Lockdown

We asked our members a simple question - "What have you done during the lockdowns?"

Many people responded and our Spring 2021 edition of The Gazette contains several pieces in which members describe what they have been doing those periods to occupy their time. We have included as much of the material as possible in the publication  but due to space contrains, some things are shown smaller than might be ideal whlst other contubutions were not in a format which we could easily reproduce.

And so to ensure nothing is detracted or lost, we have provided links from the Gazette which lead to items on this page so our readers can appreciate more fully the contributions made and view them in their full glory.

If not accessing though the Gazette links, then simply click on the items listed below that you wish to view.

  Cancer -  by Malcolm Alison

   Malcolm wrote the article for an Encyclopaedia of Life Sciences  published by John Wiley Publishers.
   He says, "It  is supposed to be understandable for young medics and professional laypeople (whatever they are)". 

Grayson Perry, the artist, has recently said "Fun has been rationed", so in response during both lockdowns I have written a book as an antidote.

‘Toots, the Wi-Fi Cat’ is a humorous adventure, set in North Devon, and follows the adventures of Toots, a cat that can ‘hear Wi-Fi’ and the mayhem that ensues for a property developer and her disreputable sidekick.

I heard many years ago that there is a book in everyone. At the time I thought it to be utter tosh, but the notion tickled some mental muscle. I didn't do anything about this for decades as I could not come up with anything plausible or interesting to write about.

Then a friend of ours, who lived further up the road, told us of a 'set to' she had encountered with our cat when driving past.It seemed the dispute centred on the territorial rights of occupation for the centre of the road.

The idea of Toots was born! I began writing the book at the beginning of lockdown and really enjoyed the process. The main thrust of this riotous story is the interaction of a bunch of animals – largely cats – and the humans. The editing of Toots was most kindly and professionally done by our own Gazette Editor, Stephen Turner. The process was done by Skype and WhatsApp and the book truly benefited from Stephen’s absorption of Tom We’s careful Latin teaching.

The magnificent cover was committed to posterity by none other than OT676 Pat Gibbon, who closely identified salient bits of the story with his extraordinary eye for detail.

The locations used in the book are mostly real and based in North Devon and Barbados, and feel these are perfect settings for Toots. I (and indeed Toots) really hope you enjoy his story as much as I have done in crafting it. The digital book is available from www.tootsthecat.com