About

What do you get when you take a girl who likes to write, add an internet connection, mix in a pinch of technological know-how, and season with a splash of sarcasm? Why, Bright Meadow of course.

Your host for this evening…


Who are you?
Over the years I have done everything from selling tea and coffee (I am a trained tea and coffee merchant and have the certificates to prove it); to making bus passes; studying archaeology and computer science; and working for the Offenders Learning and Skills Service. I am now having fun leading a double life in the sunny south(ish) of the UK. By day I do fun and exciting things in the world of publishing. By night I am a superhero called…

Regardless of my day job, Bright Meadow has been my main forum for over a decade now, and the BrightMeadow username has followed me across the web. I am an active lurker on more mailing groups, wikis, blogs and forums than you could shake a moderately sized stick at and I am always on the lookout for new people to talk to. So say something in a comments field, say hi on Twitter, or drop me an email 🙂

Established in 2001? Really?
Yes, really. I can date the “Cas” identity back to 2001. Initially a character I played in an online RPG (I’ve already mentioned I’m a little geeky, right?), “Cas” quickly became something of an alter-ego, and over time it has become a nickname and a very real part of me. Yes, I do respond to being called Cas in real life.

A distributed life:

  • Bright Meadow – main website where the fun has been happening for nearly a decade now
  • Instagram – daily snapshots of my life
  • Flickr – photos from Instagram and beyond
  • Twitter – short thoughts throughout the day
  • Tumblr – stuff including images, music, and whatever random stuff tickles my fancy

What is Bright Meadow?
Whilst my regular blogging style has changed over time, and now encompasses more than just this website, Bright Meadow is the focus for a rambling chat among friends, both new and old, about life, writing, and other tid-bits gleaned from daily trawls of the Internet. Throughout it all, I hope to aim for tone that is up-beat, self deprecating, gleefully irreverent, and blonde in a left-handed kind of way, with a healthy dollup of British sarcasm. If on occasion I make even one person stop, think, and look at something differently, then I am happy. If I’ve made people laugh, well, that’s even better. Everything I say here is a personal opinion.

Why blog in the first place?
Mainly, because for someone who likes to write, I am the worlds worst correspondent. I keep in (more or less) regular contact with people all over the globe, and was getting heartily sick of the frequent “are you alive, Cas?” emails. For a longer discussion of blogging and what it meant to me when I started doing it properly, read this and this.

Is there anything you won’t blog about?
Yes. And you’ll never know what.

What’s With All The Penguins?
You might detect a slight penguin theme going on around the blog. Penguins, and I am sorry to have to be the one to break the news, are evil.

Just because penguins are evil, it doesn’t mean I dislike them in any way. I don’t. I really rather like penguins. I think they are cute, wonderful creatures. But they are evil. Nothing wrong with being evil – it’s just one aspect of their personality, part of what makes them special.

The evidence? If you insist on having some, think on the following…

  • The penguin in the Wallace & Grommit cartoons
  • The Penguin in the Batman comics
  • The penguins in Madagascar
  • Mr Flibble, the derange killer penguin that attempts to fry the crew with his Hex Vision in Red Dward, series V, ep: “Quarantine”. (The Bright Meadow Penguin is also called Mr Flibble, in case you are curious)
  • The penguins in the Honda “Hate Something, Change Something” advert
  • The sign on the penguin cage at the zoo warning you they bite… (Neko’s brother has actually been bitten by one!)
  • They just are, ok? I don’t have to prove myself to you!

Comments?
I like conversation. Talking is good.
I also like meeting people. New people are fun to play with.

I spend silly amounts of time writing posts for the blog (mostly time I should be spending on actually having a life so I have new stuff to talk about on the blog, but that’s by-the-by) and it’s always nice to hear that my work is appreciated. At the same time, life would be dull if everyone thought the same way about everything, so I am always open to hearing different sides to my arguments.

These things taken together should give you the clue that I love comments. See the little link at the bottom of each post that says “please comment”? I mean that. I want to hear from you. Some of the best conversations have happened in the comment sections. If you leave a comment, I will respond. That is a promise.

This blog is more than me writing and taking pictures and you reading: it is (an albeit small, but perfectly formed) community of friendly people who like having a laugh together, look at the world in a slightly odd way, and who help each other out with those awkward questions such as “why are penguins just so darn evil?”

Whilst the tone of this blog is lovingly irreverent and wonderfully sarcastic, it is never disrespectful or nasty to other people. So, when you comment, please bear two things in mind –
no spam and no meanness.

Feel free to challenge me, question, or scold me, if you should so wish (praise is always welcome too), but try and do it without being too nasty. Let’s keep the conversation rolling 🙂

Blog Minions
Blog Minions are special, special people.

In order to quiet the people who think the term “minion” is highly derogatory and something they do not wish to be associated with, I would like to bring to your attention the original meaning of the word:
Coming, as it does from the French “mignon”, meaning darling, classically Minions were the favourites of a sovereign, prince, or other powerful person.

So, as Blog Minions you are people who are specially favoured. I used it as a term of endearment and affection. There is a rolling cast of friends, family, and general acquaintances, who get mentioned a fair bit on the blog. Blog Minions are that little bit more special because they bring something back to Bright Meadow.

I have more questions for you
Good. I do like people to have enquiring minds. If there’s anything else you want to know, just ask in a comment, or feel free to shoot me an email on
cas.brightmeadow AT gmail.com
Please include “Bright Meadow” in the subject line – I’ve got some fairly hefty spam-filters set up and want to make sure your comments actually reach me!
I will do my best to respond quickly, but every now and then the penguins stop me, so feel free to keep prodding me if you don’t hear from me within a few days!

2 thoughts on “About

  1. Hiya!
    Yesterday I enjoyed a piece of amazing cake in my local cafe . . .guinness chocolate cake.
    I have never tasted anything so scrummy, so I just went online to try to find a recipe and . . .there it was on your site!
    Thank you so much, am longing to bake it now.
    Yours is an interesting site, much fun.
    Mine is to help people through breast cancer, and I hope you will take a look but that you’ll never need it.
    Sent with lots of love and blessing,
    chrissie

  2. Pingback: Girls and Geeks in Publishing « Bright Meadow

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