The Three Belles themselves are extraordinary enough. Smart, funny, pretty – damn it, they have everything and I am so sure that they will go far. How could they not, with the talent they have!?

Let’s look at the cast, too. The beautiful Cathleen (Emily Jane Buck) I first saw guesting in last year’s In The Mood at The Guildhall. She was really impressive. I also saw her playing Rosalind in Die Fledermaus. The thing that I noticed about her on stage was the way she acted and sang with such amazing confidence – and brilliance.

From left to right: Emily Jane Buck, Murray Grindon, Sarah Fothersgill and Tamzin Cormican

Then there’s Lieutenant Jo Maloney, played by Murray Grindon. Murray is a goodlooking charming young man who has the most marvellous, soft American accent. He plays his part with good humour and subtlety, and I have grown to like him a lot.

I first noticed Audrey, played by Sophie Clark, at Die Fledermaus, too.  Some prize comedy singing from her really made the night work – and her slightly nervous character Audrey will make her singing debut at In The Mood. Great voice, and a natural.

There are so many more to watch out for. But I only have a little space here, and I am writing a blog, not a novel. So for now I will mention one more: Tom Cross. Naturally funny, smart, silly and loveable, he’s your man when it comes to compering the show.

It’s going to be a great night at In The Mood on the 18th! You can get your ticket here! Enjoy.

I say, want a book to read old chap?  You can buy yours here!

“We are people first – all political religious psychobabble stuff should come second. Why are we constantly forced to try and define ourselves (and asked to fit into neat little boxes)? Creativity should be entertaining and fun and a diversion FROM much of the stuff we have to combat the rest of the time. Why is FUN such a devalued concept? Fun should be taken seriously. I shall write a long diatribe about this immediately. Full of ten dollar words. It bothers me that to be taken seriously in this life you have to ally yourself with a cause, a stand, a political direction etc I would rather spread joy, mirth and love to my fellow able or disabled, gay, straight or otherwise, inc all ethnic minorities man/woman/child. <goes out to buy rubber chicken>”

That’s about it really.  The truth is, deep down, I’m shallow.

So, this is a big day for me. 4 years and 1 day after I was hypnotised back into writing by Paul McKenna, I finally have a printed book in a bookshop.

Here is me, looking suitably proud of The Three Belles Star in “We’ll Meet Again”.  It’s a funny old world, and I am glad to say that I am over my writer’s block.

Want  a copy of this Portsmouth Story? Just pootle along and get it, or order it here:  http://www.lifeisamazing.co.uk/order-hard-copy-of-the-three-belles-book/

It's happened at last!

Consider the circumstances on that fine day in June 1882 in which he stepped off the Irish steamer from Plymouth on to Clarence Pier, and surveyed the busy scene around him. There is no doubt he was a young, bull-headed gentleman of most definite principle. He had thrown over his previous post as a physician in Plymouth because of differences of opinion with Dr Budd, his partner in the surgery. He considered Dr Budd to be a scoundrel who tricked his patients into paying for massive prescriptions. He would have nothing to do with him – and it was his independence of mind that brought him to our city, and to that bustling beach at the west end of  Southsea’s waterfront.

When he arrived, he had only 10 pounds in his pocket but great resources in his mind and in his body.

Now Watson, what can we deduce from his first actions in the island city? Let me elucidate them for you. He left his luggage at the pier, caught a tram into Old Portsmouth and found himself temporary lodgings in the poorer part of the city – driving down the price for the week from 13 shillings to 10 and sixpence.  And what do we make of the fact that he then walked back to the pier and paid a porter to walk his luggage back to his new digs?

The answer is simple, Watson! He was not wealthy. Using a porter rather than a taxi saved him fourpence. What we see here is a young man willing to use his initiative, tight for money and keen to make the most out of the opportunities the city would afford.

Once installed, Dr Conan Doyle notes in his “Stark Munro Letters” that he went out to hear a band playing in a park, and happened upon a man beating his wife in the streets. His sense of justice is revealed by the fact that he stepped in, to prevent the man attacking his wife further, and became embroiled in a street brawl with the gentleman. Notice, too, just like me, that Dr Conan Doyle was physically unafraid – and was also an accomplished boxer. Notice, however, that unlike me, he was not a bare knuckle fighter, nor an exponent of the Japanese art of Baritsu.

How well he might have fared against this fellow is a matter of conjecture, since a wild punch thrown by his opponent landed on a passing sailor, who stepped in and took over from the good Doctor. One could almost imagine, Watson, that in this department, my prowess with my fists is an amplification of his own abilities with boxing.

So, now we build a profile of the man. He has spirit. He has nerve. He has morals, scruples and initiative. These, I suggest to you, are excellent qualities to get on in life.

Next, we come to his practical cast of mind. The following day, Conan Doyle purchased a map of the city and began to bisect it with lines that would be the most efficient means of walking the entire length and breadth of the city.

Note, Watson, that there was a very particular reason for this. He was a doctor, just as you are. But because doctors were not allowed to advertise, there was no way he could find out where his rivals were located without acquainting himself with the city personally.

He could also discover which parts of the city would be good for business, which roads to avoid and which properties were empty.

Note, too, how Conan Doyle found a residence at No 1 Bush Villas, on Elm Grove, Southsea. It served the wealthier clients of Castle Road, as well as the artisan properties to the north of Elm Grove. It provided a varied social milieu, and just as I do, it meant that the Doctor mixed with all classes.

