We couldn't go to Paris last weekend.  That was because of the dog - or pup, I should say.  Bertie is just too young and, well, puppyish, to foist on anyone for a long weekend.

But it's not as if I don't get to exciting places. 
Only the previous Sunday I splashed my way through a streaming, muddy ten kilometer "road" race in the quaint seaside town of Anstruther.  Not that it looked too quaint in all that rain, but at least it gave me a chance to travel, even if it was only for a few miles.  (Bertie was there too of course, acting as coach and cheerleader.)

I've also managed a couple of day trips to London, courtesy of a friendly dog-sitter (to keep Bertie for the day) and Easyjet (to get me cheaply and quickly from Edinburgh to Gatwick). 

Why was I heading to London?  For my writing class, which has now restarted for the autumn term.  As usual, the format is that of a script meeting where a piece of work is read and the tutor and fellow students comment on the work, suggesting changes and so on. 

Last Thursday I read the latest chapter of my book.  My fellow students applauded at the end - an unusual compliment. But even while I was reading it, I became aware of something that I should really have spotted before. 
One scene was too long. 

I know how it happened, too. 
It was because I became engrossed in making a big production out of a scene that had to do three things: it had to describe an event that was essential to the story, it had to be entertaining and it had to finish with a bang.   But I over-egged it, fleshing out characters who had only walk-on parts and adding lots of background colour.  Even though I’d read and re-read it to myself while I was editing the chapter, it was only when reading it to a live audience that I became aware that the scene flagged in the middle.  The tutor pointed it out too, contrasting it with an earlier one that was pacy and worked well.  So there’s a bit of work to be done there.  I’ll leave the scene alone for a week, at least, then come back to it with my red pen.  The objective, as usual, will be to “make it dance”.  
Meantime, I’ll be bashing on with other scenes – and walking Bertie.