Geoffreys point of view. 'A Bed Amongst The Nails'

Geoffrey's point of view: My life of displeasing the one I love...

[Geoffrey stands, looking out of his living room window. Wearing an oversized cassock, academic hood and a surplice, English style, he watches the children playing outside.]

Jesus. That is what my life is about. Other than religion, being a vicar and following rules there is nothing else I can think of daily. Well, of course there is Susan, my wife. However, being a vicar makes me important. I am there to encourage others and tell them what religion can do, which is to make something out of them.

[Looking up at the clouds, he sighs deeply]

I am not oblivious to Susan’s pain and suffering. Although I do know that I am one of the people causing it. Does she still love me? I wonder. She has made a great asset to being the vicar’s wife, abiding to the rules and giving others her opinions. I must give her credit for that.

Admitting that Susan had a drinking problem was probably a big step for her, one that should have been handled much earlier. I know it was her who stole the holy communal wine. Her depressive behaviour is not one that I tend to hang around; therefore leaving the premises before she is awake tends to be a habit of mine. I hate to see her in that mood, it breaks my heart.

[Pause]

My duties of being a vicar are to hold religious services such as communal worship, marriages, funerals and christenings. It can sometimes be a sad day if I have to hold a funeral, remembering those who used their lives, no doubt if Susan carries on drinking; she may be here sooner than later. Would I want to do the service? No I wouldn’t. Not out of spite but because she has been there for me through everything and even though we aren’t as close as we were when we first married, unbelievably I still love her.

[Turning away from the window, he lowers himself carefully into an armchair. smoothing out the creases in his cassock]

Being a vicar, I do get a lot of attention by females. I do not however want to be with any of those females. I can almost be certain that, that is why Susan is giving me the cold shoulder. She is jealous... That or the fact that we haven’t had a sexual attraction since she started her drinking habits. She pleads me with her eyes to give her what she wants, but I can’t, not when she is drunk. It’s like taking advantage.

Even refusing to give her sexual pleasure, gives her a reason to want to drink more. It revolts me. Drinking is for special occasions not for everyday use.

I was concerned when I was told that Susan had slipped down the altar stairs. It’s not every day that woman slips just like that. She was taken home and I came home to see if she was okay. She was asleep... So I decided to go back out again and continue my duties, sure that she probably wouldn't be awake for the next few hours.

When I got home, Susan was gone. I find it rather annoying that when one of us is home the other is out. She arrived home later on that night carrying a shopping bag full of alcohol and our normal, decent tinned food. It’s only recently, she comes home this late, but I was far from mulling over the situation and so just said ‘night’ and went to bed. I fell asleep not long after she slid into bed next to me.

[Trudging upstairs, no longer waiting for anything important, he slowly undresses, getting great comfort after slipping on his nightwear and sliding beneath the quilt]

Like normal... she was keeping her distance from me.

Gemma Lucas

A bed Amongst The Lentils Analysis

Susan is a miserable woman whose life evolves around her husband Geoffrey the Vicar. Being the vicars wife gives Susan no privilages, only some of which enforce rules that she does not believe in. For example, religion and Jesus.  Being an older woman who has certainly made an effort to keep in Geoffreys good graces, her sarcasm becomes more emotionally developed as she finds that her one true love is the affair that she is soon to have with the grocer Ramesh. Being funny does not come naturally, however to Susan it does seem that way as her spontaneous speech gives her a very straightforward way of expressing her feelings, that almost makes her seem helpless. ‘I have is to shove my chrysanthemums up her nose’. This extract is an example of the humour tht Bennet likes to show. It is humourable because the audience does not expect an older woman like Susan to be violent; also contradicting the fact that she is the Vicars wife and so she should act accordingly. ‘He has lovely teeth’. This gives us the sense that Susan can easily be distracted. The humour is in the fact that she changes the topic almost instantly from calling her ‘Mrs Vicar too’ to the appearance of Ramesh. Thus immiently foreshadowing what is later on to come.
The humour is very subtle only coming out when Susan feels the need to comment on a subject of her dislike. It is very personal, thus making her stories the topic of interest. The humour can only been felt when us, the reader, knows the whole story. 

