#jamie tartt do do do do do da do

[mothsartart]

she wanted to paint his nails too :)

[221b-sociopath-street]

#ted lasso for dummies

01×01 Pilot

00:00:56 'But it's Hockney!'*

*David Hockney is one of the most influential British artists 🎨 of XX century. Known by his contribution to the pop art movement of the 60's.

As cliche as it is, the work of art that Rebecca and Higgins refers to is called 'Football Player'. And in real life it was sold for £22,500.

00:02:20 'Liam and Noel. Though, perhaps not an Oasis.'*

*It is impossible to imagine Britain and its culture without one of the biggest and most acclaimed bands of the 90's. Oasis is a quintessence of most hated and beloved band. Alcohol, drugs, canceled gigs, bad press, accusations of imitating the work of other musicians, rivalry between brothers and the boundless love of the fans - it's all about Oasis. So, maybe comparison made by Rebecca between George Cartrick's testicles and Liam/Noel Gallagher of Oasis is a pointer to beef (rivalry) history of latter.

00:04:04 'Jack Kerouac. The Dharma Bums'*

*The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. Description of mountain climbing, cycling, hitchhiking, poetry readings, jazz drunk parties is done through the prism of Buddhism. So maybe it makes sense: Ted and his philosophy of life and work?!

00:06:58 'Okay. That's Tower Bridge. Right. Not the London Bridge, because this one is still up'.

*For me as a foreigner it's a bit confusing?! Is it a reference to Operation London Bridge - the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II created in 60's, where the phrase 'London Bridge is down' is like signal of Queen's death to the PM and others, setting the plan into motion? Or is it like some touristy stuff?

00:08:39 'Y'all got Nathan's hot dogs 🌭 here?'*

* An American company that operates a chain of fast-food restaurant's  specializing in hot dogs. There are some restaurants in GB, but Nates lack of knowledge about them msybe suggests their unpopularity.

00:13:22 'Trent Crimm, The Independent.'*

* The Independent during 1986-2016 British print newspaper, nowadays - online newspaper. And it is owned by representative of the terrorist country and ex kgb agent 😵

00:18:57 'Wales. Is that another country?'*

*Yeap, Wales is a country (with it's own capital Cardiff) that is a part of another country - 🇬🇧 . Besides it UK consists of: England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

00:19:03 'It's kinda like America these days.'*

*Perhaps Ted is equating the countries within the UK to states in America OR is taking about sovereign states and dependent territories in the Americas(such as Canada, Brazil, Cuba and other)?!

00:19:25 'And am I getting notes of Axe body spray?'*

*If you are a man and you forget your body spray while traveling from the USA to GB, remember: AXE=LYNX 🤣

00:20:07 'Last time I saw eyes that cold, they were going head-to-head with Roy Scheider. Jaws? No, All that jazz.'

* Jaws and All That Jazz are among seven Scheider movies that are considered classics. And it's all known fact that he was really great performer, who knew how to hold the audience's attention both in the role of a shark-hunting sheriff and in the role of theater director/choreographer who was alcoholic, a driven workaholic and a womanizer .

00:22:29 'Never thought it would end being coached by Ronald fucking McDonald'*

*Ronald McDonald is a mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. 

I remember my first time at McDonald's and that creepy as fuck statue of clown, thank fucking God he is not around anymore in UA restaurants.

00:24:48 'Well, I hope you never run into Biz Markie.'*

*We share your sentiment Ted. It is really bad. Biz Markie, was an American rapper and singer. Sometimes was referred to as the "Clown Prince of Hip Hop". Fellas, it is all we need to know.

Part 2

[jopzer]

girljamie to go with girlroy ... i'm of two minds when it comes to s3 girljamie , i am both in favor of big chop AND she leaves it long but lightens it still... idk. bangs be upon her either way ig

(more of richmond's women's team can be found here <3)

[shrinking-violetta]

uhhh I think it happened again....that moment when you realize you're going to become obsessed with someone......it took 2 and a half seasons......but the red string getting ripped off jamie tartt's dick did something to me 🥴

[fanficfanattic]

From my S1 AU where Simon dies the same day that Jamie pulled his “can’t train” stunt.

“…But he could bake, and I could eat, and he was bound and determined to bake something I could enjoy as well. So I think I really saw him for the first time then. Not as someone trying to manipulate me to clear the way for him and mummy.

She loved him enough that I never gave her too much trouble. She’s always worked so hard trying to give me a good life. And he was hopelessly in love with her. Not that I can blame the man for that. She’s a right catch. And I thought we were just going to politely coexist until I made my prem debut and got me own place.

But he didn’t want that. He wanted us to be a family. To be there as much for me as he was for mummy. In his incredibly nerdy-ass way. That absolute dork.”

Jamie probably wasn’t the first person to ever roll their eyes while giving a eulogy. But he was certainly going to be the only time any of these people saw it happen ever again.

“I never called him me da’ cause that dubious honor goes to James Tartt. Senior. But that didn’t mean he was nothing to me. Honestly, almost any man can get a girl pregnant. But it is few men indeed what can learn to manage me in a tiff. Can get past the, uhh, the armor I keep on. At least without violence.

Doing the work to build a relationship with me, from the ground up, was work he called important. Well. He didn’t call it work, he called it a joy, which might have backfired a bit. Cause I figured that had to be a lie. Made me resist him a little harder for a while there.

The thing is that it weren’t. A lie. He really was like that. He loved mummy with his whole heart, which was easy. He loved me too, which was not. I made sure it wasn’t but he never gave up.

And that makes me so angry. Right now.

Because if he hadn’t done that, I could have come up here and said something trite. Made a quick statement and then focused on helping me mum.

