Sunday 23 December 2007

Father Christmas Moving to Kyrgyzstan

I am delighted to read that Father Christmas has been told to relocate to Kyrgyzstan.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DZ35HFBALUSONQFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/12/23/nxmas223.xml

A remote spot in this little known country has been declared the "geographical centre of the world's spread of children" by a team of Swedish scientists who have advised that if Santa started his journey in Kyrgyzstan he would achieve the most efficient round the world trip.

However, I am concerned for all the children who take to addressing letters to Father Christmas in Kyrgyzstan. When I lived there, post took about three months to arrive from England and was dumped unceremoniously in the stairwell of our block. If the Kyrgyz authorities are keen to promote their country as FC's new home, I think that before they start renaming peaks and organising annual games for Santas to test their chimney climbing and sledge racing skills, they need to improve the postal system to cope with the millions of letters which will now be coming their way.

To find out what Father Christmas can expect when he moves to Kyrgyzstan, read Revolution Baby: Motherhood and Anarchy in Kyrgyzstan by Saffia Farr. Signed copies are available to buy on http://www.saffiafarr.com/

Tuesday 18 December 2007

Radio Star - again!

I'm sorry, I've not written for ages. My only excuse is that I've been busy: busy marketing Revolution Baby and busy preparing for Christmas with my two children, but I'll tell you about that another time.

I was on the radio again yesterday - is this becoming tedious? This time I was on GWR Bristol, on Stuart Elmore's show. Stuart has a feature called 4Play when listeners choose four tunes under four categories and give reasons why they've selected them.

I had fun doing it. For the 'song which gives me goosebumps' I chose 'If You're not the One' by Daniel Beddingfield because this song was being played everywhere when I was getting married so it reminds me of that wonderfully romantic time - the lyrics are so appropriate. For the 'song I mess up my speakers to' I chose 'Saltwater' by Chicane, a great dance song in memory of the carefree days when I used to go clubbing.

It was very exciting to drive Tom and Ben home from nursery listening to songs I'd chosen, and Tom was excited to hear me talking through the radio, although that is a difficult concept for him to grasp. I'm hoping to have a "listen again" facility through my website. My technical advisor (husband) is currently exploring using You Tube as a medium for this - it's slightly worrying that I could soon be sharing a site with wierdos, desperate celebrities and attention seeking murderers.

I've also been on Thornbury FM. This is a community radio, broadcast from a portacabin with boarded up windows, hidden at the back of a carpark on the outskirts of Thornbury. It's not salubrious but I enjoyed the experience; worryingly I'm starting to like the sound of my own voice on radio. I suspect this interview had about three listeners - my mum, the DJ's mum and a frustrated person on Thornbury High Street looking for Radio Bristol.

However, the owner of Thornbury Bookshop told me that a customer had mentioned hearing me on the radio, and as he was ordering more books at the time, this gives me hope that all my marketing efforts are having tiny ripples of effect.

If you'd like to listen to me on Thornbury FM, talking about myself - again - go to the podcast page of http://www.thornburyfm.org/, I'm there under Wed 28 Nov.