Sadness is expressed in many ways since the main character is unhappy with her life. She only knows she’s happy when Ramesh is around, thus giving her some joy of life. However as she wakes up every day, she finds that Geoffrey is out, leaving her at home even in a state where she is ill. This can cause the reader to sympathise Susan and the horrible relationship that she is fighting to keep alive. Sleeping with Ramesh did not make the reader take pity on her however the reader must feel relieved that maybe there is hope for Susan to be happy. Susan’s questions on Jesus seem to make Geoffrey nervous or unhappy. The fact that he leaves suddenly remembering ‘he was burying somebody in five minutes’ increases the doubt and awareness that maybe he doesn’t love Susan. She could just be a good role model as a Vicars wife, leaving him with no personal affection towards her but only the thought that she is accepted by everyone else. Not only that, but when Susan ‘slipped’ down the altar steps, Geoffrey seems to take no action in caring for her.

The foreshadowing is very subtle, not giving much away.
Susan’s affair with Ramesh seems to be foreshadowed. The way she explains how she feels and what her does gives us the feeling that something could happen between them. The tension of will she, or wont she have the affair increases the readers interest.  Her thoughts about Ramesh include ‘He’s quite athletic himself’, ‘He has lovely teeth’ and ‘He calls me Mrs Vicar too, only it’s different’.
‘only its different’. This quote is key hint that maybe she has a slight crush on Ramesh or that maybe she is comparing him to Geoffrey. But who could blame her?

Gemma Lucas

My Travel writing

Travel Writing:

Cruising into the holiday park in the late afternoon doesn't cease to surprise me.
There are hundreds of children flailing about, pulling parents into the arcade or climbing onto the play equipment, that to be honest, has seen better days.
I feel like a parent myself, absently checking out the equipment for faults as we drive by.
The sky above me darkens as the sun sets leaving a shadow cast overland. The upbeat music from the holiday parks club echoes from a distance, its spotlights travel into the night sky as if calling the children's fictional character, Batman.

Number 64, the caravan that is now our home for the next seven days finally stands before us, after waiting for hours. Family members climb the creaky stairs entering one of the caravans classed as one of the park's high standard rating. Migrating to a place which is an old family favourite, like Cornwall is tradition for me. Staying at one of the highly rated holiday parks, Park dean, does have its advantages. The pristine utilities look new containing basic equipment like kettles and microwaves as well as a small TV with bad signal! Without a doubt it wouldn't be a holiday if we had good signal!
Electricity, heating and food cooked to perfection, these are the many things that we take for granted when at home.

As the night draws to a close, my tired family members and myself drift off to sleep tucked up in our cocoons full of warmth, listening to the soft pitter patter of the rain hitting the tinny roof.

The next day we set out to sight see. Although we have been here many times before, the smile on my mothers face never wavers when her eyes set upon the deep blue ocean. The sound of the waves crashing upon the yellow sandy beach dotted with shallow pebbles is one that everyone wishes they could hear at home.
The many gift shops and the conventional British favourite, fish and chip shops, look as if they are painted along the coast making it one picturesque sight. Nostrils filled with the diverse aroma of what can only be fish and sea salt. I can hear the seagulls sing their appreciation as more tourists line the coast in search of a catering establishment.
Walking along the coastline is not as warm as you may think, as Cornwall is in the south, the breeze is stronger than up north, making everyone's hair fly across their eyes. The busy streets crammed with tourists like a busy motorway at rush hour, teams against as we zig-zag our way through to get to the local chippy.

As we enjoy our lunch, freshly caught fish and fat fried chips, we look out of the nearby window admiring the view of fishing boats drifting along by the brick wall surrounding the coast of St Ives. Its devastating to think that one day in the distant future it will all be gone, taken from us by coastal erosion. The landmarks here at Cornwall, are one of the many things that attract tourists. Other than the fact that the sea is quite a drive away, I can see myself visiting again in the not to distant future.

Gemma Lucas

Armstrong & Miller- Chalky's a spy?

The writer writes Armstrong & Miller to entertain the audience. The two World War 1 men are dressed in uniform and should use standard English, as well as put on a English accent. However this is not the case, as the pair of men use slang and the English of today. Words such as 'homeboy' and 'whatever' creep up in that clip. The writer has written the play to show that the worlds from before have now changed in a way that makes the old standard English look boring and long.

