Authors Electric

The Scattered Authors Society is a fine, upstanding body of writers scribbling away all over Britain. I'm a member -- one of the founder members, in fact, along with Authors Electric's own Katherine Roberts. But I'm also a member of a smaller group (and very exclusive group, I'm telling you) within the SAS.  This very exclusive writing group of ours had a problem. None of us were doing much writing. Which, I understand, is not all that unusual with writing groups. Personally, I was bereft of all ideas. Just flat out. But the problem most of the others had was that they had deadlines and  ought to be writing, and wanted to write-- but somehow, the writing just wasn't getting done. We meet up reguarly on Zoom, it being a bit difficult to meet up in person, scattered as we are from the West Country to Scotland. The meetings were full of complaints about the failure to actually get any writing done, beset as we were by distractions. Now there are a few tricks to con you...

  Mr Keynes' Revolution by E. J. Barnes For the last ten years the people who've have manouevred themselves into a postion to make law and policy have been obsessed with 'austerity.'  For other people, of course, not for them. Their only idea of 'economy' was to cut. Cut wages. Cut funding. Cut jobs. We've heard the tired old argument that 'the economy is just like a household. You mustn't spend more than you earn.' Look away from the wagging finger and study some of the richest people in our economy instead. Ask yourself what the word 'earn' means. And also, where the money generated by our economy is being spent. (Millions on the white elephant that is HS2? Millions on Piffle-Paffle's 'Garden Bridge' which hasn't and never will be built?) When most people manage their household economy, the first thing they set aside money for is the rent or mortgage -- but this country, under Tory management, first sold off social hous...

Ancient cities needed walls for defence. The Long Walls of Athens were the inspiration of their great statesman, Themistocles, who persuaded the Athenians to build in the teeth of Spartan hostility, enclosing not only Athens itself, but the port of Piraeus and the road between the two. When the Spartans invaded Athenian land, as they did many times during the long Peloponnesian War, they were forced to camp out at the base of these Walls. Athenian watchmen at their posts could look down upon the cooking fires of the invaders, perhaps roasting livestock stolen from Athenian farms. As the weather turned cold, the invaders would withdraw, only to return the following summer. When the Spartans finally destroyed the Athenian navy, the Long Walls allowed the Athenians to withstand a lengthy siege. Blockaded from the sea, they were starved into submission at last, and one of the conditions imposed by the Spartans was the destruction of the Long Walls. This humiliation was carried out by ...