Then there are the dramatic and the macabre elements in Conan Doyle’s arrival in Southsea. When he first became the tenant of Bush Villas, Conan Doyle was faced immediately with a bizarre scene in the cellar of his new dwelling. Piles of human jawbones – yes Watson! – human jawbones were stacked in the semi-darkness! It was a scene worthy of one of his own entertainments. But Conan Doyle soon solved the mystery. The previous incumbent was a dentist, and he had left his casts behind on absenting the property.

Dr Conan Doyle’s time in Southsea was similar to my own life in other ways. For example, he used a pseudonym at times, just as I have been known to do. When he played football, as the goalkeeper for Portsmouth Amateur Football Club, he went under the name of “A C Smith”, lest it became known that a gentleman was playing a game more commonly associated with the lower classes.

He was also one for turning fortune in his favour and for quick thinking. An accident in the road outside his struggling practice he quickly attended. He checked over the gentleman who had fallen from his horse and sent him on his way. After which he sent in a report of the accident and his heroic intervention to The Evening News, thus securing him free advertising, which he was otherwise prevented from doing, as an MD.

He mixed with the higher stratas of society at the Cricket Club and  Bowling Club, and became friends with The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth. And it might well be that he read an article in the Evening News involving an investigation being run by a Chief Inspector Sherlock. How much, indeed, Portsmouth gave to the young Dr Conan Doyle!

So, Doctor Watson, do you see now how the elements of his life in Portsmouth combined together to make me who I am? And can you see how, if he had come to a different city, I might well have been quite a different fellow?

Or would I?

An interesting  conundrum, Dr Watson, and most definitely a three pipe problem!

The place was a building site still, so no photos of the interior, but the potential is absolutely extraordinary. There’s an open-air jacuzzi, a plunge-pool, recreation room and numerous really lush bedrooms, along with little hidey-holes to chill out in.

The Fort will be the ultimate getaway for the wealthy and for those wanting privacy. No papparazzi will get near it. The secluded location also makes it a fantastic spot for a story… so watch this space, for The Three Belles And The Spitbank Mystery..!

Issie was also keen to get me to write a story with vampires in, or a werewolf. Which is something I have been considering. The skill will be finding something fresh to do with these strange supernatural creatures. But then, I also have a Bond movie style of story to think about too!

I’ve got to say it was a fantastic day to be going out on the water and Belles added their own Bond Girl glamour to proceedings. Sparkling water, big smiles and a certain chic – what more is there to life?

The low line of Portsmouth Point from Gunwharf Marina and the harbour mouth looked great with its old Georgian buildings as we headed out on the water. I imagined the raucous, crazy, wild times that happened there, when sailors came home, laden with prize money after capturing a ship. It’s different today, but the ghosts linger still!

The Belles were as the Belles always are – funny, smart and quickwitted. I really respect the way they’ve taken what was a university project and are, step by step, turning it into a career.

They were striking as ever today: Sally, elegant with flaming red hair, Issie, pale in the sunlight like a flower wilting in the heat, and Anneka with her cloche hat and her tweed jacket, like a picture from the 1930s.

The building was low in the water and looked impressive as we approached during a five minute skip across the Solent. The RIB was driven by Mark Watt, who’s organizing the rebuild of the Fort to luxury standards. It’s really going to be something special

 when it’s done, and it’s going to be a fantastic venue and hideaway. Wonderful to see these places being refurbished.

Well, Saturday night is going to be a hoot for The Belles – I do, as ever, wish them the best of luck. As if they need it!

Barbara, an ex-BBC scriptwriter and editor, gave an analysis of the process for “building” a full length film script, starting from research and taking you all the way through to the finished product.

Barbara took as her starting point the idea that the writer was aiming to produce a film conforming to the classic Three Act Structure – comprising a First Act of 20 minutes to half an hour with a plot twist, a Second Act of about an hour with a point of no return, leading to a second plot twist that leads to the denouement in the Third Act.

The elements of story writing were identified throughout, and a methodical approach to scriptwriting advised. So, reseach, develop a main idea, decide on a starting point and an endpoint, identify the main Protagonist’s emotional drive and his purpose, the same of the Antagonist and secondary and tertiary characters, map out the plot structure and then – only then – commence dialogue.

The exposition was clear and straightforward, and a host of resource materials was quoted at the end of the session. In all, a useful and to-the-point set of points, well covered!

After the break DJ Kirkby talked about the work she does as writer in residence for Portsmouth libraries. Coming from her background of autism and an awkward childhood, DJ talked with real passion about her love for libraries – which had provided her a sanctuary. Disturbed by the low level of literacy in Portsmouth , DJ decided to put forward the idea of the residency to the council – and was delighted to find that she was successful.

She spoke with passion about how she has been running workshops for kids to allow them to tell their stories, and is inviting anyone in the city to storytelling sessions.  It is her avowed intention to make reading relevant to kids, and to teach them the freedom it can provide.

Feeding on from this was a passionate debate between the hub attendees about how that could be done. In all, it was an interesting evening that threw the floor open to established and new members.

Two very different presentations giving very different angles on writing, and highlighting two of the talents who are members of the hub.

In all, a fascinating night.