It has been a long time coming, but finally, the big project I have been working on for the last few years has come to fruition. All the research, head scratching, procrastination, imagining and working late into the night have finally paid off. My first novel, Plagued, has now been published and I can call myself an author rather than just a writer.
Continue reading Plagued
June had been a busy month, mainly taken up with research, writing and working with my editor. At least the weather was nice and I was able to sit on the decking at my little round mosaic table while I worked. Of course there was some walking, but nothing very exciting, or worthy of writing about. By mid July, the bulk of the work was done, and as the weather was still good, I was pining for greenery and off road trails.
Continue reading Truth and fiction
On the last day of May 2021, Commando decided to take me to see part of his Sunday Runday route. He said it was such a nice day and the route along the River Hamble was so pretty he thought I’d enjoy it. Obviously, he didn’t have to ask me twice.
Continue reading Mistaken identity on the Hamble
The walk along the river to Woodmill has always been a favourite of mine but, since the first lockdown, it has been a walk I’ve regretfully abandoned. The parks have been too full of people for my liking. It was the news that finally dragged me back. On 11 May 2021, a stolen Nissan Micra drove into the side of the mill and badly damaged the building. From the report I’d seen in the Echo, and on the local news, it looked worrying but the initial work to repair the damage had been completed and I wanted to have a look for myself.
Continue reading Disaster at Woodmill
May 2021 was mostly spent aimlessly wandering around local streets, and even my next big adventure, on 26 May, didn’t take me very far from home. In fact, it took me to Shamrock Quay, the scene of many happy post football match drinks. Once upon a time I could usually be found outside the Old Waterfront on a Saturday afternoon, with a burger in one hand and a drink in the other, chatting to Bernie and Kath who ran the place in those days. This particular adventure was prompted by a need to research something I was writing. I was particularly interested in the wharves and boat building yards around William Street.
Continue reading Messing about in a boatyard
April turned to May, and although restrictions were slowly being lifted, not everything was back to normal. Even though I’m not a runner, one of the things I really missed was parkrun. I missed all the people I’d met there and my quiet morning walks in the Old Cemetery. To fill the gap, the parkrun people had started something called not parkrun, where registered runners could complete a 5k run at any time each week and submit their time to get a result. On May Day 2021 Commando decided he’d run his not parkrun on the Common. Of course, none of the people I missed would be there but I jumped at the chance to go along and take a wander around the Old Cemetery.
Continue reading Bluebells, not parkrun and a magical mystery tour
On a miserable wet day back in April 2019, I went to have a look at the Bargate lions. In September the year before a council worker had found the tail of one of the lions on the ground. At first it was thought vandals might have been responsible but it soon became clear that the lion was merely suffering from a bad case of old age. The poor things have been guarding the medieval gate in all weathers for over two hundred and seventy five years after all. These two rampant lions, symbolising courage, nobility, strength and valour replaced the wooden lions who’d guarded the town since Tudor times. They also represent the legend of Sir Bevois, the founder of the town.
Continue reading Another lion’s tail
It’s a well known fact that writers are great procrastinators. Walking is one of my favourite procrastinations. Often ideas come to me while I’m strolling about but, in February 2021, in the middle of a strange lockdown limbo, with nothing but cold, damp weather and Commando at home looking for work, going outside wasn’t exactly tempting. My work in progress, the next big writing project, had begun well but my research kept sending me off on strange tangents. Let’s be honest, most of the interesting facts I discover never ever make it onto the page and research often ends up as just another excuse to procrastinate.
Continue reading Procrastination, photos and a murder mystery
Throughout most of 2020 I’d been very aware that I was living through a time that would go down in history. It had been a year of change and uncertainty. December crawled to a close as did Commando’s job. For the first time in his life, he was unemployed. For us, Christmas had been a low key affair since our boys grew up. My mother was born on Christmas Day. Once she’d gone, some of the joy of the season went with her. Christmas 2020 would have been her 100th birthday, had she lived to see it. This year we made a conscious decision to forgo the decorations, cards and presents completely. It wasn’t about money. It was about simplifying. We’d had a trying few months and it was surprisingly liberating not to have all the dashing around, the shopping, the overeating and the strange emptiness when the decorations come down. It was peaceful, almost blissfully so.
Continue reading Simplicity