Instead I’m sad, and I hate being sad. And mad, which no one here could doubt I’m well used to. And I’m scared of the dumbest thing on Earth— I don’t know how to make me mum’s favorite biscuits. And I can’t imagine a world where she can ever be happy again without them.”

At her soft response, her “oh baby”, barely picked up by his mic, he turned to look at her off to the side.

“I’ll do me best mummy, swear down. Won’t even burn your kitchen up. Promise.” She was crying, but she also let out a watery giggle, and then nodded for him to finish up. So he could come sit by her side and hold her hand and squeeze it whenever someone said something too hard to bear alone.

[rosiesramblings]

My Mummy and My Simon

Fandom: Ted Lasso

W/C: 1.5k

A/N: Ok, I'm back with a fic, but fair warning it isn't a tickle fic. This has been rotting in my drafts for months and I just happened to be struck by the inspiration stick today. I hope you enjoy anyway!

“This is my Mummy and my Simon.”

It was how Jamie had introduced them for as long as he could remember. When he was a lad, he felt special when he said it - everybody and their Mummy had a Da, but Jamie was the only one with a Simon.

Jamie didn’t see them as often nowadays, with the distance between Richmond and Manchester, but he suspects that if he had anyone to introduce them to, that was still how he would do it.

He wasn’t sure why he was thinking about it, to be honest, while he stared at today’s post on his kitchen island. His housekeeper usually brings it in when she arrives and leaves it for Jamie to sort through. It’s rarely anything special - who uses the post anymore? - just the usual notices from the town and sometimes one of those circulars with coupons from the Tesco. Jamie wasn’t really sure why he felt so sick when he looked at it that day, until his brain processes what his eyes have already seen - the neatly typed James Tartt, Jr. across the front of one of the bills.

Jamie hated his full name with a passion - forever a reminder of the man who haunts his nightmares, the man who Jamie himself could become if he’s not careful. Jamie grimaced and turned away, forcing back the memories of what had happened when James overheard him telling someone that he lived with his Mummy and his Simon.

Simon was an odd duck, to be sure, but then again so was Jamie. He was a large man, still taller than grown-up Jamie, but he never made Jamie feel small or unsafe. Jamie was pretty sure it was impossible for Simon to make anyone feel that way, with his soft pastel jumpers and his obsession with that baking show and his job at the library. When it took Jamie so much longer than the other kids to learn to read, Simon never said a word about it, just gifted Jamie CD’s that Simon had recorded of himself reading Jamie’s favorite books for Jamie’s eighth birthday. He was pretty sure Simon didn’t know that after Jamie got his first Premiere League cheque, he had paid someone to put the recordings on his new phone. Jamie still listened to Simon’s voice read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief when he came down with a cold.

Jamie fixed himself a post-training smoothie and sighed. Roy was bringing Phoebe over for Jamie to babysit since Roy had a coaches meeting and Ruth was busy saving lives at the hospital. Jamie idly washed out his blender, thinking of Simon and Mummy and how he really should give them a call soon. He was so lost in thought he didn’t hear Roy and Phoebe let themselves in before they were in his kitchen and Roy said, “Why the fuck do you get that wanker’s post sent to your house?”

Jamie whirled around, hand on his racing heart, before he processed what Roy was saying. “What?”

“Hi Jamie!” Phoebe waved cheerfully before going right over to the coffee table where he had gotten out the coloring books he kept specifically for Phoebe Days.

“Why is your arse of a father getting his post here?” Roy restated, gesturing to the pile of mail on the counter. “Thought you said you didn’t talk to him anymore?”

“I don’t,” Jamie said, confused. “That’s my post.”

Roy did a double take. “You’re named after that piece of shit?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you change it?”

“I did change it.” Jamie said. “Don’t go by James, now, do I?”

“I meant legally,” Roy explained. “So you don’t have to be fucking James Tartt Jr. in the fucking public record.”

“You can do that?” Jamie asked, incredulous, just as Phoebe called, “That’s five pounds so far, Uncle Roy!”

“Put it on my tab,” Roy called back. “And yeah, you can do that, you muppet. Costs like fifty pounds and might take a couple of weeks for the paperwork to come back, but you can do it. I still badger Ruth sometimes to change her name back to Kent, but she doesn’t want the fucking publicity.”

“Huh,” Jamie said, a whole new world of possibilities opening up before him. Roy kissed Phoebe goodbye and left for his meeting, and Jamie and Phoebe spent the afternoon coloring and playing kickabout in the yard.

***

A few days later, Jamie found himself on some government website, since you can do everything on the internet these days. He carefully typed Jamie into the form where it asked for what he wanted his new first name to be, cause it would be super embarrassing to have a typo and then have to do the whole thing all over again. The next box asked if he wanted to change his middle name, and Jamie paused. He hadn’t thought about that.

Jamie thought of James. He thought of Mummy, and he thought of Simon, and found he didn’t really need to think about it at all.

***

Simon’s birthday rolled along, and Jamie made the usual arrangements to donate to the library in Simon’s name. He’d done it every year since he could scrounge up the money, mowing lawns of council estates after Under-10’s training and looking after neighborhood kids until he had enough for a ten or fifteen pound donation. It never failed to bring a tear or two to Simon’s eyes, even now that Jamie had more money than he knew what to do with and made monthly donations to Simon’s library anyway, not that Simon knew that.

Jamie packed a bag to go and visit Manchester for Simon’s birthday, and as he printed his receipt showing the library donation to give to Simon, his eyes lingered on the email he’d received from the Royal Courts of Justice, notifying him that his change of name had been processed successfully. Before he could talk himself out of it, Jamie printed that off too, carefully folded it up with the donation receipt, and placed it in a small gift bag patterned with cheerful yellow ducks. It was made for kids, but Jamie knew Simon would appreciate it.

