Blog 15: Happy Easter

Happy Easter to those who are celebrating this year, by indulging in plenty of chocolate, hot cross buns, sending cards, or attending church.

I don’t recall the Easter Bunny being a visitor in our house when I was a little nipper, not because I wasn’t good enough, as you can imagine, I was an absolute angel – honestly, I was! It just didn’t seem to be a thing at that time. The tradition of a very generous and, I have to say, a little suspicious bunny, who manages to find a large quantity of Easter eggs from somewhere, and then delivers them to an awful lot of children for this particular day, seems to have made its way over to the UK from America. And of course, I jumped on board the chocolate train – mmm a chocolate train – with my children, arranged Easter egg hunts, and talked about this extraordinary bunny.

Isn’t it interesting how we have so many stories from all around the world, for different occasions, about different people, or bunnies in this case, that get passed on to the next generation? It just demonstrates how powerful a good story is and how much we love them. Our brains are even making narratives up from our memories and feelings while we sleep, putting on a nightly show for us. And I’ve had some whoppers, I can tell you – custard monsters (when I was young, though I loved custard), flying, the world getting swallowed up in water, and I have even been shot in the head, but strangely, I didn’t die. My brain appears to be a very colourful, yet dodgy place to visit!

From the first people, 30,000 years ago drawing or carving pictures onto cave walls to entertain each other, to today, our storytelling has not just continued but evolved. We have books, plays, films, and even gaming. And it’s not just adults, but children are great at telling stories too, or tall tales you may call them, my eldest certainly was!

Yes, stories are great! And as a writer, there are so many possibilities for you to explore. Just imagine, the next time you sit down to write, or type perhaps like me, you think about our ancestors all those years ago and how they would go about telling your story, perhaps with pictures or whispered around a roaring fire on a winter’s evening. Maybe tapping into your ancestral roots will shake something loose and get your creative sparks flying. And while you’re writing, grab some chocolate, it is Easter after all!

Fun fact: it isn’t just Easter in our house today, it’s also my youngest daughter’s 13th birthday! The first day as a teenager, and she gets to have both chocolate and presents, isn’t she the lucky one? While you're reading this, we are probably looking at the sharks in Blackpool Sealife Centre, walking off the calories from all the Easter eggs. That reminds me, has anyone seen that chocolate train we were talking about earlier?

Until next time, keep writing, keep editing, and enjoy the Easter break.