my life!
L – Laughter – I love nothing more than a bit of silliness! I’m fairly upbeat all of the time! I believe a sense of humor is needed armor, joy in ones heart and laughter on ones lips shows that the person, deep down has a good grasp on life!
M – Milk – I’m not pregnant but have cravings for milk!
N – Northumberland – Home!
O – Oranges – another craving!
P – Poetry – rhyming comes quite easy to me, but when I say I write poems I feel like I sound like an emotional wreck.
Q – Queues – I’m impatient and have low blood pressure which causes me to get light headed and sometimes pass out if I stand for too long. I’m the person in the queues that always complains!
R – Reading – aiming to read more blogs and more books.
S – Staffys – I have a beautiful rescue dog Amber, loves nothing more than her ears kissed and being tucked in your dressing gown. Hate how they have such a bad name!
T – Turkey – Been a couple of times and love it! Pamukkale was amazing and there’s nothing quite like a Turkish bath!
U – Untold story of Scotland – the inspiration behind my a to z challenge.
V – Verbs – I am learning Spanish and find their verb conjugations very difficult. Reading a book on these at the moment.
W – Writing – recently took a break to focus on family and suffered from writing block. Just getting back into it.
X – The letter I am hating for the A-Z
Y – Yes I can – I need to be a more positive person.
Z – Zorba the Greek – a song that will always get me dancing.

The Stories of the Northlands Begins

In concrete jungles of brick and stone,
Down in’t south you’ve never known,
Of monsters, ghosts, beasts and boars,
That dwell within the lands up North.
A story told, a whisper shared,
In earnest so a life is spared,
For myths and legends oft come true,
In the lands up to the North of you.

To be continued…

This is an opening poem for the start of my A to Z challenge.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com

A to Z Challenge Theme Revealed

So the time has come, April is almost upon us and the A to Z Challenge starts. This is my second challenge and I have learnt from last year to prepare, so for over a month I’ve been writing notes and rhymes all on my theme…

The Untold Stories of the Northlands

This is something I’ve worked on before but chose to save it for the April A to Z. Whilst on a trip to Glasgow I wrote The Untold Stories of Scotland and ever since wanted to write something similar about the area I live in. The stories you will read over the month are all based on things around Northumberland England, I can’t promise you these tales are 100% true, in fact you’ll be lucky if they are 1% true…

A huge thank you to Arlee Bird for setting up the challenge! I am looking forward to seeing what the month and challenge brings!
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com

A Storm of Swords – George R. R. Martin

***No Spoiling Ahead***

The third book from the ‘A song of Ice and fire’ series By George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords carries on from where A Clash of Kings left us hanging.

With Series 3 of A Game of Thrones upon us, I couldn’t wait to finish the book. And it took some finishing. A book so vast that it can be bought in 2 halves and the series itself will also be split. It’s took me a few months to finish and my, my has it been emotional.

Book 1, A Game of Thrones, like the Series, sets the scene in Westeros, it introduces you to families and the houses. We learn of the Lannisters, The Baratheons who hold the Iron throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms, The Starks of Winterfell in the North, and the Targereons who ruled before being usurped. You are given first impressions of the characters, taking an instant dislike to the Lannisters and rooting for the Starks, but how this will all change in the books ahead.

Book 2, A Clash of Kings, introduces new characters and families, we learn more of the lesser houses and their alliances. We find the 7 Kingdoms separated by the death of King Robert Baratheon, with 4 possibly 5 people feeling they have rights to the throne, you expect this to be something that isn’t settled amicably, and of course the book ends with a battle of the Black Water, where 2 kings clash in a fight for Kings Landing.

With the first 2 books, merely a build up, people moving about and preparing for war, building their armies and defending. You expect book 3, A Storm of Swords to be a big one, with battles, beheading and more betrayal. But this book is more than you could ever even take a stab at. You develop a love for characters you were hoping would take a good bloody beating in the first 2, the chapters in the first 2 which were slightly a little boring (I’m talking about Catelyn and Sansa) are some of the best, with every chapter leaving you in suspense, by ending with a shocker.

In true George R R Martin Style there are deaths (a-plenty) that are sudden and you just won’t see you coming, so expect many twists and turns in the upcoming series.

If you are a fan of the TV series, the books are not going to disappoint. They are everything the series is and more. I feel they are a tad more fantasy than the series, and one thing I love is you hear more stories, told as tales about aurochs and giants and dragons. The book plays with your emotions and I have high hopes for book 4; A Feast for Crows.

The only negative thing about A Storm if Swords was the amount of people in the book, for this I am glad I watched series 1 and 2 before reading, as I already had an understanding of the characters and had an image of what they look like. There is also a section in the back of the book explaining who people are and I do have to refer to this often.

In summary, Im now a game of thrones geek, I even follow them on twitter and this book is by far the best thing I’ve read, I’d give it 10 out of 10 and I recommend you to read A Song of Ice and Fire series.

An Apology

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, and my mind hasn’t been in the right place to write.

A family member has been very poorly in hospital and I would rather focus all my attention on that at the moment than writing.