The drive to Manchester wasn’t too long, especially once Jamie put on Simon’s narration of the second Percy Jackson book. He’d made it through a good fifteen chapters by the time he was pulling his flashy car into the old familiar row of council estates.

Georgie shrieked, as she always did, when she flung open the door to her ‘sexy little baby!’ and Jamie picked her up and swung her around. 

Simon’s familiar, “Oh, there they go!” sang in Jamie’s ears as he put Mummy down and turned to wish Simon a happy birthday. 

The three of them migrated to the kitchen, Simon having made an impressive array of Jamie-friendly desserts. Georgie and Jamie sang an off-key rendition of Happy Birthday, and Simon pretended to conduct them with his candy thermometer. Soon enough, Jamie was pushing his be-ducked gift bag onto the table in front of Simon.

“Now, what could this be?” Simon grinned as he snagged the donation receipt from among the tissue paper. He unfolded it and, to no one’s surprise, unsuccessfully blinked back tears. “Oh, Duckie, thank you so much!” he said, and launched into an explanation of the new kids learn-to-read program that the donation would fund for the next year.

Not expecting anything else, Simon placed the receipt back in the bag and reached for Georgie’s gift. “Actually, there’s one more thing in there,” Jamie said sheepishly.

“More!” Simon mouthed amazedly to himself as he went back to the yellow bag. Jamie watched with anticipation as Simon drew out the email and carefully unfolded it, squinting his eyes a bit as he began to read.

Jamie watched as a dumbfounded look came over his stepfather, and he opened his mouth to start to say he could always change it back, but before he could Simon looked up at Jamie and burst into tears. Georgie startled, and Jamie leapt up in alarm, not sure whether to run away or try and comfort him. Simon made the decision for him when he stood and threw his arms around Jamie, still sobbing noisily.

Jamie, bewildered, gingerly patted Simon on the back, before swallowing and asking, “It’s alright then?”

Simon just sobbed louder, clumsily running his fingers through Jamie’s hair as Georgie muttered, “What on earth?” and snatched the paper from her husband’s hand. Before long, she too was sobbing, though still quite a bit more composedly than Simon. There, clearly written on the page, were the words: Official Change of Name - Jamie Simon Tartt.

Eventually everyone calmed down enough for Simon to say that it was more than alright, that he loved Jamie so much, that he was so honored by Jamie’s choice, and that was enough to get Jamie and Georgie with the waterworks again, Simon himself following not long after. 

They sat on the sofa for the rest of the evening, watching old reruns of Simon’s baking show and eating too many of Simon’s desserts. Jamie sat between his Mummy and his Simon, who wouldn’t let go of his boy for anything, relishing in the evening spent with his family.

[richmonds-disaster-bi]

So apologies for mass-liking most of your blog - I just found, you lovely darling, and have fallen deeply in adoration for your AU’s and prompts.

Thought for the Charlie Tartt AU: Baby’s First Steps are on the pitch.

Say it’s a mini interview for the local news or some such, Jamie’s talking to the reporter and the boys are entertaining Charlie, holding his hands and helping him stand up and jump around like pre-walking babies do….

Only this is Baby Tartt and when he realizes his Damie isn’t paying attention or answering him, well he’ll just have to go get him (Roy Kent Glare in full effect)!

(It goes viral almost immediately and Jamie just snapping around, ignoring the reporter and dropping to his knees becomes the new hit meme)

You are very welcome to my blog and rambles!!!! And I absolutely love this idea, so here, have this!

Jamie shifted from foot to foot as the interview drew near it's end. He didn't mind this one, but he could hear Charlie laughing in the background with the team. The sound making him want to go over and pick his little brother up and toss him in the air gently to hear that laugh that made Jamie fill with warmth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dani and Sam doing a weird dance. Charlie was sat on the pitch, clapping his hands together with Colin sitting behind him to make sure the little one was safe. Roy was closer to Jamie, eyes flitting between Jamie and Charlie. Ever their protector and it took everything in Jamie not to stop himself reaching out for his hand. He and Roy's relationship was still so fresh, but it felt as if they had been together years with how right it all felt. "Sorreh, what was that?", Jamie laughed, realising that he hadn't been paying attention. The interviewer, a lovely young female sports journalist just laughed with him. No annoyance in her voice or eyes as she repeated the question, grinning as she looked passed Jamie to what distracted him. "The team seem to love their newest fan", she commented after a few moments, pointing to where Sam and Colin were now holding Charlie's hands. Charlie bouncing between them before they swung him gently a little off the ground under Roy's watchful glare. "They love Charlie, and he loves them. Honestleh, they've been some of my biggest support and his", Jamie beamed, turning back to face her. The interview continues for another few moments before it's interupted by a gasp from Roy of all people that has Jamie turning to face the other but Roy is laser focused on something else. His mouth open slightly and Jamie swears he sees a glint in his eyes that means Roy is crying. "Oh my god", the interviewer gasped, and that has Jamie turning around just in time to see Charlie with a little Roy-like glare on his face, standing alone and taking a wobbly step as Colin and Sam watch. Isaac hovering with hands out behind him, ready to catch but Charlie is determined. "Da", Charlie huffs, eyes fixed on Jamie as he toddles forward and Jamie isn't even thinking as he snaps his attention full towards his little man, dropping to his knees with his arms out as Charlie makes his way towards him. The team follow him. All of them ready to step in but Charlie is truely a little mix of Jamie's determination and Roy's stubborness as he makes his way to him. His little face breaking into a grin when he finally pushes into Jamie's hold, a hand slapping Jamie's cheek as he proudly looks up at Jamie. "Da!", Charlie repeated, grumbling as he rubs a cheek off Jamie's top before Jamie is cuddling him close. "Char!", Jamie choked out, overwhelmed with pride and happiness as he kisses his little brothers head, "You brilliant little boy" "Takes after his big brother", Roy's voice is filled with pride, his hand warm and reassuring as it settled on Jamie's back as the other crouched beside him. Jamie didn't know about that, but all he cared about right now was the way Charlie was laughing and reaching for Roy to pat his cheek too.

