Carvings and wood sculptures at Webbers Post near Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor, West Somerset

Published
by
Rob
on October 11, 2008
in Dunkery Beacon, Exmoor, News from Rob Hopcott, Walking, Webbers Post, West Somerset, West Somerset things to do, West Somerset things to see, carving, carvings, sculpture, wood carving, wood carvings, wood sculpture and wood sculptures
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Craving amongst the trees at Exmoor's Webbers Post, West Somerset

Craving amongst the trees at Exmoor

It was lunchtime and I decided that lunch times are for getting out, taking a walk and relieving the frustrations and tensions created by the morning’s hard work.

So I pulled out of my drive and headed for Dunkery Beacon with my sandwiches and flask of coffee to where I knew I could find some very pleasant wood carvings amongst the trees at Webber’s Post just below Dunkery Beacon.

The sky was beginning to look nicely blue, the birds were singing all around me and the grass and fir trees were looking very green as I parked up, all of which started to put me in a better humor.

Wood sculpture at Webbers Post in West Somerset, Exmoor

Wood sculpture at Webbers Post in West Somerset, Exmoor

I particularly like Webber’s Post car park. It is a bit bumpy because it is made all natural stone with a few clumps of grass and the occasional tree but the views are wonderful across the valley and there are some very pleasant walks either up to the top of Dunkery Beacon itself or down into the valley where there is a very nice small river that flows down into Horner and the eventually to the sea.

The wood sculptures are amongst the trees besides Webbers Post car park and stand three or four feet or more in height. It occurred to me that a nice game for some children would be to discover how many wood carvings they could find. I wonder if I have found them all yet? Perhaps it doesn’t really matter because they are just really nice things to see, nestling amongst the fir trees on this high hill above the Horner valley.

Abstract carving at Webbers Post West Somerset, Exmoor

Abstract carving at Webbers Post West Somerset, Exmoor

The second thing that children or even grownups may find an interesting thing to do is to try to decide what the wood carvings represent. I was looking at one and was convinced that it was an apple but, as I walked around it, the carving seemed to change into a heart shape and the stalk of the apple seem to change into a sticking up hair of a head.

There are other wood carvings that would defy a description except perhaps they remind one of Picasso’s Guernica.

Some seem fairly representational of birds or squirrels

Others seem very abstract such as cones with patterns on them.

I wondered how the wood carvings got here. Perhaps an artist was commissioned to do the work because, if they had just appeared overnight, I’m sure the Exmoor National Park Authority would have removed them by now. But they look so natural and free that it is nice to imagine that they may have been created by a wandering artist who just happen to have a chainsaw with him (or her).

One final thought occurred to me, as I climbed into my camper van. If the very same sculptures or wood carvings had been displayed in an Art gallery, I wonder if my attitude to them would have been different. Would I have walked around them more carefully and spend longer looking at the ways that the shapes moved within the structure of the carvings.

I remember the length of time I spent at the Tate Modern Art Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall where I spent hours viewing pictures from different angles and admiring the way the colors blended into each other, creating different impressions, depending on the angle of viewing.

Beautiful views at Webbers Post on Exmoor, West Somerset

Beautiful views at Webbers Post on Exmoor, West Somerset

Are these wood carvings lesser art because they are displayed amongst trees? Or perhaps it is that, when we go to an Art gallery, we go with a particular frame of mind and with have our imaginations primed for action.

When we go for a walk in the countryside, there are so many impressions created by the clouds, the sky, the trees, rivers, flowers and animals that if we were to try to analyze these impressions in detail, our brains would perhaps become overloaded. On the other hand, a carving or sculpture presented on a plinth at an exhibition provides bundles of impressions with boundaries and is perhaps more amenable to closer analysis and abstract impression.

Whatever! As I drove away, I felt greatly relaxed and knew that I would be returning to the wood carvings of Webber’s Post, Dunkery Beacon, Exmoor in the West Country of the UK.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author

West Somerset New Economic Development Strategy fatally flawed by old fashioned consultation systems

Published
by
Rob Hopcott
on October 11, 2008
in News from Rob Hopcott, West Somerset, West Somerset New Economic Development Strategy, West Somerset Strategic Partnership, West Somerset consultations, West Somerset democracy, West Somerset economy and consultation systems
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I read in the West Somerset Free Press (October 10th, 2008) that local business leader Graham Sizer had complained that the 'wrong people' have been invited to a workshop to help create a 'new economic strategy' for West Somerset driven by consultants EKOS.