The dramatic over pronunciation of the words were intended to be that way for exaggerating the language used today on top of the appearance of a hundred years ago. There is a lot of repetition in this scene making the point of 'Chalky's a spy' come across. It also appeals to the watcher as when normal people hear gossip or news they tend to question it over and over again, thus the writer is using pragmatics to write about something that the audience will know about.

'I swear down' is a short complex sentence used to entertain the audience. But also giving us the clear message of how we use ridiculous terms like it. Verbs are used like 'Nicking' to explain what one person is doing. Abbreviations and use of personal pronouns makes it appeal to the viewer. Abbreviations make the older men seem younger at heart. Addressing the character and telling the audience how they feel will give us an idea of how they could act and how the writer has used this to relate to our everyday lives.


Gemma Lucas

Framework Paragraph

I am writing my paragraph on Graphology.

The blog in which I am writing about is Lucy Robinson.co.uk (I may be a knob but I ain't stupid.)


Lucy Robinson uses lots of graphology to pull in her audience. Her intending audience is adults, mainly the ones who are interested in reading and writing. Lucy uses images to illustrate her using the laptop to write. This appeals to the younger audience by using today's technology. The paragraphs vary between small and large, containing complex sentences. Short sentences such as 'It made sense' made the reader want to read more. There are no subheadings. The writing is fully written in one column expanding across the page. The text looks as if it is Times New Roman size 12. This size and font is easy for readers to read. Lucy's writing does contain words like 'anything' that are Italic, thus making them stand out from the text and proving her point by singling them out. Some names of celebrities and songs like 'Jessie J' are underlined thus making the words stand out more to the audience, and drawing in the younger crowd.

Gemma Lucas 140499

Article Review Analysing

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/06/divergent-review-shailene-woodley-tris-prior

This is the review of  the film 'Divergent' written by the guardians.

The review is very descriptive using double negatives like 'gloomy portent' and 'fake'. Plosive's are used making the words sound more important, for example 'portent'. Thus sending the reader a message that the film is loud and unsuspecting, urging the audience to go see what happens.
'No I don't buy it either' is a declarative mood which is used as a mood to express a statement. This is also a personal thought, automatically agreeing that the readers don't understand the context of the film.
Imagery is used to create a picture in the readers minds and The Guardian does that by writing

'futuristic, postwar society in which the now pacified population are divided into five distinct groups'

This gives the readers an idea of the setting of the film and what it involves.

Gemma Lucas

All about me

Interview 'All about me'

English Language homework.

How old are you?

I am 16 years old. I will be 17 in March.

Do you have family members?

Yes. I have a mum and a dad who are divorced and live separately. I live with my mum. I was fairly close to my step dad but unfortunately he passed away in December last year.

What is the best moment of your life?

Getting all passes and above on my GCSEs after worrying about them all summer. When I got them and opened them up i was so relieved.

What is the worst moment of your life?

It must be when I went to the hospital after hearing that my step dad had passed away. Looking at him in the terrible state he was in, wasn't exactly the way I wanted to see him. It was hard to get the courage to see him, but it was even harder to leave him.

What are your hobbies?

I love to read fiction books because I get engrossed in the characters lives. Its better to live and see through someone else's eyes in their world than to stay in my own all the time. I love the genres of romance and comedy, but I read mostly fiction. I do read newspapers or magazines if there are anything interesting in them! I also create my own jewellery and listen to music in my spare time.

What do you want to do when you are older?

I would like to do something with psychology. Or something within that area. I find the human mind and how it functions really interesting. 

Do you have any pets?

Yes, at my dads I have two cats, one a Siamese named Cooper and one snow leopard bengle called Missy. At my mums I have a hamster named Emmy.

What are your goals for the next three years?

1. I would like to pass and get good results on my A-levels.

2. I would like to secure a good job and gain experience in different elements of work.

3. I would like to move out and rent a property to have a space of my own.

What is your favourite colour?

My favourite colour is Duck egg. It is a colour that is similar to turquoise and is a mix between green and blue.

What qualities do you think you have that make you a good person?

I think I am loyal, trustworthy and considerate towards others. I am hard working and I listen to others well. I like to keep the conversation going and for it to not result in awkward silences. I like to work both independently and in a group. I care about other people and always put their feelings first.

Interview written by Gemma Lucas.