[blogdebrinquedo]

Chaveiros Ted Lasso 3D Figural Bag Clip Série 2 (Blind-Bag)

A Monogram International colocou em pré-venda a segunda coleção de chaveiros 3D Foam Collector Bag Clips da série de streaming Ted Lasso do Apple TV+. A coleção Ted Lasso Series 2 3D Foam Bag Clips vem com novas versões de chaveiros da primeira coleção e novos personagens como Sam Obisanya e a Dra. Sharon Fieldstone, mais o Ted Lasso, Rebecca Welton, Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt e Keeley Jones, além da…

[agosnesrerose]

Artful Books to Celebrate World Book Day

World Book Day — Books That Come Alive with Art

Happy World Book Day! There’s no better time to share our favorite books inspired by art and artists and, of course, books that inspire us to make art. We’ve got recommendations for everyone and we encourage you to share your favorites with us. We’re always looking for a good read!

Books about Specific Artworks

For those of you who love spending time getting to know a painting really well (even if part of what you get to know is fictitious!), these reads are for you.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

  For mystery lovers

No list of books inspired by art would be complete without mention of Dan Brown’s mystery novels. You’ll visit the Louvre and the Palazzo Vecchio between the covers of these two.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Inferno by Dan Brown

  About Working Artists and Their Lives

Covering artists both real and fictional, contemporary and historical, these novels look at the everyday lives of working artists. From family issues to dealing with rivals or mental health issues, the characters balance art with life just like we do.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

The Great Man by Kate Christensen

How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall

Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers

A Seahorse Year by Stacey D’Erasmo

  For History Buffs

When one stops to consider how destructive humans have been in the past 100 years alone, it’s astounding how much artwork has actually survived. These two books share the lengths several men and women went to in order to hide, save, and rescue artwork during World War II.

The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel

Saving Italy by Robert M. Edsel

  For Sci-Fi Fans

Even “ugly” art is meaningful to someone as you’ll discover in this time-travel novel in which researchers from Oxford go through great lengths and several centuries to rescue a supposedly atrocious piece of art.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Ellis

  Classics

These classics could have easily fit into other categories on this list but come on, they’re classics!

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

A Room with a View by E. M. Forester

The Horse’s Mouth by Joyce Cary

  Books That Feel Like Art

These books may not be about art per se, but the descriptions of the settings and feelings of the characters beg for painted interpretations. The Enchanted April and Journey by Moonlight inspired me to create a watercolor travel journal for a trip to Italy.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb

The Waves by Virginia Woolf

  Books to Inspire You to Make Art

And of course, no book list from ArtistsNetwork.com would be complete without books that will enchant and encourage you to make art.

Art Journey Abstract Painting edited by Jamie Markle

The Art of Mistakes by Melanie Rothschild

John Salminen: Master of the Urban Landscape

Don’t forget to share your favorite books about art and artists in the comments section below. And Happy World Book Day!

Save

Save

The post Artful Books to Celebrate World Book Day appeared first on Artist's Network.

from Artist’s Network http://ift.tt/2p86263

http://ift.tt/2pQRB4d

[mredwinsmith]

Artful Books to Celebrate World Book Day

World Book Day — Books That Come Alive with Art

Happy World Book Day! There’s no better time to share our favorite books inspired by art and artists and, of course, books that inspire us to make art. We’ve got recommendations for everyone and we encourage you to share your favorites with us. We’re always looking for a good read!

Books about Specific Artworks

For those of you who love spending time getting to know a painting really well (even if part of what you get to know is fictitious!), these reads are for you.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

  For mystery lovers

No list of books inspired by art would be complete without mention of Dan Brown’s mystery novels. You’ll visit the Louvre and the Palazzo Vecchio between the covers of these two.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Inferno by Dan Brown

  About Working Artists and Their Lives

Covering artists both real and fictional, contemporary and historical, these novels look at the everyday lives of working artists. From family issues to dealing with rivals or mental health issues, the characters balance art with life just like we do.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

The Great Man by Kate Christensen

How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall

Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers

A Seahorse Year by Stacey D’Erasmo

  For History Buffs

When one stops to consider how destructive humans have been in the past 100 years alone, it’s astounding how much artwork has actually survived. These two books share the lengths several men and women went to in order to hide, save, and rescue artwork during World War II.

The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel

Saving Italy by Robert M. Edsel

  For Sci-Fi Fans

Even “ugly” art is meaningful to someone as you’ll discover in this time-travel novel in which researchers from Oxford go through great lengths and several centuries to rescue a supposedly atrocious piece of art.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Ellis

  Classics

These classics could have easily fit into other categories on this list but come on, they’re classics!

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

A Room with a View by E. M. Forester

The Horse’s Mouth by Joyce Cary

  Books That Feel Like Art

These books may not be about art per se, but the descriptions of the settings and feelings of the characters beg for painted interpretations. The Enchanted April and Journey by Moonlight inspired me to create a watercolor travel journal for a trip to Italy.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb

The Waves by Virginia Woolf

  Books to Inspire You to Make Art

And of course, no book list from ArtistsNetwork.com would be complete without books that will enchant and encourage you to make art.

