Up Close And Personal

By Stewart Bint

Novelist Stewart Bint writes a regular column in a fortnightly magazine, The Flyer.
Ranging from the intensely personal, humorous and hard hitting controversy, to sheer whimsy, those columns are gathered here in one volume.
Topics covered include Twitter bullies, recycling, the nanny state, charities...both good and bad...cold telephoning calling, football referees, should the clergy hand Easter over to big business, the author's real life brush with the supernatural, going barefoot, a highly emotional letter written by the author's Father in 1936, phrases which drive you mad, and a childhood incident. Along with a fascinating account of the author's two meetings with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stewart Bint
• Release date: Oct 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311533821

Stewart Bint

Writer: novelist - four novels and a short story collection traditionally published in print and ebook (To Rise Again, The Jigsaw And The Fan, Timeshaft, In Shadows Waiting, and Thunderlands); magazine columnist; public relations writer .Previous roles include radio newsreader, phone-in host, and presenter.Married to Sue, with two grown-up children, Chris and Charlotte, and a budgie called Bertie.Usually barefoot.Lives in Leicestershire, UK.

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February 22nd (As Mother’s Day approaches)

I don’t have many regrets, but there is one that hits at this time of year.

When Mothers Day approaches I always wish I had made efforts to heal the rift with my Mum. There were faults on both sides, but I could have made the first move – and didn’t.

We still saw each other, but only once a month and our relationship was distant. Don’t ask me why…I don’t know. She was a strong and forceful personality…so am I when I need to be. Maybe that was it, perhaps we just clashed.

But you only get one Mum. So make the most of her while she’s here. Tell her you love her, and show her you love her. Looking back I can see what a wonderful job my Mum did in bringing me up in difficult circumstances, yet I can’t recall ever telling her that.

It’s too late now. My Mum died in 2000. One of my books is about time travel…so is the one due out in May. Do you think that’s me wishing I could turn back the clock like my characters can, just to say: Mum, I love you, and thank you?

March 8th

Bullying in the workplace is a nasty, insidious and cowardly practice.

But it is happening, and more than you may think. Instances include deliberately undermining competent workers by overloading them; constant criticism; copying memos that are critical of someone to a third party who doesn’t need to know; being sworn at (there is NEVER any justification for a line manager to swear at an employee); ridiculing or demeaning someone; and deliberately setting them up to fail.

But perhaps the most cowardly and obnoxious: overbearing supervision or other misuse of power or position. Bullying makes the victim anxious, frightened, demotivated and stressful, with a loss of self-esteem and confidence. And in extreme circumstances can cause illness.

What makes a manager become a bully? A little bit of authority at work may have gone to their head, or they may have enjoyed picking on weaker children at school. If this is happening to you, stand up against it NOW. Workplace bullies are the dregs of society, and like all bullies they will crumble if you stand up to them.

One of my Twitter followers, Kirsty Crerar, sums it all up perfectly: Funny how people that got bullied turned out better than the ones that bullied them.

March 22nd (As Easter approaches)

It’s time the Christian clergy stopped sitting on the fence when it comes to Easter.

Ask anyone which is the bigger celebration in the UK, Christmas or Easter? And the answer will be Christmas every time. But the very essence of the Christian religion is that life goes on after our Earthly death. And which event in the Christian calendar commemorates that? Easter, of course.

So why, oh why, oh why, have the clergy done nothing to elevate Easter to the status it deserves? But of course, they don’t have a very good record when it comes to marketing the Christian faith beyond the narrow confines of their own congregations. Christmas only grew into the massive festival it is today because of business and commerce.

Maybe the clergy are content to sit back and celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, and His resurrection at Easter, with only the true believers. The popular phrase that comes to mind here is: Preaching to the converted. But if the Christian faith is to survive on a wide scale beyond the current middle-aged generation, those running the show have got to take the devil by the horns.

Or maybe big business should step in and do the job instead.

April 5th

An invitation I had recently, started me thinking. The invitation is to give an author talk later this month, and came from The Friends of Newbold Verdon library, a volunteer group that meets regularly to plan a range of social events for the village.

It’s an invitation I’ve gladly accepted, and am looking forward to the talk.

But where would we be in this country if it weren’t for volunteers, both