The truth is that any consultation using the outdated and old fashioned systems of selective invitation, secretive committee meetings and hierarchical structures stubbornly supported by West Somerset Council is unlikely to achieve innovative ideas or any breakthrough in creative thinking for the local economy.

Mr Sizer complained that shopkeepers and service industries in Minehead's industrial parks and the local 'care industry' had been left out and that the list of attendees read like an 'estate agent's convention'.

But what about all the people in this area who work from home using online auction sites or otherwise with an involvement in online marketing? The list of people who may be working in this area who are not involved is theoretically endless. Who compiled the list anyway?

If the West Somerset Council really wanted broadly based and innovative thinking they would implement consultation structures based on Internet forums, as I have suggested to them over many years. Only when ALL people who have an interest in making decisions are able to contribute to reasoned debate and forensic analysis of alternatives is there any real possibility of movement forward and original thinking. It may not even happen then!

Unfortunately, although the new intake of Independent councillors have proved to be a huge step up from the previous administration, my pleas on the subject of improved consultation systems have been completely ignored.

I've written to councillors, to the local newspapers and, complaining loudly, taken part in many old fashioned and flawed local consultations. I have attempted to write to the West Somerset Strategic Partnership whose Chairman completely ignored me. I work online on the Internet, surely this industry should be represented? Where is my invitation? I feel excluded, disregarded and insulted! Not for the first time, sadly.

Frankly, I've more or less given up on West Somerset. It has huge challenges economically but the people in power, especially the Local Authority Officers, show no sign of the sort of leadership that is likely to make a difference.

I could give specific examples but, in doing so, I would almost certainly be wasting my time. The people locally in power and possibly the local population probably just don't really care.

These days, I rarely waste my time writing about West Somerset. I have too many others things to worry about.

The best thing about this area is the countryside and the natural scenery.

The West Somerset mandarins, at least, can't do anything to harm that.

Bye for now

Rob

Animated Friends - a short story about anime and animation by Rob Hopcott

Published
by
Rob
on October 9, 2008
in News from Rob Hopcott, Rob Hopcott, animated figure, animated friends, animation, animation workstations, anime, clarinet animation, clarinet anime, sax anime, saxophone animation, saxophone anime and short story
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The gleaming saxophone animation appears prettily before me on my screen glinting brightly. She exists, she is perfect, she is anime and she is my creation. She looks to the left and then to the right nonchalantly.

All around me, the office is silent. The other animation workstations are dark and, outside the skyscraper offices where I work, the early evening traffic is humming with people returning home.

A few key strokes and another animated figure appears on my screen.

Mr Clarinet stands upright, dark and suave and already aware of the young, attractive saxophone only a few pixels away. His voice is rich and mellifluous, almost pompous, but there is an undercurrent of sadness.

“And who might you be waiting for, my dear?”

Ms Sax pouts delicately, inclines her swan neck shaped body gently in his direction and examines her freshly painted fingernails, dismissively.

“Who I wait for is my business. Why not get lost. Go and play some jazz or something and get out of my hair.” Her tone is contemptuous She doesn’t care about him and she doesn’t mind making that clear.

“I saw you cozying up to the lead wind player during rehearsals, this morning,” Mr Clarinet spluttered petulantly. “You made it obvious what you want!”

Ms Sax steps elegantly towards the old clarinet, then leans forward aggressively to emphasize her point.

“Yes I know what I want. I want to feel his fingers playing up and down my body, caressing and challenging me and raising me to the point of ecstasy. I want to feel his lips pressing against my mouthpiece and his warm breath filling fill me up.”

Mr Clarinet shrinks back, his face contorted in agony.

“Don’t torture me,” he screams, shrilly. “You know I love him too! For me he is the best player in the orchestra. I can’t live without him touching me and recently he just can’t get enough of you. I’m left in my instrument case all day, alone, neglected and cast aside. It’s all your fault!”

