Stars of the Future?

Sunday Blog 144 - 14th July 2024

I’m tuning in live from day 11 of my 28 day Gratitude challenge. This was inspired by the recent release of an audio version of the book, Beautiful Writers by Linda Sivertsen (it came out on 2nd July). Linda convenes an online writing group also (The Beautiful Writers Group), that I’ve been part of almost since it began nearly ten years ago. She also has the Beautiful Writers Podcast you may be interested in digging into- interviews with authors. Her podcast and book focus on the business of getting published in American (primarily). I’ve kept following along, for potential future reference.

As a Beautiful Writers Group member, I’ve watched Linda work on the Beautiful Writers book for a decade (and the audio book has been more than a year in the making). It’s been enlightening following someone’s process, understanding it from “the back end.” The audio book weaves in themed snippets of interviews from her podcast, and it also follows her own journey of getting her first book Lives Charmed into the world. Published in 1998, it features interviews with Hollywood celebrities who’d been her dog-walking clients, and shared her passion for the environment. The perilous lows and dizzy highs are riveting. Beautiful Writers audio book is relatively long but a great listen. Would recommend.

Anyhoo, when tuning into to an episode of the Beautiful Writers Podcast with Rhonda Byrne and Kelly Noonan Gores and I thought, dammit I think I’ll give gratitude a try. (Rhonda Byrne wrote The Secret which I sort of didn’t like, but The Magic book she wrote with the 28 day gratitude practice is more my thang.)

Meanwhile, Linda Sivertsen’s audio version of Beautiful Writers was due to be launched, and she was celebrating with a competition. Just send in a screenshot of your purchase. Easy. I’d already done the screenshot, but as I listened to Rhonda Byrne talk about gratitude practice, I thought I should jolly well enter the competition. I felt sure I would win the prize I wanted - a thirty minute consultation with Linda.

And I did.

I also feel much, much lighter since consciously focusing on gratitude. 10/10 would recommend.

And I also want to say, thank you for following along on Substack. It means the world to have you along for the ride, reading my meanderings. Thank you for stopping by.

Now, on with the Sunday Blog.

Aside from gratitude, This time in my life is definitely one for reflecting. I turned 59 this year and my mother is 98 years old, so it’s a very long time since this event happened. A shift in my consciousness as I’m guessing a 5 or 6 year old, coming to the uncomfortable realisation that their mother has had a rich life before they came along.

Sharing for the sweet nostalgic, humorous hit.

Sunday Blog - Stars of the Future?

By the time I was born, the sixth child in eight years (no multiples), my mother's hair was grey. I mean, that makes sense right? Wouldn't such a profusion of children dim the shine of most people's hair? She'd started late for her generation - 29 when she married in 1957 and 38 by the time she had me in 1965.

I can still remember my dawning realisation that she had, in fact, existed before I was born. Why, the very idea! What was she doing all that time? I was filled with self-absorbed resentment at her living on this earth forty years without me.

This was around about the time we all gathered around our television to watch a show called Stars of the Future. Sort of like American Idol but with very very bad haircuts and cheap stage sets. And probably not quite so much polish and talent, if I'm honest. They often featured the Shirley Halliday dancers who were decidedly racy (this video may amuse you to watch.)

Anyhoo, one day I was shadowing Mum as she was doing what she almost always did daily between 1959 and 1989 - laundry. I was too small to actually help her, I was just tagging along. She has a beautiful singing voice and was belting out a tune as she pegged up the sheets. She taught us all to sing in harmony, a fiendishly clever thing to when you five daughters slogging over the washing up. We can't argue when we're singing.

So impressed was I with her vocal abilities that, grey hair and plain house dress notwithstanding, I exclaimed, "Mum, you should be on Stars of the Future."

You know that laugh, when someone doesn't mean to laugh so loud, but they just can't help themselves? She fought to catch her breath between the next guffaw. The thought of a grey-haired matron in her housedress and apron, neck deep in laundry being The Next Big Thing was the funniest thing she'd heard all day.