About

Kate Shrewsday is a journalist and educationalist with a young family and a very big mouth. She reached Head Teacher at 32, peaked, and has since been trying to make sense of having kids and the endless round of cleaning, baking, ironing and suchlike generated by the family. She is not particularly good at any of these but her husband will vouch for the fact that the ironing pile is beginning to resemble Mount Vesuvius.

She loves nothing more than a piece of really juicy rhetoric, and dishes it out herself in spades.

163 thoughts on “About”

    2. Terribly sorry for the inconvinience but you pressed like in one of my latest blog.And since i already know that my mother’s ability to create alternate profiles is similar to her ability to control the time space continuoum while growing a beard and waving a staff ,i was wondering how come you stumbled upon me.
      There is also the possibility that i have more than one reader ,but i never account for the small elves who fix shoes all night and take their tea brake before dawn.
      Also honestly ,i don’t think the tag ” straight swedish nymphomaniac beach volley ball players” would look appealing to female readers”.
      Thanx for the vote of confidence though ,means a lot.

      S for Strapatsada

      Reply

      1. Hi S. I don’t judge writing by tags as a rule, but by an author’s ability to build suspense and tension and build a world. The detail in your post – being able to smell a dead flea in a carpet, for example – it was absorbing. When I commented – gothically enticing -that is precisely what I meant.

        I loved the writing.

  5. Thanks for the note on my blog this morning. Had no idea who the people were that are hitting it as I didn’t give out the address to that many people. So nice to know who one is. And that you think it makes sense, as I can’t really tell any more!!! GOing to check yours out later. xx

    Reply

    1. Char, it was so well written about something so important. I trawl through the latest posts on WordPress every now and then to broaden my horizons and this certainly did this. You are making perfect, well-written sense:-)

      Reply

  7. So glad you liked the Watership Down post! Feel a little less mad and like someone out there understands 🙂 Head Teacher at 32 – very impressive. And gorgeous pics. j x

    Reply

  8. Hi Kate, I saw your comment on Cindy’s blog and thought I’d come and say hi. Seems we’re fellow countrymen! Snow is certainly in the air and on the way … such anticipation! For a South African in London, it’s quite a novelty. 🙂
    Sunshine

    Reply

    1. Hi Sunshine 🙂 Nice to have someone on the same island! Hope you’re enjoying London. It’s one of my favourite haunts. Very different from SA – I have friends who have moved here from there and find the Winters very dark. And London is so packed in the Summer….but eternal fun.

      Reply

  14. I found that you had liked something of mine, so I wandered over here to take a peek at your work. You are quite lovely, presuming you care what I think. My novel is in the kind of tone and grammar that your entire blog is in. I adore it. 🙂

    Reply

      1. My novel has a mind of its own and and only likes to be written at around two or three in the morning. If it were around for reading, I would wonder where it had acquired the TARDIS for traveling through time and space. (translation: I only wish.)

        Thank you very much, by the way 🙂

  15. Hi Kate,

    Have you really stopped writing your blogs? I back from publishing exile, and wondered why I still receive no email updates on your site. In fact I no longer receive updates on anyone’s site.

    I’m hoping you will continue to blog. I guess now that I’m on my way back to the world of the normal, I expected to read your pages again. I can’t believe there won’t be any more from you.

    Reply

    1. LIz! Wonderful to hear from you. Hope all is well over there and that noisy neighbour has been summarily dispatched. I’m still blogging: I did try stopping at 200 posts but it’s far too addictive. Are you blogging again?

      Reply

  16. Hi Kate

    Thanks for the visit to my blog. I came over here for a visit to see your posts and am quite excited to read them backwards – only thing is time – or lack of… They look really interesting! Btw, I noticed that you weren’t going to continue as from the end of Jan and wondered if you’ve decided just to cut back?

