Ah, lovely Trafalgar Square. When I first lived in England, you had to cross an extremely busy street to get from the main part of the square to the National Gallery. Today, that street is a pedestrian-only zone.

Definitely an improvement.

Now that I have pointed out that I am able to see that some changes are good, let me just say that, in general, change disturbs me. Not on an intellectual level, but on an emotional level.

When I go to London with Todd, there’s quite a bit of “Oh, that’s where that great Vietnamese Restaurant used to be” — “oh, and here’s where the Dillons used to be that got the windows broken in that football riot” — “oh no, that cool little shop in the tube station where I could always find a Diet Tango is gone” — “you’re kidding, they moved the Tourist Information AGAIN?”

And then we go to Norwich, where’s there’s now a MALL on Castle Hill, and the library’s in a gigantic glass building which also has a museum and a Pizza Express.

Okay, yes, these aren’t all bad changes. The old Norwich library (which burned down) was one of those ugly 1960’s type buildings — no great loss.

But part of me wants the world to stay the same. Seeing bits disappear when I’m not looking is like glancing down at my feet to find part of the floor has disappeared.

Which has me thinking.

The Regency was a time of great change, in so many areas. Stunning, staggering change.

How must Regency folk have felt about this? Because, however they felt, they surely noticed it. Did they hate it? Love it? Vary in opinion?

What do you think? Did London folk get upset when buildings were knocked down and streets torn up to make Regent Street and Regent Park? Did older folks complain that fast roads were ruining both the countryside and young men’s morals?

And do you get bothered when things change?

All comments welcome!

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER and mourner of the tastiest Vietnamese restaurant in London

The Winner of an autographed copy of A Compromised Lady is…..LILY!!

Lily, please email us with your name and address at riskies@yahoo.com

In three shakes of a Kangaroo tail your book will be on its way!

Once again, my life seems to be taking on a theme (though not on purpose!). This week the theme is Princesses, both fairy-tale and not-so-much.

Last week, of course, saw the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana on August 31st. I was always something of a Diana-phile. The royal wedding happened when I was a little kid, and it was my first taste of “romance” (oh, the slippery slope! It started with a tiara…). I remember snuggling with my mom on the couch in the dark early morning hours to watch Diana make her way up the aisle of St. Paul’s with that monster train. (I then played Dress-Up Princess with my mom’s bathrobe and a bedsheet for days after, though really ‘princess’ never supplanted pirate/archaeologist/ballerina in my career plans). It was so completely enchanting, and that sparkly storybook atmosphere of it all just made the sordid fall all the sadder. And 10 years ago (was it really that long ago?) I again got up in the dark early morning to watch much more tragic pomp and pageantry (and those sad little boys) on the TV.

Recently I read Tina Brown’s dirt-dishing book The Diana Chronicles, which left no gossipy stone unturned. Majorly dysfunctional families, tragic ignorance on all sides, the worst judgment in men I have ever seen –it was a train wreck, for sure, but it kept me turning the pages all night. A very sad story indeed.

And, tonight, I’m going with a friend and her two daughters to see the Disney Princesses on Ice! I’m probably just as excited as them because (confession time) I love Disney movies. Especially Beauty and the Beast, with Belle wandering the village with her nose in a book. These same girls and I went last summer to see a road show of the B&B musical, and they wore their yellow tulle Belle dresses. I was jealous, though I have a large Disney princess pillow I lean on while I’m writing that is just as nice. Tonight they’re coming dressed as Snow White and Cinderella (maybe–the younger girl keeps changing her mind. Cinderella or Jasmine? Or Belle again?). There will undoubtedly be junk food and caffeine galore, vast quantities of princess merch, and a fabulous time had by all. (And, after all that sugar and grease, there’ll be hell to pay at bedtime, but I will be gone by then!). It’s a striking contrast between “real” princesshood, and Disney princesshood.

When I browse the romance book shelves, too, I often find myself drawn to titles with “princess” or “prince” in them. I do enjoy a good royal fantasy, though I haven’t yet had an idea for a “princess” book of my own. What about you? Do you like princess stories? And what’s your favorite Disney movie? (C’mon–you can tell me…)

Janet’s post is going up late today, so I’m jumping in to ask a quick question.

As we’ve just done the Ang Lee Sense & Sensibility in the Jane Austen Book Club, should we do the BBC S&S next?

Or what do you think of the idea of doing the four major Pride & Prejudice adaptations, in the order they were made?

Or do you think we shouldn’t repeat a novel yet, but should do a Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park next, perhaps?

Does easy availability matter to you? How about length?

Thanks!

Cara

If this post is disjointed, it only reflects my current state of mind! I have just put my oldest child onto the bus to middle school and the other one onto the elementary school bus all alone. Needless to say we are an emotional lot this morning.

Now I’m taking stock of what I achieved this summer in my writing and figuring out where to go from here. Actually, I’m rather pleased. I got more done this summer than in the past.

The big milestone was finishing the second draft of my balloonist story. I think it helped that this year I didn’t set unrealistic expectations for what I’d achieve during the precious hours I had to write the two weeks the kids were in day camp or in the early morning while they were still asleep.

The other thing that helped this summer was my new (to me) Alphasmart. I took it on vacation and continued on the rough draft of the story I started during last November’s National Novel Writing Month. I just downloaded the lot to my regular computer and discovered I’d roughed out almost 10,000 words. Here’s to my Alphie! 🙂

However, the past week or so I’ve had to neglect my muse for post-vacation cleanup, back to school preparation (stuff like taking my new middle schooler in to practice opening her locker and walk the route of her different classes) and the last hurrahs of summer. On Monday we went to the New York State Fair. One of our favorite things there is the Poultry House–who could have imagined there were so many varieties of ducks, bunnies, chickens, etc…? It’s smelly and noisy but a feast for the eyes. I even saw some Old English Game hens and cocks: descendants of what may be one of the earliest English breeds of chicken, developed for fighting but now generally raised by fanciers. Handsome birds, aren’t they? Anyway, I am telling myself the outing counts as research…

So Riskies and friends, whatever your occupation, how do you stay productive during the summer? Or do you just give it up at some point? And then how do you get back into the swing of things?

Also, for the writers among you, there’s a contest running right now at
Writer Unboxed, the prize being a full set of Writer’s Market guides worth over $150.00. All you have to do to enter is create your own word. An example of one entry they’ve received so far: “Altugooglious (adjective): Ranking high, primarily the top ranking, on a Google search results page.”

Elena, hoping the Riskies will continue to grow in altugoogliosity
www.elenagreene.com