I have recently read this wonderful book and as a result I am now reading it again. As a born and bread Liverpudlian who has to deal with the cliches and stereotypes, I just want to say thank you for this remarkable book, showing exactly how beautiful Liverpool really is and what it has to offer. He has a huge archive recording the development of the waterfront over the past 5 years which I find fascinating.

Life in a Carpathian mountain village. Saturday, 9 April 2011. Driving out of the village was a bit dodgy as I could hardly see for the tears, and I chickened out of saying goodbye to Bogdan, Luminita and Dan. The road to Britain meant driving round Piatra Craiului and along its northern flank, so it was well over an hour before I could put it behind me and turn my face and focus to the west. Friday, 8 April 2011. I had no excuses, and anyway br.

Abbs holds forth on assorted themes, betes noires and bonnet-dwelling bees. Dr Doolittle was right all along. Some people have such tightly closed minds.

Games and tips to bust blocks and kick your imagination out of bed. Sometimes, the absence of something is as telling as its presence. Something missing, hidden, undeclared, veiled. A person, an object, an emotion. What is the most secret thing you know? What is the worst thing about your job? What do you crave? What feels good against your skin? What are you jealous of? What makes you raging mad? .

BUST BLOCKS, GRAB THE MUSE AND KICK YOUR IMAGINATION OUT OF BED. Oops, what a giveaway. Look for the tiny details about people. Notice how they sit, where they choose to stand. Notice a little habit and what this gives away about them. Write a paragraph about a character on a racecourse, using two small, telling details. Subtext in language of diplomacy.

Hobbs in her tree, keeping an eye on her estate. Hobbs aged about two months. Not slow to cotton on to the biscuits.

Courses for writers of fiction and non-fiction. These will be in the North-West and the South-East, early in April. Make this the year you get serious about your writing.

The Strozzi were rivals .