    Reply

    1. Indeed I have, although I am not doing very well at cutting back 😀 I love this information business far too much. After the wholly unexpected outcry in January, someone suggested I repost from the beginning. It only took a week or so before I was back to my old ways, splicing in new posts…hope you enjoy your reads: I shall certainly look forward to reading more of your poetry.

      Reply

  17. yours really is a lovely site…found via Cindy and Sidney (what a mouthful)..as I skimmed the comments, I’m happy to read you will continue to blog…I dare say, there isn’t enough time to blog, read and breathe, but it’s worth a shot, no?! cheers ~ angela

    Reply

    1. Thanks Angela, never a truer word written in a comment…blogging is an addiction. I don’t think I could stop if I tried now; fun, though. Thankyou for popping over again! Love the poetry over at the cafe…

      Reply

  20. Nice to meet you, Kate Shrewsday! I wanted to thank you for the *like* on my poem “Feeling Of…”. All of a sudden I have been getting a little bit of some viewers on my “poem blog”. So thank you greatly and I shall check out your blog in a bit when I have more time.
    -Brittany

    Reply

  22. Hello, Kate, I just had to pop over here to visit after you commented on my blog (Spudley says ‘Hi’ too!). I’ll be back to have a read of your posts later, when I have more time See you again soon! 😀

    Reply

  24. A very nice introduction my friend, and as for your mounting ironing and and many alternative tasks, what you really need is a SLAVE…

    No that is definitely not me but I am sure that with a bit of coaxing and wickedness that you could quite easily transform your man into a little job around the house or three 🙂 I hope you will realise that I am just jesting and perhaps even take a leap of faith and call into My Gothic Realm one of these Dark evenings?

    Well you never know, it could prove very
    interesting, or frightening, or even Ghoul, I mean Cool 🙂

    Have a great start to your Wednesday now Kate 🙂

    Androgoth

    Reply

      1. Yes and you should see the Ghouls and Zombies in there,
        they are always getting up to some mischief, I have no idea
        who they get that trait from either 🙂 lol Have a fun weekend

        Androgoth

  25. Thanks for the like and comment! I’m a college student right now and I’m seriously considering Journalism (reporting or photojournalism, or both) as a career. You say you’re a journalist; do you have any tips or ideas to help me prepare or get started in the field? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Ofeishu: I was only ever a local and regional journalist, not a national one. I started by getting a kind of apprenticeship to a local paper because that’s how it was done in those days. In the UK it’s still a good idea to have qualifications in writing, shorthand, understanding of local and national government and most importantly, law. I’m not sure what the training is where you are: it probably varies. Work experience is a great way to start: after that, even if you go freelance later, a good spell with a reputable news agency, paper or magazine first sets you up with the contacts you need. This is very general: if you’d like more info just drop me a mail.

      Reply

  27. Thanks for the comment on my blog Kate. I am fairly new to blogging but have actually got 4 on the go at the moment! Would be grateful if you could check them all out and give me your comments. The addresses are russelldalgleish.wordpress.com, popinjaysocial.wordpress.com and bigeasyroadtrip.wordpress.com. Thank you in advance. Tessa x

    Reply

  28. Appreciate the ‘Like’ Kate. Love your surname and photos. I’ll be pokin’ around to see how you’re doing as I decide, finally, to take blogging seriously. Cheers!

    Reply

  29. Thanks for the ‘Like’ Kate. Serendipitiously, I am working with the archetype of “The Untamed Shrew’ to help me through the perimenopausal blues. The blog Gods certainly have a wicked sense of humour…

    Reply

    1. 😀 hope those Shrewish sessions bear lots of good fruit 🙂 Loved your review today: might be investing in a spot of Steve Earle to help me through the start of the new term….

      Reply

  31. I discovered yesterday, at Home Depot, that irons are for applying melamine laminate edging to particle board shelving. (I knew they weren’t for clothes.) I’m sure Big Al would have some additional ideas, if you ever plugged it in, so I advise leaving Vesuvius dormant.