“Should I worry, should I heck,” she spits. “Admit it, you’re just dead wood and well past it, defunct, out-of-date and on the shelf. You’ll probably end up in some secondhand shop until some beginner musician buys you out of pity. Rock on baby and think of the torture, split notes, used for weeks without cleaning, keys dented, body scratched and the same agonizingly simple piece of music played over and over again, really badly, again and again and again!”

Mr Clarinet is pleading now, his voice wheedling “Couldn’t you just fluff a note every now and then. Just one little note? It would be so easy.”

“Easy for you, Mr Clarinet, but impossible for me! I’m just too good. My pitch is perfect and after he’s been playing me, lots of people come up to him and say how lovely the music sounded. They wouldn’t do that if he was playing a crummy old clarinet!”

A silver animated music stand suddenly appears on the screen, bouncing up and down with excitement. Her voice is shrill and urgent and, around her, sheet music flies off in all directions.

“Come on, come on ladies and gentlemen. No hanging about. We have lots of new music to play with a new conductor who has just joined our orchestra. It’s soooo exciting! He’s a specialist in Baroque and early English music using traditional instruments. Come on Mr Clarinet. You’re on center stage.”

A big smile spreads across Mr Clarinet’s face. He takes the arm of the music stand and jauntily walks off the side of the screen. Ms Sax’s face crumples and a big tear rolls down her sleek, shiny gold body as she disappears slowly in the opposite direction.

The End

This short story is copyright Rob Hopcott, 2007, all rights reserved. All characters in this short anime story are fictitious and no reference is intended to any person living or otherwise.

UK Government’s advertising guidelines unlikely to mitigate damage to vulnerable by Gambling Act 2005 liberalisation?

Published
by
Rob
on October 9, 2008
in Gambling Act 2005, News from Rob Hopcott, UK advertising guidelines, Uncategorized, alcohol, children, gambling liberalisation, harmful activity, liberalisation of gambling, roulette, slot machines, sports sponsorship and vulnerable persons
. 0 Comments
Gambling dice

Gambling dice

Guidelines that were issued seeking to mitigate damage done to vulnerable persons by the liberalisation of gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 seem ineffective and gambling advertising is everywhere, especially in sports sponsorship watched by many children.

Many who saw the liberalisation of gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 as a measure that encouraged a fundamentally harmful activity, will doubt whether these advertising guidelines ever could be effective.

Even though advertising professionals are past masters at targeting specific groups of people, the reality of advertising an activity to any part of the population is that the activity inevitably will be promoted to the wider population as well.

Children are included in the category of vulnerable persons. The guidelines naturally prevent children from being shown playing roulette or winning on the slot machines. But if adults are shown enjoying playing roulette or winning on the slot machines, children will want to copy the grown-ups.

Guidelines exist in the UK to prevent young people from being targeted by advertising for alcoholic drinks. Yet drunken behaviour amongst under drinking age children is such a problem that the government has had to introduce a whole range of sanctions to cope with these problems. (Anti Social Behaviour Orders or A.S.B.O.s)

The marketing message promoted by advertising on behalf of cigarette manufacturers has been so powerful that many adults continue to smoke despite anti-smoking messages on the side of cigarette packets clearly stating the horrific health risks and now pictures of diseased lungs. Who has not seen young children walking down the streets in the United Kingdom smoking cigarettes as they go?

Advertising promotes an image and makes a promise, amongst other things. Preventing vulnerable people from being exposed to these images and promises is extremely difficult. Ultimately, advertising may be necessary to inform the general public about the dangers of gambling but the weight of government-funded anti gambling advertising can never be equal to the enormous resources the gambling organisations can deploy to promote gambling.

The genie is out of the bottle and there is little that a few advertising guidelines can do to remedy the situation.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author

How I defeated arthritis and other aches and pains and returned successfully to playing tennis

Published
by
Rob
on October 9, 2008
in News from Rob Hopcott, Tennis, aches, aches and pains, arthritic aches, arthritic pain, arthritis, glucosamine and chondroitin, hydrating ligaments, pain and playing tennis
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Tennis courts

Tennis courts

In 2005, I resurfaced after several years of very intensive work during which just about everything else in my life had taken second place. One of the things I missed most was playing my sport of tennis and the very kind members of my local Tennis Club kept encouraging me to return and leap around in my usually futile attempt to hit the ball over the net.

