Diana Dennis

Is it a mistake to go back and visit your old home?

Yesterday I did just that,having first made the phone call to the present owners whom I had never met.

I was going to Kent anyway for a lunch party, being driven down in style from London in a Bentley.

As I walked up the drive of our former home of thirty four years, and heard the front door opening, my eyes filled with tears .It was the sight of the small boy that did it. He stood there with his parents. My mind went back forty years, forty one to be exact,on  April 25th, when we moved in with our three sons. The youngest was the same age as this one standing in the doorway. We were told his older brothers were playing in ‘the wood’ .

This turned out to be the the area we used to call ‘the paddock’ . Dick had planted trees years ago and now it was a wooded area. This is where our two labradors are buried. We scattered Dick’s ashes on their graves;  

The new owners asked why we had left. They could see the attachment I still felt for this 400 yr old house.

But I’m glad I went. And I may go again in the Spring.

MA in Creative Writing Nonfiction at City University London

A new blog is born

In this digital age, our writing course needs a blog. Here it is.

Until we get around to writing a little more, here is some additional information:

The first of its kind in the UK, this course will provide you with the essential skills and supportive environment to complete a full-length non-fiction book.

It MA builds upon City’s existing Creative Writing courses, and on the strengths of the Department of Journalism and Publishing, with its history of excellence in research, writing and reportage.

• his new course is the first of its kind in the UK, and aims to tap into the flourishing narrative nonfiction publishing market
• the course, run mainly in the evening, will appeal to  journalists, academics, subject experts, those wanting to write a memoir or family history, and many others exploring this form of literary journalism
• it is run by award-winning writer and broadcaster Julie Wheelwright, an expert in the
  field of creative non-fiction
• the MA builds upon City’s existing Creative Writing courses, and on the strengths of the Department of Journalism, with its long history of excellence in research, writing and reportage
• the course is unique as you leave with a complete full-length book, rather than a dissertation or other “academic” piece of work

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image credit: MorBCN on Flickr