Art Journey Abstract Painting edited by Jamie Markle

The Art of Mistakes by Melanie Rothschild

John Salminen: Master of the Urban Landscape

Don’t forget to share your favorite books about art and artists in the comments section below. And Happy World Book Day!

Save

Save

The post Artful Books to Celebrate World Book Day appeared first on Artist's Network.

from Artist's Network http://ift.tt/2p86263

[bookinndog]

Bonny Books: ‘Buddha Da’ by Anne Donovan

Article source: ‘Jimmy’s New View’, Joyce Henderson’s review of ‘Buddha Da’ for Dharma Life

Scots writer Anne Donovan's acclaimed debut novel Buddha Da explores how western Buddhists can appear through the character of an ordinary Glaswegian who gets involved with his local Buddhist centre. She spoke to Joyce Henderson

Interviewing Anne Donovan is an intense experience. Petite and animated, she demonstrates critical awareness and objectivity about her work, but with no lack of passion. Her training as a teacher is obvious as she fends off questions about her personal life. You can try all you like for revealing biographical details but you won't get far, except for an occasional reference to her five-year-old son. She is much more comfortable talking about her work.

Donovan tells me that she started with her three main characters and the book developed from there. There's Jimmy who's a painter and decorator and a bit of a joker, his sensible wife Liz and his daughter Anne-Marie, who thinks becoming a Buddhist is Jimmy's biggest joke yet.

'It was the most outlandish thing he could do in the eyes of his daughter,' explains Donovan. 'I had in mind a particular sort of guy - an extrovert working man, from a tight-knit West of Scotland family who had never grown up in a way. He had married a woman who did all the sensible grown-up stuff for him. And here he was hitting 40, his father had died two years before and his daughter was growing up. I wanted to see what happened when he started to look inside and examine what was going on in his life.'

Donovan was also drawn to exploring the threads of Buddhism, for reasons she thinks were only partly conscious. But she was particularly impressed by the Buddhist understanding that we are all intrinsically pure, we just don't realise it.

'Take those television programmes that give people advice on their clothes and make them look at themselves in a 360-degree mirror and point out the faults. Sometimes people see them and sometimes they don't. It is similarly difficult for people to accept their innate goodness. That's what impresses me about Buddhism - the idea that we are 'good' already but we just don't see it. We often think we have to do positive things to become good. In the book I try to question that notion: suggesting that it's not about adding things, more about getting rid of the rubbish to see what's already inside us.'

In a crucial scene in Buddha Da, Jimmy sees himself drunk and fooling around on a video made at a family party and does not like what he sees. He has already started to meditate and, while his family see nothing wrong with the video, he is disgusted. He has started to view things from a Buddhist perspective, which clashes with his family's outlook. 'In meditation you are trying to see things as they really are. This was Jimmy's moment of clarity. It's as if he sees through someone else's eyes, looks at himself objectively for the first time,' she explains.

Donovan has drawn on her own experience of this process: she learnt to meditate at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre in Sauchiehall Street and has been on several retreats at Dhanakosa, a retreat centre in the Scottish Highlands. However, she insists that the Buddhist venues are a conflation of several places, and the incidents mostly invented. She gathered her sense of place from Dhanakosa, if not the specifics. But the incidents, the characters, the conversations and even the soup will ring uncannily true to anyone who's ever attended a newcomers' retreat there - and probably provoke a smile of recognition.

Donovan has read widely and has studied abroad with Tibetan teachers. The Buddhist teachers Jimmy encounters in Buddha Da are Tibetan Rinpoches. 'For the purposes of the novel, they had to be exotic because I wanted the clash of cultures. And in Tibetan Buddhism there is a great emphasis on lineage, just as there is in the extended family of the West of Scotland. Jimmy was rooted in his close-knit family. He works with his brother and there is a sense of things being passed down from one generation to another. It's why his daughter Anne-Marie is so grounded. I wanted to explore that idea of lineage.'

Brought up a Catholic in Coatbridge on the outskirts of Glasgow, Donovan now explores different spiritual traditions in her own life. She finds the Buddha an inspirational character and meditation a very sane activity, especially in a busy life. She meditates now and again and also draws inspiration from Christianity, enjoying the contemplative atmosphere on Jesuit retreats.

'Meditation brings you into your body and the Metta Bhavana practice is great for dealing with Scottish conditioning, which instils the belief that it's selfish to think of yourself. What a revelation to be encouraged to develop feelings of loving-kindness towards yourself.'

In Buddha Da, Jimmy approaches meditation as something that is going to get him somewhere. He is attracted to the lamas he meets and wants what they've got. He doesn't see what is right under his own nose. He is also blind to the effects his actions have on his family. 'In a way Jimmy was selfish because he decided to become celibate without considering his wife and he decided to become a vegetarian, yet it was Liz who had to cook him separate meals. He didn't address the tension between what they both wanted and needed,' explains Donovan.

Another of Buddha Da's underlying themes is the Buddhist teaching of impermanence. Jimmy acts instinctually, which causes his wife and daughter to take their own courses of action. He believes what he is doing will benefit them all. And imagines they will be just the same when he has finished exploring. In the end he has to face the unpleasant consequences of his absence from the family which, paradoxically, initiates his purest impulse. He responds from his highest self, arriving where he hoped to be but not by the planned route.

Donovan makes the perceptive point that most of us would like things to improve without anything having to change, and relates it to her own experience of writing. As a child she wrote stories but gave up after feeling 'intimidated' by studying the literary greats at university. A writing retreat in 1995 encouraged her to take writing more seriously and she began to finish stories. She won the Macallan/Scotland on Sunday short story competition in 1997 and was a winner of the Canongate prize in 1999/2000. Jamie Byng of Canongate Press encouraged her to continue writing and eventually gave her a two-book deal for her short story collection Hieroglyphics and her novel, Buddha Da. But she only recently gave up her career as an English teacher to write full time.

