The end of a journey is the beginning of another
Having to retire at 65 due to a back injury came as a huge shock, it was completely unexpected, and I was unprepared for such a dramatic change in my thinking and my lifestyle.
One of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome was what to do with all this time I had on my hands. The nature of my back problem prevented me from any form of work at this stage, and my mental state suffered accordingly.
What to do with myself? Except to firstly stop feeling sorry for myself. Negative thoughts only promote an “I can't” attitude. I had been a professional counsellor and a vocational rehabilitation consultant, so taking on some part-time work as a counsellor was always an option. But right at this moment, my heart wasn’t in it. No good for me, and certainly no good for any client.
As the weeks turned into months, I allowed myself to simply drift from day to day. A turning point came as I walked through a big department store's book department, I remember, noticing in particular, that while there was plenty of activity in the main sections of the department, the children's section was empty. As I made my way past rows and rows of children's books, I couldn’t help noticing how inappropriate some of the titles appeared to me, (some of the wording I wouldn’t even repeat here). Curious, I inspected the contents of some of these books more closely.
Now I'm too much of an old-school guy to write here what I was actually thinking, but the words, inane, inappropriate, confused and utter rubbish quickly and easily came to mind. Couple this with poor English… well, you get the drift.
Pfffft, I thought walking away. These thoughts stayed with me for several days, I spoke to many people, including young parents after this, I found most of them in agreement with my view.
Whatever happened to the beautiful children's stories of Gibbs, Dahl and the immortal Enid Blyton and so many other excellent and imaginative writers?
About a week later, I recall, I was at home reorganising my office when I came across my copy of Blyton's timeless “The Enchanted Wood.” I settled down and flicked through the pages of this tale of wonder and imagination. I was easily transported back in time, back into the world of Jo, Bessie and Fanny and their adventures with Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, the old Saucepan Man and of course Mr Whatzisname.
What a terrible shame I thought, that so few writers write this way anymore, pure unadulterated fun and adventure with the most unlikely of characters and heroes. Captivation, in the most wonderful way.
My thoughts drifted to many years earlier when I was still at school. I remember an essay assignment from my English literature master. I also remember the utter disbelief when I achieved an ‘A+'. A rare event indeed! More chance of me doing the Moonwalk on Mars, I would've thought.
After that, I occasionally wrote, purely for fun though. Although one simple effort was rewarded with publication when I was 14. Wouldn’t it be terrific I thought, to attempt to write a simple children's story in the style of the wonderful Enid Blyton? I certainly have the time now, and it would keep me off the streets and out of trouble. Why not?
So my first story was conceived and the first of my Tales from the Oakwood, “Tinsels Birthday Adventure,” was born. I received some pretty good reviews which prompted me to write a second and then a third, “The Story of Bebe the Teddy Bear.” And “Phoebe the Dragon.”
I’m now working on my fourth Oakwood book. As yet untitled, this story will bring all my previous characters together and introduce some new ones.
I'm really happy where this has gone, I've found it all so very rewarding. My aim had been simple, to write stories that would engage a child's imagination as well as introducing them to a wider vocabulary, to morals, fun and adventure. Old fashioned thinking? You be the judge.
When I write, it fills my days with enjoyment, excitement and fun, and when finished and published my sense achievement is complete… until the next time!
So, one doesn’t know what can be achieved unless one tries. As Nike say… Just do it!
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