Who would have thought that a year after Lockdown we would still be in it?
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| Photo by Jennifer Pittam Still in Lockdown, Human? |
We've had some easements, true, but in essence, I am writing this from home in London, with currently 127,000 deaths in the UK. A tragedy to 127,000 families, naturally - but as with war and other tragedies, there is incidental progress in science and technology - new treatments for acute respiratory illness, the painstaking work to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, the development of every possible kind of face mask and even a much more user-friendly form of video-link software called Zoom.
Photo by Shutterstock
As a Clerk of the Court I used the video-link only for vulnerable witnesses before 2020, but now it's routine in courts all over the land. I also attend classes in literature and creative workshops on Zoom. This week I got out my writer's notebook read from my short story, 'I Remember Very Well' at a World Book Day event hosted by Staffordshire Poet Laureate, Mel Wardle Woodend and her adorable guinea pig, Scruffy (though Scruffy kept clear of the camera on this occasion).
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| World Book Day Event Live From Staffordshire |
It was an inspiring 'Meet the Authors' event, in which poets and novelists read from their published work to an attentive audience. In the day job I regularly commanded the entire court to 'All Rise' and read the charge directly to the accused's face, but this was different, somehow, and a tad nerve-wracking. Still, it was a great night; poems and fiction extracts that were vibrant, contemporary, poignant and mystical.
'I Remember Very Well' is a historical fiction piece set in WWII (yes, controversial to call any time within living memory 'historical' I know; but I subscribe to the view that if it's a time that's gone, then it has a historical perspective).
My story is set partly in London's East End and partly in wartime France; it was published as one of an anthology 'Christmas Wartime Tales' (seasonal, you would think, but these short stories are varied and fascinating, and the volume still popular with readers). I'm now working on a series.
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To download a copy of 'I Remember Very Well' and a dozen other short stories set in WWII, please go here:
Jennifer Pittam has been published in: Aquarist & Pondkeeper, Astrology Monthly, Cosmopolitan, Ether Books, People's Friend, Prediction Magazine, Romany Routes, The Lady.
Competitions won: Coast to Coast Short Story Competition, 2nd Prize; Writers' Village Flash Fiction Competition, 1st Prize.
