Saturday 26 March 2011

Diana Wynne Jones

Last night I had a funny dream. I dreamt I was riding a broomstick, flying for miles across the land. I marveled at how the broomstick could take my weight, and how I could still find it comfortable.

I woke up and was reminded of the scene in Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones in which the broom, mop and hoe are reunited. This made me smile - despite the fact that it has been years since I read that book.

I logged on to twitter this afternoon to find that today Diana Wynne Jones has passed away after a long battle with cancer. I found her books to be an inspiration to me as a child, teenager and adult. Do not dismiss her books as 'childrens books'. She preceded J K Rowling in writing books to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

I think my favourite of her books are Fire & Hemlock and Howl's Moving Castle. The latter has been made into a film, which I am happy to say I have not seen, as the images evoked by her writing have stayed with me for far longer than anything on television ever could.

I am going to search my bookshelves to find my copy of Fire & Hemlock and re read it tonight (possibly by candlelight during Earth Hour) and remember a woman who gifted hundreds and thousands of children with doors to other worlds, Seven League Boots, and their very own castle's in the Air.

RIP Diana Wynne Jones x

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Fat Sheep Food Challenge

Some of the 'Flock'on twitter are holding a #FatSheepFoodChallenge to see how many items of food they can win in this year - currently I am not doing very well but that could all change this month - I will attempt to post a chart of our progress so far at some point today!