    And my God, what a writer you are. The remains of your day are more vivid and alive than the entirety of mine. You’re right: it’s the little pleasures, the things not taken seriously by the literary canon, the intellectual establishment, the old boy network. Thank you for recording them.

    P.S. And thanks for your comment on my Self-doubt post–I wonder how you even found it! I have a huge, networked following of fifteen, which includes myself, my best friends, and a few of my students. I just about fell over when a stranger showed up–and from the UK, even? This old girl, stupidly, finds that exciting.

    Reply

    1. I like to wander outside my regular group now and then….found your post under Latest and clicked in for a wonderful read, thank you, Barbara. I did love the distinctions you made in your post. Hope you didn’t mind an extra commenter tagging on 🙂

      Reply

      1. Mind? It’s like leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, even though you’re a grown-up with no children in the house anymore, and waking up to find an unexpected present under the tree.
        🙂
        Cheers,
        B.

  32. I am just visiting your Space from Aquatom’s and it was a long way down to make this comment, luckily I took the lift by clicking the side bar and zooming to the bottom without even thinking too much about it, yes I do tend to witter on a little and so I will get to the point… Now what was that again? lol

    Ah yes, I was just about to say what an attractive Space you have here, and as I was thinking what to write next I had a thought of Mount Vesuvius and was going to write a three thousand word thesis on that exact theme, but then I thought no, not a good idea on my first visit and probably not wise to add such a lengthy observation anywhere on your Space (Yes I can see you scratching your head and thinking “Who is this Guy?” Well a nobody actually but I am here writing all this down and hopefully you will still be reading it, opposed to reaching for the delete option 🙂 lol)

    Anyway to cut a long and possibly by now a boringly tedious story short I will just say that I have enjoyed my stay here and on the next visit I will keep my commenting to just three or four… hundred lines, now how about that for being a tad wicked? 🙂 lol

    Have a very nice start to your week my friend…

    Androgoth

    Reply

    1. Androgoth, I know you well from your comments on Tom’s site(one of my great favourites, Aquatom). How kind of you to call, and then make the trek all the way down here. Vesuvius is a particular favourite of mine and I enjoy long comments immensely. Thanks! I pop in at yours every now and then: it adds considerable interest to the humdrum life of a middle aged housewife.

      Reply

      1. I have only just realised that this is actually my third visit here,
        it just goes to show that we bloggers can land on Spaces and
        forget that we have even been there before… Well I hope that
        you will call in again soon and perhaps add a comment, even
        if it is only inside my Guestbook as I am welcoming you into a
        wicked, and sometimes dark, but more often than not just the
        friendliness that is hopefully generated of an eccentric Vampire
        of course I will still keep the Zombies and Skeletons on a tight
        leash as they like to enjoy new friends of mine now and again,
        and a Humdrum Middle Aged Housewife, I think not 🙂

        Have a lovely Wednesday kateshrewsday 🙂

        Androgoth

  33. Thanks for commenting on my blog and the ‘Like’. I started it so our friends and family can see what we’re up to on our travels. It’s a nice surprise to get visitors I don’t know.

    I’m really enjoying your blog. Now I have another interesting site to peruse when I should be studying!

    Anna

    Reply

    1. Anna, those pictures were beautiful and your baby is gorgeous 🙂 I was chuffed because they were pictures of London – we live on the outskirts – in real, genuine London light! As I looked back through your posts there were some absolutely beautiful shots.

      Reply

  34. Hi Kate! I know you just posted about the versatile blogger award, but I have elected to give it to you again. Yours is one of my favorite blogs, and I enjoy passing along favorites. Check out my latest post to see your mention. 🙂

    Reply

  35. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment on my blog, Kate! Much appreciated. I absolutely love your blog, just subscribed and will visit soon, every now and then. Happy writing! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hi, thanks for coming over! Your story of the donkey was priceless. What a fantastic demonstration that we can use our setbacks as opportunities. I’ll also be back to visit soon!