So I most definitely had the desire to return to tennis but after sitting at a desk peering for many many long hours at a computer screen, I was definitely not in the peak of physical fitness for a man on the wrong side of 50 years old.

Instead of madly rushing into the fray and playing tennis every day, I decided to start slowly with just one club session a week and the intention of building up as I progressed. I also started to walk every lunchtime for half-an-hour to try to improve my general level of fitness.

Stepping back onto the tennis courts was fantastic. I loved it and soon remembered why it had always been my passion. But, within a very short length of time I was injured. In fact the injuries seem to be working their way around my body, attacking different parts of me in turn. It was most frustrating. I kept persevering but I was spending more time off the tennis courts than on them due to injuries. I would just be recovered from one injury and then, when I went back on court, immediately, I would have another one.

Being a fairly gregarious sort of person, I moaned and wailed to the other members of the club who offered me a lot of sympathy but no particular help. That was until I spoke to one particular member who took me to one side and gave me this tip.

“You know Rob, you need to to start taking glucosamine and chondroitin. Everybody else in the club is taking it and it’s probably what’s keeping us all going.”

I have to admit I was pretty sceptical. I have never been a pill taking person and I didn’t really want to start. So I said thank you very much for the tip, took the telephone number that she offered me where I could get the pills and kept on persevering and trying to get back to tennis without being injured.

After a few weeks during which I discovered bits of my body that were prone to injury I had never known existed, I realised that I had very little to lose. Tennis was just not going to happen again for me unless I found some new factor in the equation. Pills, perhaps, were the missing factor.

So off I went to the local health shop to get a second opinion. The lovely ladies in the local health shop were immensely enthusiastic and, without me mentioning anything, immediately recommended glucosmine and chondroitin as a means of hydrating my ligaments and building my body up to withstand the extra exercise of playing tennis.

I have to say that the pills were immensely expensive. However, I wanted to play tennis and this was a solution I had not tried yet. The good lady suggested that I take three rather large bullet shaped tablets a day of the glucosamine and chondroitin, in between meals, for the first couple of months then two a day for the next couple of months and then one a day thereafter as a maintenance dose. I had nothing to lose so I followed her advice.

Several years later, and not only am I playing club sessions at the local Tennis Club but I’m also playing league matches all over my area. I’m not in the ‘A’ team but I’m not in the bottom team either and I’m enjoying every minute of it. I do get injured occasionally, everybody does but my recovery time is quick and I generally feel much fitter and happier for the exercise and the company.

But the story isn’t finished yet. About a month and a half ago, I fell ill with a stomach bug that meant I had to be off food for several days. Everybody had this stomach bug and agreed it was a particularly nasty one. Along with taking no food, I also stopped taking my one a day glucosamine and chondroitin pills.

After a few days, I got better and started eating again but for some reason, perhaps my previous aversion to taking pills, I stopped taking the glucosamine and chondroitin tablets. My fitness level was pretty good and I had been free from injuries for some time. I think my idea was that my body was strong enough now to maintain itself without the help of any pills and my diet is a particularly well balanced one, too, which should help.

Within three weeks, I was back to the old pattern of getting injured again. I couldn’t believe it and persevered stubbornly for another couple of weeks. But the writing was on the wall and I have now decided to return to taking the glucosamine and chondroitin tablets again at a maintenance level of one a day. I expect it will sort me out. I’ll post the results here.

Since taking glucosamine and chondroitin, over the last two and a half years, I have spoken to many people suffering from arthritis and arthritic aches and pains who say they have been helped by these pills. Many of these people are members of my tennis club but by no means all. It seems that lots of people have a good story to tell about this particular potion.

Am I recommending these pills to you the reader? I certainly can’t. I have no medical knowledge nor knowledge of the medical circumstances of individuals who may read this article or knowledge of the chemical properties of these pills.

Can I, with 100% certainty, prove that my reduced level of injuries over the last two years has been because of glucosamine and chondroitin? I’m afraid not.

However, I personally believe that these pills have helped me get back into playing tennis and have very much reduced my incidence of injuries. So I’m passing my story on to anybody who it might help.