I received some very kind words from Wendell A Brown and I can not thank you enough for you helping me smile in a dark time.

I apologise to the wonderfully talented C.P Singleton42 for being unable to finish my Alphabet Zoo, and completing his A-Z Challenge with him. I promise to read your challenge between hospital visits and wallowing in self pity. Hehe.

I will be taking part in Aprils Big A-Z challenge as I already have some notes, scribbles and a plan. I am looking forward to it, but for now I shall be taking an indefinite break.

Hasta luego
amydot

Lost

I seem so far away,
That my head’s been torn apart,
My mind has gone miles today,
I’ve misplaced my tired heart.

My eyes see thoughts and thinkings,
And the world becomes a blur,
Far in an unknown distance,
I feel not me or ‘her’.

I’ve left behind my muchness,
Or sealed it in a box,
Behind my face of toughness,
Im broken and I’m lost.

The Fears

I recently read a post where the blogger decided to share their fears. I liked this, because my brain decides that I have loads.

Since being little I have suffered from night terrors, In other words I scream in my sleep. At what? Well anything, the thing is when I wake up in fits of panic I have no or very little idea of what I am scared of. But of those I do remember, I have been frightened of a Polaroid camera that was sat on a shelf, a boat, spiders and Dracula. In fact usually they are totally irrational.

But like everyone I have some fears in ‘real life’ too…

Heights – Been trying to conquer this for a while now, by trying things like abseiling the Tyne Bridge and climbing York Minster. Climbing to the top of York minster led to a mild panic attack whilst on all fours, refusing to stand up. I was talked through it by a guy with a very strong german accent. He pointed to a rickety wooden ladder up the side of the building and said “at least you don’t have to climb that ladder”, helping me up and onto the next lot of stairs, to an amazing view…. Wouldn’t do it again.
It hasn’t done me any favours, my boyfriend recently went up to the Skydeck in Melbourne, Australia, and I got the willies from even the photos. He is certain he’ll get me to go up there, but I’m rather certain I won’t.

Masks – Ok I admit, this one is irrational. I blame horror movies, proving that anyone in a mask is going to murder you and chop you up with a butchers knife. Kabuki masks are by far the worst, it’s the whole emotionless or blank expression that unnerves me. Even opening the door to five year olds on Halloween is a challenge.

Woodlice – yea those horrible grey scuttling creatures. Spiders, although not being their biggest fan, I can do the whole pop a glass over and throw them outside, but Woodlice are a different story. I have once been confined to the bathroom for an hour and a half till my brother searched the whole of the house to get rid of it!

Am I dramatic? Absolutely. But I blame my mother, and the almighty freak-outs when a butterfly comes near her.

So do you have any fears?

Alphabet Zoo – The Elephant

The elephants in our British zoo,
Are always catching colds and flus,
Because they come from the sun,
Where temperature peak at 41.
And imagine if you had a nose,
Longer than a garden hose,
Imagine if you had to sneeze,
With your nose so long and free,
You’d try to blow a sweet Achoo,
That sounds more like a big HAROOOO!

Inspiration: World’s Hide and Seek Champion

I feel recently I have lost the talent for writing that I once had, rhyming was my first language at one point and I oozed creativity. Now I feel I am struggling and lost and way out my depths.

Research and writing has begun for Aprils big A-Z challenge, giving myself plenty of time to prepare, I feel 2 months is no way enough time for a whole alphabet. Warming up with Alphabet zoo I kinda feel back at school, writing a poem for an English project and throwing words together and hoping they’ll just ‘do’. But really I’ve lost all the love and excitement I once got from writing.

When I first started the blog, my first post was Javisnail, something so silly it was about a snail that travelled the world. But still when I read it back, I get a little buzz from some of the verses and even chuckle at myself. I miss that.

My best work was all around the same time, I could write a poem on a walk with my dog, while speaking with friends, an idea would just pop to mind, but I don’t have that feeling anymore and I’m desperately trying to find where its hiding, but it appears that inspiration is the hide and seek champion.

A great deal of inspiration came from a friend of mine, my creativity bounced off his and his quirky conversation always made my mind think in a different and humorous way, which is always a great ingredient for a poem. Being native Spanish, his curiosity in English was always hot topic, and it made me think alot more about our language.

It’s such a sad thing when you make such a good friend, they change how you think about things, and makes such an impression on you, yet one day, out of the blue, you’ve grown apart. And now there’s not even a hello.

Although I found my poetic side when I met him, I know I’ll find it again, I’m not ready to give up on writing, it will just take alot more practice.

Alphabet Zoo – The Dung Beetle

For why you’d want to be a bug,
That spends it’s day rolling dung,
From camels cows and kangaroos,
This beetle collects and rolls it’s poos,
And stores it fresh in a hole,
For dinner, stews and casseroles,
Once he made a huge poo pie,
And invited round the bugs to try.
Cockroach he turned up his nose,
And said that pie just didn’t go,
Cricket said I won’t eat that,
Lady bird: ‘that will make me fat’,
The fly he said I don’t share my dung,
And beetle gagged and off he run.
The dung bug sighed and then he,
Thought and thought ‘well more for me’.