      Reply

  36. Hi Kate! You have such a beautiful blog. Fortunately/Unfortunately I’ve lost a lot of sleep because I’m glued to the screen. You are so funny, so interesting and it seems like you were meant to share yourself like this with the world. Thanks.

    Did you say you were going through a bad hair month? What’s going on? 😦

    Reply

    1. Hi Irene, and thanks for that inspirational blog of yours 🙂 Wonderful to come across someone with such enthusiasm for all things hair…I’m in my mid ’40s, drifting from hairdresser to hairdresser, went from long to short bob about four months ago and it’s just all wrong…we don’t have the income to support loads of beautiful colour and although I’ve gone to mid range, quite expensive people for a cut no-one’s found something to make the heart sing yet. I figured I might stay tuned to your blog, see if I picked up some ideas. Wonderful pictures, lovely attitude towards hair.

      Reply

  38. Hi Kate,

    I was awarded the Liebster Blog Award, and you were one of the five blogs I wished to pass the award along to! You can read more about it on my blog.

    Many thanks,

    A.A. Trivedi

    Reply

  42. I have been wondering for the last month why you have not been posting! Turns out I must have clicked the unfollow button in error! Have a super weekend 🙂

    Reply

  43. Did you change the info in this “About” page, or is this really the very first time I have read it, and found out you are a teacher a well as everything else (substitute wife, mother, and housekeeper for “everything else” – as everything else is exactly what it is . . .EVERYTHING!) You are a great teacher – you have certainly taught me a great deal, and I am not an easy learner. I want PROOF! 😆

    Hope the inspection goes/went well. With you at the head, it is bound to!

    Reply

  44. Every time I visit, I cannot get over how acutely aware I am of your bit to the right ‘The world is jam-packed full of Stuff: good stuff, bad stuff, exciting stuff and enlightening stuff….And every bit of stuff is linked to other stuff with invisible bonds we cannot see.’

    I have always said, “we all have our shtufffs, as I have my own shtufffs”. Not to many get that. Its nice to drop in here to visit someone who does. And you express the ideal extremely well.

    Good ‘shtufffs’ you!

    Reply

  45. Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. It is a pleasure to meet and greet you. You have a very nice and informative along with well written blog.

    May you always be blessed in all you do, say, think and in your actions.

    Reply

  46. I truly enjoyed your written pieces. I loved the photos especially the cute little picture of the doggy. I love animals. How sweet!!! Thanks for posting on my poetry.

    Reply

  48. We’ve not been properly introduced – and that’s my fault. I was a bit shy to lob on in with inanities when you’re so busy trying to keep that pile of ironing under control, and your other personal responsibilities – not to mention entertaining and entrancing me (and my fellow bloggers) every day. Needless to say I’m a fan. So, when I was awarded the ABC (Awesome Blog Content) Award recently I immediately thought of your site, and I’ve nominated you – I hope you don’t mind?
    Follow this link, I think:
    https://thewanderlustgene.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/the-abc-of-me
    Ciao

    Reply

    1. Your words have made my day, Wanderlust. I am honoured: and I am an admirer of your writing too 🙂 Please, do feel free to lob in with whatever comments you feel like adding. The crowd who come here and say stuff have so many perspectives and its a joy to read every one.

      Thank you again!

      Reply

  50. Hello and thank you for your “like” on my blog. I’ve only been blogging since March and was quite delighted to find someone from “across the pond” had found me. I think I would very much enjoy taking a walk with you looking for all the blessings in the world around us. Actually, I do that every morning before heading out to work – the beauty of the sunrise and the world God has created fills “my tank” for the day. I look forward to reading/sharing more of your world.