Naturally, you should seek professional medical advice from your doctor before taking any pills and before making a substantial change in your exercise regime. I have no medical expertise and can offer no professional advice.

If you suffer from aches and pains, I hope this article about my personal experience has helped.

If you fancy playing a bit of tennis. It’s a great game and good luck with it!

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author and avid tennis player

Free online short stories set in the West Country by Rob Hopcott

Published
by
Rob
on October 8, 2008
in England, Free online short stories to read, News from Rob Hopcott, Rob Hopcott, UK, West Country, West Country photographs, West Country short stories, West Country stories, coffee break stories, country photographs, countryside short stories and short stories
. 0 Comments

If you are enthused about the West Country after having looked at some of the great photographs and you have a few minutes free, perhaps while you are taking a coffee break, why not check out some of my free online short stories that are set in the West Country?

One of my favourite locations for setting my countryside short stories is in an old public house (bar) deep in the heart of the West Country. There is an old chair that is by the fire that by tradition is always saved for people who stop by and tell a story to the local people in the pub.

One of my favourites is about a young lady who appears late at night as Christmas draws near and the evenings grow dark outside. Storms are raging outside and rain is lashing the thatch of the small houses in the village but all is quiet as the lady takes the storytelling chair and begins.

I hope you enjoy Christmas Music Lesson by Rob Hopcott.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - free online author, travel writer and blogger

A day out in Bridport and at West Bay Harbour on the Jurassic Coast, Dorset

Published
by
Rob
on October 8, 2008
in Bridport, Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset, Jurassic Coast, News from Rob Hopcott, River Brit, South of England, Traveling in the South of England, UK, West Bay Harbour, West Bay railway station, amateur writers, disused railway station, old railway, short story writing competition and traveling
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Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset, UK

Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset, UK

My wife and I decided to visit Bridport because we had read online that it was quite a cultural centre with lots going on at the Bridport Arts Centre with its annual short story writing competition that is hugely popular with amateur writers.

Bridport didn’t disappoint. It was very busy with a market up and down the street, lots of people buying and browsing and some great seats in front of the Bridport Arts Centre where we were able to sit while we ate our lunch. A camera crew were doing a documentary around us and the whole scene had a bohemian air that was very pleasant.

Jurassic cliffs at West Bay, Dorset, UK

Jurassic cliffs at West Bay, Dorset, UK

Afte lunch we drove down to West Bay to see the harbour and beach. The views of the Jurassic Coast were absolutely spectacular with the stratification in the rock clearly visible. It was humbling to think that the coast here will eventually be eroded away and the views are all but temporary.

West Bay harbour was packed with boats and, behind the harbour on the River Brit, there were rowing boats for hire.

I like quirky details that set the imagination going and the old railway station in the middle of nowhere fitted the bill nicely.

Railway station at West Bay, Dorset, UK

Railway station at West Bay, Dorset, UK

The station buildings had a forlorn appearance when I was there and seemed to be longing for a story to be written. Perhaps one day I will return and let my mind wander on this subject.

West Bay Harbour, Dorset, UK

West Bay Harbour, Dorset, UK

Our visit to Bridport and West Bay Harbour was an intriguing day out and I look forward to traveling back one day and spending more time investigating the area.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author, travel writer and blogger

Travelling to Horner near Porlock in West Somerset UK

Published
by
Rob
on October 8, 2008
in England, Exmoor, Horner, Horner Valley, Minehead, News from Rob Hopcott, Porlock, Travelling, UK, West Country, West Country travelling, West Somerset, flowing river, packhorse bridge, tea rooms, thatched cottages, travelling in the West Country and walks
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Packhorse bridge at Horner, West Somerset, UK

Packhorse bridge at Horner, West Somerset, UK

If you are in West Somerset near Porlock or Minehead and Exmoor and especially if it is in the Summer, take a few minutes to explore Horner which is a delightful little place with thatched cottages, tea rooms, a gently flowing river and walks up through the valley between the hills that are wonderfully restful.

Thatched cottage

Thatched cottage

For the energetic, there is a nice walk across a packhorse bridge and then up the hill along a path called Cats Scramble. Even the fit will get puffed on the climb which seems to go on for ever. The reward when you get to the top is a wonderful view over Exmoor to the Bristol Channel and back over the Horner Valley.

