pixie-led | Chris Elphick

M R James - Collected Ghost Stories

Merry Crimbo 🎄

Planning next year's goals on my suprise present - an Amazon Scribe!

Pwscat ready for her crimbo dinner:

Pwscat on the prowl:

Looking back to the late Spring and the Summer of this year, the things I remember most is the unsettled feeling of moving from a trailer in Llanrhian Holiday Park to a small house in Manselton whilst we waited for our home to be fixed up after the housefire in March. I remember the caravan more fondly than the house as I felt that hiraeth of being back home in North Gower. Though, to be fair, the house in Manselton was too bad. This period was marred by a mental detachment I felt, which was probably a self-defence system to stop me getting stressed from the turmoil of our lives in that period of time. This knind of mental numbness made my working life difficult too and I began to hate my job with a passion as I felt

what I was going through was not really appreciated in the department, where figures and accuracy meant everything. And so I decided to apply for positions in other departments, which I will talk more about in part 3 ps my 2024 round up.

Creatively, I guess I was on form and I finally managed to knock my first and longest novel, Cold Comfort into shape after it had sat in a cupboard drawer untouched for a quarter of a century. After I got that published, I wrote a fanzine on my favourite writer, Guy N Smith. This was a real work of love and seemed to down well with his friends and family, which really pleased me.

With much of our savings lost to the housefire, our holiday this year was reduced from our original plan of a weekend in Brussels, renting a airbnb in Glastonbury and a couple of weeks in Japan to a weekend camping in west Wales with my wife, son and his friends. Whilst enjoying the company and countryside, I also learned that I was getting a little too old to be sleeping on campings beds lol.

One other big event that will always stick in my mind from this time is our evening trip down to Rhossili Cliffs, where the sky turned into fantastic light show as the northern lights graced the British night like never before!

Morning Delivering

Down my Mammy's this morning with pressies and M&S shopping:

Sunrise

Familiarr. Draft 2 complete

The 2nd draft of my final novel is now complete.

Familiar Update

Familiar. Part One. 2nd Draft. Completed.

Two Deer

A Purfick Crimbo Pressie

If you haven't bought my last horror novel yet, now is the perfect time:

Click Image to purchase

See You Soon First Born

My baby girl went back to Norwich today. Its like having a piece of soul taken every time I say goodbye to her. But at the same time I am overjoyed she has made a great new life for herself and is very happy. It's not easy being a father.

Christmas Reading and the Christmas Cat

Thought I'd keep my recent Christmas reading ritual of reading one of these illustrated Ghost Stories - this year's tale being The Captain of the Polestar by Arthur Conan Doyle. (I am loving my new Christmas mug too.)

And whilst she hasn't got any competition this year, fudjcat still seems determined to look good for her role as this year's Christmas Cat.

A Family Night Out

Spent a lovely Saturday out with the family as my daughter was down from Norwich with her bf. Started off with a stroll around Mumbles, making the most of the mild evening.

Went for a high-class drink then at the Gin & Juice, where we tried their delicious Die Hard cocktail.

After that, we all headed down to Swansea Arena, where we watched the very funny Jimmy Carr.

I thought I'd close this post with some pics of the inside of Swansea's most controversial bridge, which connects the arena with the town centre, as it was my daughter's first time seeing it. I'm a big fan of the interior of the bridge but wish the exterior was painted more of a copper colour.

We got home around 1ish in the morning had ate our around the table at 1.30am lol. Loved the company and the evening.

GNS Receipt

One of Guy's old receipts. Kindly donated to me by Craig Kinsey. Thank you kindly, sir.

Tidying for Amber

Up at six to get the house sorted and put the decorations up ready for Amber coming home for the weekend.

Christmas at the Office

Christmas lunch and Yulefest day at the office.

Mood dipping as I am desperate for a break from work.

Looking Back on 2024 - Part 1

And so this is Christmas 2024. And what a year it has been! I lost my beloved Soosh in a house fire back in March - an event I still do not think I have processed properly. I also lost most of the book collection I have built up since childhood plus a lot or nostalgic keepsakes, some which has been with me for over half a century. Uninsured, we had to cancel our planned Brusells, Glastonbury and Japan trips to get us at least back on our feet again. It has been a long process and even now the repercussions of the traumatic event have yet to be fully ironed out. Looking back on the first few months of 2024, the only good thing to manifest itself for me for that period of time was my hospital consultant finally put me on my new meds, which I need to be injected with every two weeks. This was a real game-changer for my health, and though it took 4 long years to prescribe me the injections, I am truly grateful to the NHS for allowing me access to this very expensive but miraculous medication. Today, at 58-and-a-half-years old, I have never been so healthy. And on that upbeat note, I think I will close this first part of my lookback on the year that was, and for a couple of weeks still is, 2024…