4 month review of my blog

I have now been going 4 months. How successful have I been to date?

Well, the blog is not making any money for my causes. I had a £10 donation to the Sri Lankan orphanage and even that has proved impossible to pass on through paypal because of administrative regulations there. I am going to have to transfer, at least to Sri Lanka, another way.

I haven’t a clue how to address the fund raising thing. Suggestions would be welcome.

Even some of my best friends ask me somewhat bemusedly, ‘why are you doing it?’ It was initially going to be far more Peabody focused, but there has been limited scope to do that. My daughter, who is the one with the English degree, has said, when I told her of comments, ‘but Mum, you are a writer’. I think she is right. I have discovered my writing niche and this blog allows me to give expression to it. Over Christmas I read Rachel Joyce, ‘The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry’. In the postscript she writes, ‘when I write, I feel I can say the things inside me that don’t seem to have a place anywhere else’. I can identify with that.

I can bash out a blog post in about 10 minutes. These little gobbets just flow from me.

Someone else commented that the Sri Lankan and Cameroon posts can not be understood in isolation. While I have tried to edit them so there is a sort of ‘thought for the day’ in each post, this is true. They are a diary record and need to be read as such.

Some of the least likely people have become devoted readers. I have had nice emails from friends.

‘I have looked at your blog and what I love about it most is your honest observation and writing style, as well as being able to switch from one country to another. Such variety and inspiration, differences and subtle parallels between the three countries.  How do you find the time to blog? You are amazing! Really you should consider writing a book, you have such a gift for writing Hazel.  I like the layout of the site and the colourful logo.  I also really like your ‘about me’.  I wish I understood myself and could describe myself so eloquently’.

‘Loving the blog (not just saying that!)- the style/set up/content all impressive and thought provoking and human. Will continue to browse and view with interest’.

I have a following in Russia. As many people in Russia read my blog as in the UK.

My brother said, ‘but it doesn’t really tell you about community development’. He probably doesn’t really know what community development is, but in any case, it is not a, ‘this is how community development should be done’ type blog. It touches on what happened when I was plonked down in communities and expected to make a difference and what worked and what didn’t and why I think that was the case. It’s not a text book.

Deep down I think it is a transitional thing as I move from the second to third and final stage of my life. There is a huge amount of sorting, evaluating and laying to rest in the posts. I remember when I was thinking of its title right at the beginning I wanted something with which I/content could evolve. BORN59 is as neutral as it gets.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. It is a deep joy to be read.