Trees at the top of Granny's Ride path at Horner near Porlock, West Somerset

Trees at the top of Granny

In these days when so many people have satellite navigation, it is so easy to find new places once you have a name and a location so I won’t give more details about how to find Horner.

I hope you enjoy the photographs.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author, travel writer and blogger

View across Exmoor

View across Exmoor

Sidmouth tourist destination during the folk music festival for a great taste of traditional culture and street entertainment

Published
by
Rob
on October 7, 2008
in Devon tourism, Devon tourists, News from Rob Hopcott, Sidmouth tourism, Sidmouth tourism location, Sidmouth tourist, Sidmouth tourist destination, Sidmouth tourist location, Sidmouth tourists, UK, tourism, tourist and travel and tourism
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Dancers parading at Sidmouth, Devon, England in August 2008

Dancers parading at Sidmouth, Devon, England in August 2008

One of my favourite places to be in early August is down at Sidmouth folk music festival. Naturally, since I am a folk musician, I am a little biased but I reckon, for those who are fed up with straight sun, sea and sand breaks, Sidmouth with its pebbly beaches and its August folk festival, has a lot to offer.

Of course, if you hate Morris men and Morris dancing, Sidmouth is not the place to be in early August because they are everywhere dancing in the streets on the long sea front promenade. You may also see dancers from other parts of the world too. I saw some that had come all the way from France and they were really great.

Morris men at Sidmouth folk festival in West Country county of Devon 2008

Morris men at Sidmouth folk festival in West Country county of Devon 2008

The second thing about being at Sidmouth in early August is that the pubs will be packed with folk musicians playing or singing. There are so many people ‘having a go’ that there is very little room for anybody who wants to watch.

Many brave souls don’t seem to mind the crowds and their reward is the opportunity to sit or stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best folk musicians and singers (and occasionally the worst) in the UK.

At different pubs you will find different styles of traditional folk music. At one pub it will be playing traditional English music, at another there will be dancing and open mike sessions, yet another will be wall to wall Irish music. Down at the Sailing Club, there will probably be massed accordions and melodeons. I say ‘probably’ because its all arranged very informally and depends on who turns up on the day.

Sidmouth 2008 during the folk festival - dancing in the street!

Sidmouth 2008 during the folk festival - dancing in the street!

Naturally, at the Sidmouth folk festival in early August, there are many arranged concerts and activities organised by the festival promoters. I tend to prefer the fringe events but paid for events can be booked and perhaps will happen with more certainty.

If you are interested in reading first hand accounts of folk festival events in the South of England or sessions that happen in many pubs throughout the year, check out my Folk Music and Sessions blog for more information.

So, if you are looking for somewhere to go on the South Coast of England in early August, check out what is happening down at Sidmouth during the folk week. It’s very different and you may become addicted as the rest of us have with some now travelling over a thousand miles each year to ‘come home to Sidmouth’.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author and tourism, tourist and travel writer

Welcome to my UK tourist and tourism travel locations and destinations blog

Published
by
Rob
on October 7, 2008
in News from Rob Hopcott, Travel, UK tourism, UK tourism destinations, UK tourism locations, UK tourist, UK tourist destinations, UK tourist locations, tourism, tourism destinations, tourism locations, tourist, tourist destinations, tourist locations and travel and tourism
. 0 Comments
Weymouth Harbour, Dorset during the Wessex Folk Festival

Weymouth Harbour, Dorset during the Wessex Folk Festival

Welcome to my UK tourist locations blog. Here I will be posting information about tourist destinations I have visited and enjoyed.

But travel and tourism is also about people and in my journeys around the South of England, I meet many fascinating people who also will be documented in this blog.

Many people have interesting blogs about travel, tourism and tourist locations and these will get a mention too.

Most travel and tourism locations and destinations will be in the UK, generally in the West Country where I spend most of my time.

Porlock Weir in West Somerset, England

Porlock Weir in West Somerset, England

If you are interested in places to visit or places to go in the UK or West Country, I hope you will return often and share my journey around the beautiful and interesting tourist destinations in the South of England.

Bye for now

Rob

Rob Hopcott - online author and travel writer