Years ago I lost a notebook with a poem called Circle in it. I wrote it in a fit of anguish over an errant/absent lover in the middle of the night. Since then Circle has become the best poem I ever wrote. Lost forever. Dubious masterpiece aside, circle is one of my favourite words because ultimately it is the shortest summary of what I believe in. That is, that life is a circle that goes on and on and on. Some of it on earth, some of it elsewhere. We’re born, we live, learn (not usually enough), die, return, learn (not enough), die, return, learn (enough?) etc. Perfect circles don’t have variation but it depends on the scale and the viewpoint. From a distance not all variation can be seen, particularly not if it exists in a repetitive pattern. There may however be variation in an imperfect circle that appears to be a perfect circle.
I haven’t been on Blag Lady for ages. I toyed with the idea of quarterly updates, but a biennial blog does seem to be taking the proverbial somewhat. I’ve therefore OFFICIALLY decided to let La Blag take an early (or belated) retirement. I may BE BACK, but not in this form. First I must learn some new things. I think having that death fetish (skeleton) is casting a bit of a pall: as there’s been a lot of illness around me suddenly - yes, I’m getting older and so far I’ve been almost blissfully ignorant of the reality of mortality. Now physical things happen and people get ill and I don’t like it.
However, life is a circle and as my grandfather died a new life is on its way for our family: yes, this is Mama-Blag. Baby is due 1 August! All very exciting. We are terribly Victorian about baby news - so the web is rather devoid of pictures and news of our yet to be born progeny. So, not much chance of Blag Baby quite yet, but as I write I see a new challenge appearing like a glass of very very cold beer in a desert. I am very driven by names. (So shallow.) But rebirth is so, so tempting, don’t you think?
However, first one must say one’s adieus.
So you won’t catch me here, but you will catch me here. The next BIG project I’m doing is called Open Notebooks. Check it out. It’s all about poems and process.
I have also resumed Twitter. Tried a while back ‘twoofing’ as a French dog but didn’t like all the ‘who follows who’ crap: now my writer pals are there it seems like a good idea. Nothing like La Blag, but a good way to stay up to date, particularly if you don’t do the book. Also, the 160 character discipline is, well, a discipline. Tuwit-ter-who.
For professional enquiries please see my website.
Love and Imperfect Circles,
Blag Lady x





Loyal followers of the Blag - of which I now know there are at least two! - have complained, rightly, that I just sod off whenever I please with nary a sign that says ‘gone fishing/off to find myself see you in 6 months/now blogging as a French dog for cash’ swinging in the shop window. They are right to tick me off. The thing is, the longer you leave an update the harder it becomes to write one. So what’s with the long silence?





