Saturday's Circle of Hands gathering was rather thin on the ground, but never mind. The event lasted from 9pm-1am, regardless.

We were joined by Paul McDermott, author of Johnny Dupl'eau; 2e0dtoeric, author of Five Short Stories; hazeldixon, whose short story Acid Rain Rocks features in the anthology Desolate Places; chaptertwo, who is new to writing; xfangs_upx, who writes fanfic; and Katie, who also writes fanfic.

Subjects discussed ranged from our latest writing projects to the correct colour of Jared Leto's eyes. Spike Milligan, snoring cats, irritating computers and (in accordance with C of H tradition) chocolate were also mentioned.

The plasterer has been! (Yes, this is a change of subject...) Now we've got a brown rectangle of damp plaster where a door once stood. Before we moved into this house, two small rooms had been knocked into one. However, the job had not been properly thought-out or finished, as there were two doors, almost side by side, leading into the same room. We decided to block one up and free up wall space - hence the plasterer, today.

I've now got a title for the Sci-Fi story which is set on the Moon - The Arms of Nuit. I've not finished tweaking it yet, but at the moment it stands at 3,500 words.

Question:- Why do we call them "the Moon", "the Earth" and "the Sun", but we don't say "the Jupiter" or "the Pluto"?

Cat and her father (my brother-in-law) were here on Tuesday. Emily was thrilled that her adopted playmate was here twice in one week. On Sundays, when Cat's due to arrive, Emily sits waiting for her. Once Cat's here, Emily won't leave her alone, demanding cuddles and games of tug-o-war with her beloved rubber duck or Oinky Pig (a rubber pig which makes a loud "Oink!" noise when chomped). Anyway, Tony had his ears washed; Emily insisted upon it.

The first draft of Rowan is now complete, and achieved the 100,000 word count which I had aimed for when I began writing it on August 6th last year.

A recent email from Hadley Rille Books informed me that Ruins Metropolis (which features my 3,000-word tale of the Caldy Fae) is currently being printed and should land on bookshop shelves - physical and cyber alike - very soon.

Anyhooooooooooow, to celebrate, you're all invited to the next gathering of the Circle of Hands, which will take place on Saturday May 31st at 9pm (GMT). If you're unsure how that relates to your own time zone, simply Google an international clock.

Previous gatherings of the Circle of Hands have attracted international publishers, writers of most genres, and many enthusiastic readers. Chat about writing - or anything, really!

Locate the Circle of Hands chatroom via my official website on:- http://www.adelecosgrove-bray.com via the 'News & Chat' page.

As always, courtesy is mandatory in the Circle of Hands chatroom.

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Not exactly a wash-out, but a storm-out....

Last night's Circle of Hands chat was seriously disrupted by the storm howling over the UK. We had 80-90 mph gales, driving rain, hail stones and, in some places, heavy snow. Maybe storm damage had hit somewhere, as everyone had continual problems staying logged-in to the chatroom.

My own computer crashed three times - and it rarely crashes, ordinarily. And this morning I had a small heap of emails from people who said they'd had problems also.

I checked the chatroom this morning and everything seems to be working ok there. Maybe the problem was further down the line?

More about our weather here:- http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWQ99m0KwgKF0KedTIKquA6fBeLQ

The algid sky is doing its utmost to remind me that January is still winter. The weekend, however, saw us enjoying a long walk over Caldy Hill. The dogs love it up there; there’s so much for them to sniff at! It’s a wonder their little noses aren’t worn out… A whole world is available to them which we’re oblivious to.

Riverside Writers met last night, and a lively evening it was too, with three new members joining us. January’s writing project had been set on the theme of ‘the diamond wristwatch’, and as always everyone had produced completely different work, including a smattering of poems – unusual for our group, as poets are thin on the ground.

Over the weekend, Richard managed to plant most of the climbing roses, which we’ll train up the new trellis fence. There is room enough for more roses yet. I do like roses, particularly the perfumed varieties. Plus they’re tough plants which can withstand Wirral’s microclimate, which ranges from baking heat in summer to tearing oceanic gales in spring and autumn.

Hmm, yeah – it’s that time again! Note the invitation above. Do feel free to pass that on to any interested parties, by the way. I hope to find you all in the Circle of Hands chatroom.

A big thank you goes to everyone who made the inaugural scheduled chat in the Circle of Hands chat room such fun! Who would have thought the gathering would have lasted for over three hours? It was a pleasure to chat with such eloquent and creative people.

Another will be scheduled in a few weeks time. I’ll let you know the date and time in due course.

Meanwhile, sometime today my niece is due to arrive! Tomorrow, she has to attend an induction day and her parental home is too far from the venue to enable her to arrive on time. So she’ll be travelling from here instead, which will make things easier for her. And then she’ll be back at her own home to finalise her plans to move into The Big Wide World and university life.

When I left home, my worldly possessions consisted of two small pans, one kitchen knife, a pile of books and cassette tapes, an acoustic guitar (which I never did learn to play), six cups, six plates, zealously guarded sheets of poetry, a spider plant, an alarm clock, one bar of soap, two pairs of shoes and one bin-bag filled with clothes. Oh, and a new duvet.

My brother Eric presented me with a cardboard box. He said something like, “These things might look odd but you’ll find them useful.” Inside the box was a screwdriver, a light bulb, string, a DIY manual, a box of matches, a small torch (with batteries), a hammer, spare fuses, packs of nails and screws, and a week’s groceries. There was also a packet of chocolate digestives. He said I’d eat the lot within a week then have a fright at the price when I came to buy some more. He was right. This cardboard box contained what was by far the most useful present I’ve ever received! (Thanks, Eric! I still have the screwdriver!)

Travelling to my new job was simply easier from my new home than it had been from my parental home. And I was nineteen years old – just a few months older than my niece is now – and ready for independence. I was offered free use of a dilapidated Victorian house in return for keeping an eye on the place until the owner organised its renovation.

Funny how she didn’t mention the ghost who shared the place also….

*chuckles* Can you remember leaving your parental home for the first time?

Drrrrrrrrrr- umm Roll!!!

You are invited to the first scheduled chat to be held on my website.

This will take place on Saturday, September 1st, 9pm British time.

Join us via the News & Chat page on http://www.adelecosgrove-bray.com