I like waking up to emails on my BlackBerry. Sad but true – it makes me feel connected and busy and that’s the best way to be in my mind. I especially like waking up to emails like the one I got this morning, telling me that my blog – this humble little website – had been featured as one of the “10 Awesome Student Blogs You Should Follow” on freelancestudents.co.uk!
You can see the others on the list here.I would like to congratulate my fellow finalists and thank the folks over at Freelance Students for promoting my site.
I would also like to say a great big hello and welcome to any new folk who may have found their way here through said article. I hope you enjoy laurapatricia.co.uk, and I would like to invite you to join my little community by interacting with my website if you wish. Leave a comment, drop by and see me on Twitter, whatever. I love to hear from readers and see what you think of my little corner of the interweb.
As for my loyal followers, well, I am sorry for ignoring you guys lately. I am moving house, yet again, and its been a busy few weeks (when is it not?) I promise I’ll be back with an update real soon!
Thanks for stopping by folks!
In 2008, a blind man called Dave and his sighted guide became the third and forth people in the world to run seven marathons in seven days, on seven different continents. They embarked on this near impossible feat in aid of Guide Dogs UK – their goal was to raise one million pounds for the charity which had changed Dave’s life a few years previously by providing him with a seeing-eye dog. (For those who are wondering, no, the dog did not run the races with him, but he was waiting for his master at the final finish line in London.)
We all know, I am sure, about the great work that Guide Dogs UK does in raising and training dogs and puppies to assist the blind and partially sighted. These dogs not only provide a service that allows the user to be far more independent; they also give the user a lifelong friend and companion, which is often just as valuable (if not more so). Having a dog to care for gives them a reason to get up in the morning, and a trained assistance dog allows them to lead a full and varied life without having to rely on human carers. And the dogs win too; they get to spend their lives working and using their brains, which is what dogs love best, and they also get to play hard when they’re off duty, often being much loved members of the family and usually staying with them after they have retired from active service. (more…)
Ah, the joys of technology! I am writing this blog from Adam’s parents’ house in Cambridge. On my BlackBerry…
Yes folks, I have now installed the WordPress app on my Curve, so I can blog on the go. Which is good, because what prompted this step was that I was sitting in the back of a car this afternoon a) feeling bad for having neglected this blog and b) lamenting all the time I was wasting just sitting doing nothing. Now, this is no more, and I can be merrily tapping away at these purple keys whenever I feel like it! (more…)
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates, but exciting stuff has been going on! I’ll attempt to give you a rundown of the news before I head off to bash out some articles – hopefully there’ll be a plethora of new stuff up here over the next week or so, so do check back.
The big news is that I was headhunted, and am now the new freelance proofreader/editor of a local magazine! You may not have heard of it, but you’ve probably seen it around. CityLife is distributed on the new Greyhound buses, as well as at ferry terminals, hotels and so on, as well as places like Cascades and Gunwharf. From the next issue onwards, my name will be on it, so do pick up a copy if you spot one. (more…)
Well, I’m back! Pretty good trip overall – a few family arguments and nothing we planned went to plan, but we did a lot and had some memorable moments. Gibraltar was alternately stunning and unimpressive, but always fascinating, and I got some sun even if I did have to wrap up against the wind!
Did you miss me? I hope not, because the next two weeks don’t really look conducive to blogging, so I might not be back for a while after this one – though I will aim to produce at least something to keep you occupied. I still have three movies to review and had some article ideas over the holidays, so watch this space; if I have a spare few minutes I’ll bash something out. I am, as someone said a few weeks ago, “slowly becoming a journalist”! (more…)
Whew! I have just found a few minutes to post here – forgive my absence. A lot has been going on this week and website-updating was, as ever, near the bottom of my list. I am going on holiday tomorrow, so unfortunately this will have to be a fly by posting (pardon the pun), and then I am off to set some stuff to auto-upload while I’m away, so you people don’t feel neglected any more. Just some old poems I’ve got kicking about, but they had to go up eventually so I figured it may as well be now. Let me know what you think.
So, where have I been? (more…)
Hey again. We’re exactly one week away from Crufts now, and I have some exciting news: I am actually going after all!! My wonderful parents kindly offered to pay for my accommodation and transport, so I will be treading the boards of the NEC on Saturday and Sunday and hopefully getting to watch the Toy, Utility, Gundog and Best in Show judging live in the big arena. I have been three times before – once with poor old Dad (2005), once with poor old Ross (2007) and once with Claire (last year) – but this will be the first time I am going all by my lonesome. Still, I cannot wait; I have a list of things I want to do and see, and am off tomorrow to buy the dog papers for their supplements so I don’t miss out on any big events or whatever. I know, I’m a dork, but I don’t care.
I have written an article about why exactly I love Crufts and which are my favourite bits, which you can read here.
There are plenty of other exciting things happening in Laura Land at the moment. (more…)
Well, it’s March, and that only means one thing to me. Not the beginning of Spring, not my Mother’s Birthday, not Mother’s Day (though, yikes, actually, now that you mention it…), not St David’s or St Paddy’s Day, not even the UPSU Elections. Those, while important, are all by-products of March, as far as I am concerned. March, for me, is all about CRUFTS!
It’s the world’s biggest dog show, in case you are typically ignorant, and it starts up in just ten days now. Four solid days of doggie goodness; six hours of TV coverage on More4, DFS TV live streaming on the web, and 12 hours a day of my dear dear friend, Crufts FM radio. Dog nerd heaven? You bet. (more…)
So, once again I have neglected my blog. (In my defense, I did submit new fiction and articles, and there will be a snazzy new review up this weekend…) Why? Because I’ve been in a bad mood, and I rarely write anything worth the binary it’s transmitted in when I’m in a bad mood.
My bad mood writing is self indulgent and rant-y. It’s like those people who put “X thinks their housemate should DIE in a thousand fiery hells for using up all the cheese!!!” as their Facebook status – what are you trying to achieve, and does it really make you feel any better, or the person it’s aimed at repent? Yes, *I* feel better for having gotten it all out, but no one else needs to see it or will care, so I keep it to myself. (more…)
Just a quick post to share something that I think is pretty darn cool. A very good friend, Kirsty Olliffe, tuned in to my radio show recently (Tuesdays, 3 – 5 pm, on Purefm.com) and after watching us on webcam, she drew me and my co host, Melissa Flack, in the studio! I think its a pretty good likeness of both of us, and I’ve never had anyone produce ‘fan art’ of me yet, so I figured I’d share it:
What do you think? Let me know, or send me your own ‘fan art’, if you’re so inclined. Thanks Kirsty for the drawing – I think it’s quite a compliment!