    Reply

    1. Apologies for taking so long to answer you, hope4theheart! What a wonderful idea: to walk early every morning. I can well appreciate how that must prepare you for the day ahead 🙂

      Reply

  51. Hello Kate,

    I like your nice blog up here. I think you’ve got the talents, so please keep penning and keep inspiring! 🙂

    Here I would also like to thank you for following my blog. I hope my blog doesn’t disappoint you and that your visits there have been and will always be a joyful ride. 🙂

    Thank you again and lovely day to you, my new friend! 🙂

    Subhan Zein

    Reply

  52. Am I right in thinking you are a music graduate from Southampton University? I left the Music Department there in 1970 when it still only boasted three full-time lecturing staff (Prof Peter Evans, David Brown and composer Jonathan Harvey, who is apparently very ill at the moment) and about 30 undergrads. Now retired from school-teaching but still active in music, I seem to recognise aspects of musical sensibilities in your writing, in terms of themes, pace and register. Or it could be I’m reading too much into it…

    Reply

    1. Small world 🙂 I graduated from Southampton in the late eighties, and both Profs Evans and Brown were still there, flanked by three others. I studied composition under Eric Graebner. A surreal experience but pleasurable. Spent many happy hours in the Turner Simms….

      Reply

      1. Yes, Eric was there as a post-grad when I was there, and did some teaching too. The Turner Sims didn’t exist then, and all the concerts took place in the Nuffield Theatre, with the department in an adjacent corridor. If it was surreal for you, it was certainly like a dream existence for me!

  58. Pingback: The Booker Award « The Urge To Wander

    1. Hi Le Clown – not at all. Nice of you to come over and take a look. I did like Weebles’s post today: FP seems to have no rhyme or reason. Hope it comes your way soon.

      Reply

  61. We love your great and informative posts so we’ve decided to award you The Diamond Star Award.
    This is the highest award that is possible at BlOgcean, so well done and be proud! To find out more about it, visit: http://blogceanawardsofficial.wordpress.com/
    If you agree to receiving this, we will need your permission to publish a post on our Blog congratulating you on your fabulous achievement. The Diamond Star Award is only given out once a month and sometimes once every two months, so many people are interested in it, and it might make your Blog stats go up a bit.
    Thanks so much and congrats!
    BlOgcean Awards Official
    P.S You were originally brought to our attention by Rita Loves To Write at: http://ritalovestowrite.com/

    Reply

  66. Hello Kate,

    Happy New Year to you, hope it is not too late. May 2013 be a year of success, love, and happiness for you.

    Take care, many blessings and much love to you. 🙂

    Subhan Zein

    Reply

  67. I love your blog. I hope you will accept a nomination for the One Lovely Blog Award! You can go to my blog for more info. It’s writersite and you add the .org afterwards. It’s today’s post “Gratitude x 7+.” I can’t link it here, I guess.

    Reply
  68. Pingback: Very Inspiring Blogger Award | A Land To Wander

  70. Hi Kate, I’ve nominated you for a Leibster Award. The award is a “blogger to blogger award” that both allows other bloggers to show their appreciation to one another, and is a way to get to know some one new.

    Here’s what you should do if you are interested:

    1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
    2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
    3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
    4. Go to their page and tell them.
    5. No tag backs!

    Here are the 11 questions from me:
    1. When did you start blogging?
    2. What motivated you to start blogging?
    3. How often do you blog?
    4. What suggestions do you have for new bloggers?
    5. How much time do you put in on a blog?
    6. Where do you come up with your ideas?
    7. What other creative venues do you have?
    8. Do you post on a particular time/day of the week?
    9. What do you find most frustrating about blogging?
    10. If you could do any one thing on your blog what would it be?
    11. What was the favorite thing you ever did with your blog?

    Reading your post is one of my weekly pleasures.
    Cheers,
    Rita

    Reply

    1. By the way, so there’s no confusion – I’ve awarded you twice – once for the Word Press Family Award and now for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Can you ever have too many? Best ~ HuntMode

      Reply

    2. Huntmode, thank you so much. The family award sounded like such a gorgeous idea – very clever! And as for Very Inspiring, I can’t think of a greater accolade. Really kind of you!

      Reply

      1. Yes, I was a recipient and am passing the honor along to you and several other bloggers that I admire. Thank you and you’re welcome 🙂

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