'Change is hard. But everything is changing all the time and we are often trying to hold on to things. I worried that giving up my job to write full-time would mean I'd end up living in a black bin bag. I'd pass a homeless person on the street and think, 'that could be me!' But when I found the book had been well-reviewed and was selling well, I decided to take the plunge and resign. Things fall into place when you commit yourself.'

Things fell into place spectacularly for Donovan. Two weeks after she resigned she was shortlisted for the Orange prize, an international award for women writers (along with Carol Shields, Zadie Smith, Sheena Mackay, Donna Tartt and Valerie Martin). Donovan is now working on a screenplay for Buddha Da, which provides paid work whether or not it makes it to the screen. The small stylish figure of Anne Donovan disappears along a Glasgow street. Change seems to suit her. She walks with a spring in her step and she doesn't look back.

The Guardian review of Buddha Da

The Wow 24/7 interview with Anne Donovan

[mothsartart]

bro…. what’d you say to make him look at you like that

[221b-sociopath-street]

Hello from UA👋 to all enthusiastic fan's of Ted Lasso TV series!

Our favorite show is filled with many references to American & British culture, that are not always clear to foreigners 🥺. So I have this crazy idea to analyze every episode and write about my findings 🙃.

So under tag #ted lasso for dummies all interested will be able to see my findings. Cheers!

[fanficfanattic]

This is an extra long passage, mostly dialogue only (since I always write that first), from my Someday-Will-Be-Finished investigative journalist universe.

“Had a teammate at Richmond, his da might be one of the best I’ve ever heard of. Or heard. ‘cause of the time, he’d call while were at the club. Got put on speaker a lot so Sam could still workout while talking.

Didn’t realize at the time that I were sick with jealousy.”

“You didn’t realize you were jealous?”

“Yeah, remember that last interview? Didn’t have even a little understanding of me emotions back then. Fuck it, I’ve only made a small bit of progress on that since starting therapy.

So at the time, any feeling that was negative got put in the Being Angry box. So I was ‘angry’ that other people got to have great dads who were proud of them for doing less well than me. When me own always had something new to be a cunt about.

Not proud of it now, cause it meant I was especially shitty to Sam. He gave me more chances to not be a prick than most anyone else there. And I returned that kindness with some real targeted lashing out.

Not that he were the only one who got treated to the Jamie Tartt special.”

And Jamie’s laugh was full of self-loathing. She was sure he didn’t even realize. Maybe he hadn’t gotten to that emotion on his color wheel yet.

“You didn’t know though?”

“Like that fucking matters. Sure, it’s a reason. But it ain’t an excuse. You don’t have to understand why you’re angry to know you aren’t meant to take it out on others.

And that’s the thing, innit? I took in all me da’s anger and then threw it on to everyone around me. Makes me fucking sick to think that means I’m no better than him.”

“What, no-”

“Nah, don’t have to say it trying to make me feel better. It’s true! I’m not like me da, fuck I’d never hurt a kid in my life. But I’m not better than him.

And, like, this shit wasn’t even to do with his rules and demands. He’d have no way of knowing what I did or said inside the club.

So it were still fucked up that I acted like he taught me. Cause that was me avoiding getting hurt by him. Or more hurt than standard, suppose. But I were just passing that pain onto someone else. Fucking cowardly.”

“Listen, Jamie, I’m supposed to just ask questions, not make assumptions or give advice. And it was wrong of you to hurt others. But it was not cowardly to do whatever you could to survive. Especially since my investigation suggests that he was conditioning you to make obedience your default response.

And maybe you weren’t better than him, before, though I think you’re taking on way too much blame there. But you certainly are now, because you’re trying to be. You think it’s important and so you’re doing the work.

He isn’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“I interviewed him too. Now that I’m at the end of my time with him, I feel a lot more comfortable telling you that I agree he’s a cunt.”

[fanficfanattic]

Okay, I’m doing it! Posting a ficlet here. Why is the Ted Lasso fandom so great and also so very wild?

It’s found family, Sam and Jamie as best friends and brothers. Just under 1,000 words and neither extra edited or britpicked at all.

Sam had to have planned it, for all that it seemed like he sprung it on Jamie out of nowhere. Because of the extra training with Roy, Jamie was now almost always the first to arrive at the club. That used to be Isaac, saying he should as captain, but after he realized he’d never beat Jamie, he stopped worrying about keeping it up.

He hadn’t wanted anyone to arrive to the club and be alone. But Jamie wasn’t alone, not really, since Coach Kent was always with him.

And Sam, beautiful innocent baby angel Sam, took advantage of this fact. Like a beautiful devilish baby angel!

He didn’t even wait for Jamie to finish changing before breaking the silence.

“Before, one of the reasons you’d lash out at me…it was because you were jealous of my relationship with my father.” He didn’t even bother to make it sound like a question.

Still, Jamie nodded in answer. And then thought about accountability. He had to make the apology, not just agree with Sam’s assessment.

“That weren’t right of me, Sammy. I’m sorry, I knew it then but just…he seems like a really good da.”

Sam’s grin after that put him back to normal angel status for Jamie. And then his next response put him back into devil baby status. Was a real roller-coaster of a morning Number 24 was putting him through.

“Well, that is easy to resolve. We’ll just share him.” Jamie laughs even though Sam said it so earnestly. At the sound, Sam smiles again, but Jamie isn’t falling for that. He is proven right to have had those doubts because Sam gets out his phone to video call someone.

