14 Comments
Feb 2Liked by Hattie Crisell

PS Happy Birthday to your mother. My great-grandad was Welsh, we go back to Rhossili 1520. And earlier. X

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Thank you! Have you visited? Rhossili beach is absolutely stunning – I think it was voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It's not far from where my mum is from!

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I long to visit Rhossili...but no, not yet. Important words 'not yet'. Dylan Thomas's favourite beach! I feel as though it is inside me, the ancestral land and seascape. My niece received her medical GP at Swansea and visited with my sister. That niece is now doing a stint as a flying doctor in Australia. We get around! Interesting that your mother came from nearby. Our ancestors probably mingled Hattie. One line of ours that remained became oyster crackers at the Mumbles! See you soonish and all the best with your writing!

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And btw my novel The Seasonwife is now up on Amazon. If you ever get a pause in life - I know pauses are rare - I would love to receive an impression from a writer I fondly respect.

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Feb 2Liked by Hattie Crisell

I'm up for a Creative Writing Hour - or I will be - pre dawn or dawnish here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I'm so pleased about Michael Magee and would love to read his book.

Like you, I feel sad and frustrated by those who think equal outcome is equally obtainable. Equal opportunity to me means shelter, food, and paying the bills without stress.

On that note, I gave a coin to a homeless man the other day. He wanted to hug and I declined explaining I don't hug any stranger, I'm just not that touch safe, but we had a virtual hug. Then he ran up to my car, motioning for me to wind down the window. My son was in the passenger seat and homeless man addressed him, advising my son to study, 'to not turn out like me'. 'You are a good man,' I said, tearing up. 'Good and kind.'

When I worked as a young reporter in Europe thanks to an amazing Paris-based scholarship, I always interviewed the poor - the people of the streets, the people of the fields. I learned so much from them.

Whether a country is successful or not is best gauged by interviewing not those at the top but those who live on the ground.

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I love these thoughts Saige, thank you. You're right – without our basic needs met (food, safety, warmth, clean water), anything beyond that is near impossible.

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Feb 2Liked by Hattie Crisell

I like your twee hands dude 😘 and I’m seeing that film tomorrow eve! I’m taking tissues!! Xx

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Hattie, thanks for the recommendation. As a substack writer myself, I love hearing from readers, even if they don’t have anything profound to say. So “well done you!”

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I loved reading this! Thank you!

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Happy birthday to your wonderful mom, Hattie :) Close to home sounds interesting, I'l have a look. Not many books tend to tackle social mobility, I find, and what a loss.

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Thank you Sunshine!

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Feb 2Liked by Hattie Crisell

Yes, please! I will be there 😊

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Big smiles at the end. I hope you had a wonderful movie date with your mom..

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Thanks Janisse – I did and I'm very lucky.

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