
“There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.”
Salvador Dali
A tale of two cinemas
Both Leiston and Aldeburgh cinemas are independent, both are run on a not for profit basis, but although just four miles apart, they cater for very different markets.


Role reversal
I’m rather proud that Belinda is now the entrepreneur in our house. Her jewellery business is growling, as more people come to value her creativity, and I’m happy to sit quietly researching my next book. Our future looks bright!

A Suffolk retirement?
I spent a captivating evening at the new Castle Community Centre on Framlingham, listening to Suffolk writers describing why Suffolk is special to them.

On my doorstep
I hope we never take for granted how lucky we are to live just three miles from an arthouse cinema that shows National Theatre live performances.

Happiness is new for me
I’ve never allowed myself to celebrate my successes, but this week, with two milestones passed, I might just manage.


Home is wherever I hang my hat.
I like wearing a hat, but when I met someone I know wearing his, I did not recognise him!

It’s not all bad!
There are many places worse than Leiston to live. But if you’ve always been here, you perhaps don’t appreciate how lucky we are here.

I’m supposed to be retired, but . . . .
It’s tragic that people are swayed by nasty posters like this. Luckily, there’s a brilliant charity I’m now working with, who use facilitated conversations to challenge racism and prejudice.


Belonging
I’ve never felt that I belonged, and have preferred always to observe and often write objectively about what I see and hear. But Leiston is different, and I keep meeting interesting people with strong connection to my past, and more often then not, to Belinda’s family, who have lived here for generations. I think I might have finally arrived at the place I need to be.

I went to church yesterday
Blaxhall church features on the cover of my latest book, and I was happy to accept an invitation to attend a communion service. But when it came to actually taking communion, I felt unable to go up to the altar rail so stayed in my pew. As a Quaker, taking communion would somehow not have been authentic.

New uses for old buildings
I’ve been exploring Snape Maltings, with my friend Peter and his camera! This is the video we produced.

More tea vicar?
Our new home, Dunn’s Barn, is a few yards from Leiston church, and yesterday we met the vicar for coffee and conversation. The church and Quaker Meeting House face similar challenges, being costly to maintain and with too few turning up on Sunday mornings.

Creative Leiston
One of my goals in moving to Leiston was that I would focus on my writing, and leave the world of social enterprise behind. But then I discovered that 50 yards from my front door, a young couple have created a bold vision, and a community interest company through which it will be delivered.


Learning to relax
One of my goals for 2023 is to learn to relax, and not stress about things that probably won’t happen. This is taking me longer than I thought!

Learning from other writers
Both Ronald Blythe and Paul Remarque wrote from experience, about things they felt strongly about. This shows in their writing, and the popularity of their books. This gives me a clue about the subject of my next book.


“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
George Bernard Shaw