Of course it was Ola, Sam had directly told him that they were going to share his father.

“Hello my son.”

“Hello, Daddy. I want to introduce you to your other son.”

His dad repeats it, half a question in his voice, even as Jamie goes “Sam, what the fuck?”

“Daddy, you remember Jamie.” It wasn’t a question, so Ola didn’t answer it. He just looked at the startled face of Sam’s surprising best friend.

And he has heard Sam say so very much about Jamie Tartt:

—from the beginning of Jamie’s loan when Sam became increasingly upset but tried not to be bitter.

—from when he heard the rumor that Jamie was coming back but Coach Lasso said he wasn’t.

—from how betrayed he felt when Jamie did show up, and how he took that hurt out on Jamie. Even though it didn’t feel like that’s what he was doing at the time.

—to the begrudging respect when Jamie covered the logo and told the team that they should all wear the same kit.

—to Sam witnessing Jamie’s father, pretend punching towards his son in a way that made Jamie tense up, suggesting that he never knew when it was pretend and when it was real. That it ever had been real was unfathomably evil.

—to the pride Sam felt, that he thinks everyone felt, even Coach Lasso before he disappeared- that Jamie used what he’d learned in therapy. To set a boundary, to repeat it without needing to justify it, to be calm when his father was trying to rile him up.

—to the fear he felt, when that man laid hands on Jamie, pulling and shoving, and everyone knew, then, that he wouldn’t hesitate to turn violent against his son.

—except Jamie defended himself. Sam said it was a solid punch but that it wasn’t practiced. Because Jamie riled up other players, and he could shove with the best of them, but he didn’t ever take it farther than that.

—except “Jamie looked lost, daddy. Like he had no idea what to do after protecting himself, because he’d never done that before.”

—except Jamie’s dad got up, laughing cruelly, saying he’d let Jamie have that one for free even as he was preparing to exact a cost.

—and then Beard had removed him. Swooped in to protect Jamie from his father’s wrath.

—and then Roy swooped in to hug Jamie, to hold all his pieces close so that when he broke, it would be easier for Jamie to put himself back together.

“Daddy, you remember Jamie.”

“Of course I do, how could I ever forget my second son?” He kept the same warmth and love in his voice when addressing them.

“You’re both barmy!” Jamie shouted at the phone, at Sam, at his apparent new father. But with his head thrown back as he opened his mouth impossibly wide to laugh. For all that his biological father tried to make him feel small, Jamie refused to be so; filling up any room with his presence. Both Obisanyas loved that for him.

But for now, Sam just chided him, “Is that any way to talk to your father and brother?” After Ola’s chuckle, the three of them had a slightly more normal conversation about their past week. Still, Jamie became hyperaware as teammates trickled in and saw them.

Sam might move the phone in a circle, after checking the state of people’s dress, so they could all chime in a hello. But he never had someone right by him to converse with his dad. Well, their dad now. Sam had meant this sharing business, it turned out.

They ended the call when Roy entered the room, immediately calling the room to task when he spotted this unusual set-up.

“The fuck is going on with Tartt and Sam?”

“That’s our cue, gotta go, it was great talking to you…Da…?” Jamie offered tentatively. His unsure smile widened when Ola agreed it was nice to catch up.

He waited until Ola and Sam finished, but was surprised by the second send off.

“Goodbye my sons, I love you so very much.”

Sam hit end, and the room grew loud with hollering. Jamie was right there with the lads, but he was grinning like a loon when he called out “Goddamnit Samuel!“

“What!”

“It’s less than a week until Father’s Day. How fast is the mail from England to Nigeria?!?”

[fanficfanattic]

Win and/or Road

You know not what you have wrought. Cause both of these are dark.

Warning for some homophobic bullshit from James Tartt. And literal lashing.

Win:

“Gonna give you a choice, son-o-mine. You’ll get the buckle end-“ “Wait, what?” “-or you can earn getting the leather end. I know how much your pretty boy appearance is to you, and the buckle ain’t like what you’re used to. It’ll scar.”

“Why are you doing this, da?”

“You know why I’m here, ya cunt. Been gone for a couple of months but less than one with the American clown and suddenly you’re all soft again. Don’t know what he’s said to you, or promised you, but I ain’t raised you to step down from a fight, did I?”

He waited before grabbing Jamie by the barely longer front of his hair to yank his head back.

“Asked you a question, boy.”

“No,” and for a second his dad was visibly preparing to strike at the denial, before Jamie desperately rushed the rest of the sentence, “you ain’t raised me to be a pussy”.

“That’s right. And ya done that in front of cameras. Half of Manchester is laughing at the Tartt name. At my name. So you understand why I need to guarantee you’re sorry. Don’t you?”

You could barely hear it, but Jamie quietly whispered “yes” back at him. Normally he’d say something about mumbling. But he had more important things to consider.

“You want to hear what will let you avoid the buckle?”

“Yes, da.”

“Mind your fucking manners with me.”

“Yes, please, da.”

“I know how much you admire Kent, for all that you yap at him like an overeager pup. You coulda had him out of that game in moments, I taught you how to fight well enough.

Which means you didn’t want to actually win that fight. Don’t matter if it’s because he was your childhood footie hero” and his dad spit on the floor at his feet, “or you felt sorry for him. Or you’re more soft than I thought, eh? Got a crush, boy?”

The lines of Jamie’s back go rigid. Before he can respond, his dad just chuckles.

“Always so sensitive about that. I know you ain’t a poof for all that you dress like one. Like I said, it don’t matter why you keep putting up with Kent. Only that it’s got to stop. What am I always telling you Jamie?”

“That I’m too stupid to think so I should stop trying?” His dad let out a bark of a laugh.

“I do say that, yes, but I meant how I keep telling you that getting attached to the other players will only drag you down. Propping them up makes you look mediocre, and that won’t get you proper minutes when you’re back with City, will it?”

Jamie knew better than to stay silent this time.

“It won’t, you’re right.”

“This Richmond loan was your chance to really see what it were like without all the other players having hooks in ya. Not your fault that you grew up with first team as your mentors. But they ain’t your friends you stupid boy. And neither are those Richmond lads.”

He didn’t ask a question so Jamie kept quiet but the anxiety just built and built. Right before it boiled over, his da gently brushed his hair back into place from when he’d grabbed it.

“You know I don’t like doing this, Jamie. But I do because it’s for your own good, yeah?”

Jamie’s breath hitched because that was a lie. But one too dangerous to call out.

“Course da. I know it.”

He got a brisk pat on the head as a reward for keeping his voice from breaking.

“Good, good. And you can prove you know it by doing as I say. That’s what will earn you the leather rather than the buckle.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Admit to me, now, that you know Kent don’t belong on the pitch no more. And that you’ll help him realize it.”

Jamie’s voice sounded faint. “What?”

And in turn his dad’s voice got firmer.

“Kent. The one what we’ve been talking about this whole time? Your hero worship school boy crush? I kid, I kid. But your favorite player nonetheless.

He’s past his prime and I wouldn’t care if he were just holding back that bottom of the table joke of a club. But your name is attached to it, which means my name is attached to it. They need to put him out to pasture so you can actually keep them in the Prem. You’re the only fucking shot they have at it, ain’t ya.”

“I…what? No?”

“Did you just disagree with me? After saying yourself you aren’t smart enough to bother with thinking.”

“It’s Roy fucking Kent, da. They’d be mad to release him just on the strength of how it’d depress the team.”

“Jamie, my poor Jamie, this is why you’re only good for footie. None of those lads matter, and if they’re too big’a emo little bitches to lace up their boots? That don’t matter neither.” He picked up the belt. The metal clinking as it tipped over before swinging into the air.

“Last chance, son. You going to accept that I know best. Or you gonna fight me on it.”

“I ain’t saying that about Roy and I’m not going to sabotage his career!”

“Suit yourself. If you don’t care about your own career, why should I?”

And the belt came down buckle first.

Road:

This is the only use of “road” I had that wasn’t just referring to Nelson Road. And it is firmly in WIP territory because this whole snippet is a monolog/diatribe without any of the scene setting to make it actually readable.

“And I was learning it while the four of you were in the office saying that I was a diva and a fragile little bitch. While making jokes after I pointed out that you were the ones who had all invested in us being a team that supported each other, that you had sold me on that too. And then threw it away with the promise of something else. Something better.

I weren’t even saying it about meself! By that point I had learned. I was talking about the team as a whole. Because it turns out you were right, when we had each others backs, it was better. But everyone else had stopped. They didn’t even have their own backs, giving it all to Zava, with me trying to cover everyone else.

Not just first team, like 10* wasn’t hard enough. But everyone. Cause you shunted Colin off to the side like he were nothing. And I wouldn’t leave Jack and Declan and Jeff to fend for themselves. No one in this room alone, right coach? It’s what you said after I were already gone. So maybe you didn’t ever mean it to include me.

Good thing that at least by then I’d learned that trusting means people can still fuck up. That it means you just know they’ll find their way again. So I kept doing what was right, regardless of the fact that you didn’t care about what were right nomore. No way you could and also had given up thinking it wasn’t about the wins and losses.

Didn’t help that even as he called me names, not the fun kind where we say Colin is a menace on the road, but the kind you want to give someone you think would make the world a better off place if they died, that Roy was the only one who heard what I said. Made the jokes, sure, but then actually listened.

Richmond only got through Zava doing exactly what he were always going to do because Roy decided to diversify your strategy. To invest in making sure that anyone who wanted to still grow as a player, despite the official party line being to give fucking Zava your all, could actually develop instead of stagnate.

The real fucking joke is that I were the only one who wanted that. Because I never, even when I was the prickiest prick to ever prick, gave anything less than my absolute best. Me, the person you spent that same time talking down to and about to each other and ignoring that even at my worst? I was never that fucking cruel.

I was the only player who had taken every word you ever said to heart. Because it was important. It changed fucking everything for me. And so I put me head down and did the fucking work. So that when Zava fucked everyone over -as he absolutely did because he told the whole world over and over exactly who he was- we’d at least be no worse off than when I first came here on loan.

And Roy was the only coach who did the same fucking thing. Who took what you said and let it change him. For the better. He was the only one who saw, and cared, about the fucking club.

He fucking hated me and still saw that I was trying to be what we needed here. Despite no one else remembering what we’d built. Together. Despite no one else caring that I was drowning right in front of you just trying to keep us afloat. Just trying to make sure there was something to even come back to once Zava left us high and dry.

The person here who had the most right to enjoy me spiraling was the only one to notice it at all. Then did something about it! And I know it were only because he cared about the club, not me, but I cared about it too. More than I cared about meself. So we finally had something to agree on.”

Jamie had laughed bitterly several times over by then. But none so dark and full of self hatred as the one he couldn’t hold back at the thought of Roy and him only agreeing that Jamie’s worth was solely his ability to take hit after hit in the name of Richmond.

“I were dumb enough to think that being one of eleven meant sharing the burden as well as the benefit. Didn’t I? Got out of practice for having to carry it all. Got lazy. Got complacent. Forgot that I shouldn’t pass to someone who hadn’t even attempted to score in months. Made us both look like fools when they just turned their head looking for Zava to make the play for them.”