Useful 2nd hand book

While I was in the town with no bookshops I popped into the Oxfam shop. I was delighted when I found a useful book for research: The History of Everyday Things in England Volume 1 by Marjorie & C. H. B. Quennell. It was first published in 1918.From then until 1956 it was in continuous demand and ran through ten impressions and three editions. My edition was published in 1956 - perhaps more editions followed. I already own Volume 1V 1851 - 1914 and hope to buy the other two volumes.

Carols at Westmister Cathedral

My 9 year old grandson sang with the rest of his class at Westminster Cathedral. He was a little nervous at the thought of singing in front of an audience of 6,500 people, but overcome by the beauty of the Cathedral, and the carols sung by other choirs he enjoyed the occasion.

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly

I've nearly finished my Christmas Shopping + Birthday Presents for 3 of my grandchildren one of whom was born on Boxing Day. Presents are piled on the dining room table waiting to be wrapped and, today, I shall buy Christmas Cards and post them on Monday. Next weekend, the Christmas tree will be in place and decorated, probably with a grandchild's help. So, the season to be jolly is underway in my house.

Princess Fairies and Christmas.

It seems the latest craze amongst small girls is that of Princess Fairies. These are Disneyland dolls - Snow White, Beauty, Cinderella etc., for which various accessories are available.

Yesterday my daughter and I took my granddaughter to Toys are Us where she fell in love with the dolls. We told her she must wait for Christmas to see what Santa Claus brings. Many of the dolls were a bargain at half price and she doesn't know we have bought some for her. I can hardly wait to see her joy on Christmas Day.

There is something magical about seeing Christmas through the eyes of children. I shall spend Christmas Eve at my daughter's house, read the story of the nativity to the my grandsons and granddaughter, and share their  joy on Christmas Day when they open their stockings and presents.

Far Beyond Rubies - Paperbacks

The paperback copies of my novel Far Beyond Rubies set in England during Queen Anne Stuart's reign, 1702-1714, have arrived. They are beautifully printed and  I'm delighted with them.

Lots of people have dreams they have been unable to fulfil. I'm one of the lucky ones. My dream of becoming a published author has come true.

 Far Beyond Rubies is also available as an e-book and so are my novels Tangled Love, Sunday's Child and False Pretences, and in February 2014 my new novel The Countess and the Captain will also be published by MuseItupPublishing.

Festival of Romance

I thoroughly enjoyed The Festival of Romance in Bedford u.k.. I met friends, made new friends and for the first time met my book-trailer designer, Lynne Cobin who kindly popped in for a chat with me. My white silk sari embroidered with gold and my costume jewellery were greatly admired and I admired other historical author's historical costumes.

 

The extract I read from my novel, Far Beyond Rubies, was very well-received, and although the paperbacks had not arrived from my publisher, MuseItUpPublishing I thoroughly enjoyed talking to visitors at the book fair. Lots of people helped themselves to the postcards with pictures of the jacket covers of Far Beyond Rubies, Tangled Love, False Pretences and Sunday's Child on the front and brief descriptions of the novels on the back.

 

 

Under the Weather

I woke in agony on Saturday night and thought I was having a heart attack, but realised the pain was too low down. I spent a very uncomfortable weekend on a liquid diet including yoghurt drinks - yoghurt's so good for the stomach - and am still too wobbly to do much although I am sticking to a light diet. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and, hopefully, I can catch up and do all the things I should have done over the weekend. Illness is such a waste of time!

Poetry and School

Proud grandmother today. It was the parents teachers meeting at my grandson's school. He had been asked to read one of his poems to the entire school at assembly. One of the lines read: The lead in a child's pencil is the road to imagination. He is doing really well in all subjects but he received the award for being the best reader and speller in Year Four.

Indian Costume Jewellery

I bought a beautiful matching set comprising a necklace, earrings and a ring as well as eight bangles to wear at a special event at the Festival of Romance, where I shall wear a sari. The fancy dress is appropriate for the theme of my novel Far Beyond Rubies.

Weather and Writing Fiction

Yesterday a flash of lightning visible through the venetian blinds in my bedroom woke me. A clap of thunder sounded. It was so loud that it frightened my 12 year old grandson so much that he fell out of bed. It also startled me. Torrential rain followed the thunderstorm. Later the sun shone. I thought my newly planted winter cabbages and purple sprouting broccoli would have been flattened, but no, amazingly they were still upright. By then the day was mild so I worked in the front garden. Later, the sky darkened and more torrential rain fell.

The contrasts in the weather throughout the day would make an excellent backdrop for a day in a novel but not in the clichéd style of: "It was a dark and windy night..."

Far Beyond Rubies

Four of my novels are available as online publications (e-books) but I am now pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of my novel Far Beyond Rubies as a paperback.

It can be pre-ordered through the following link.

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/far-beyond-rubies-652-detail

School Assembly & New Novel

This morning I attended assembly at my 9 year-old grandson's school to watch his class perform a play about Moses. Every child had a line or more to say, and they obviously enjoyed the production. Afterwards I returned home and caught up with the housework and laundry. First thing tomorrow morning I hope to write another 2,000 words of my new Regency Novel, the sequel to Sunday's Child.

' Zoe & The Ancient Egyptians ' 16/10/2013 18:00:38

My 8 year-old granddaughter, Zoe, is studying the ancient Egyptians at school. When her parents went with her eldest brother to watch her younger brother perform in Macbeth at Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth, I looked after her. She had taken books from the library, copied pictures onto the computer and added several pages of text. "Would I like to see her project?" she asked, and smiled enchantingly. My dainty, curly haired granddaughter then spared me no details of mummification. I have and extremely weak stomach. At the end of her gruesome presentation with extra verbal comments she said: "I'm hungry, grandma, time to have dinner." Dinner! My stomach heaved. Food! Would I ever be able to eat again. I deserve a medal for grandmotherly love.

Kenya

Unlike Elspeth Huxley, whose book Flame Trees of Thika I posted about yesterday, while I lived in Kenya from 1962 to 1982 I never felt entirely at ease. However, I do have some outstanding memories.

On a visit to the Nairobi National Park in 1968, a lion,  ahead of our car, plodded along the red dirt track. On either side stretched grassland interspersed with thorn trees, weird sculptures beneath a jacaranda-blue sky from which blazed a brazen sun. Not once did the king of beasts look back at our car. Totally at ease he ignored the herds of deer, wildebeest zebras and deer, and the giraffes and ostriches took no notice of him. At a leisurely pace he reached his destination, a flat-topped rock overlooking the grassland on which his  harem and his cubs had settled.

As my husband drove away I hoped the lions would enjoy long lives protected from hunters.

Flame Trees of Thika

I lived in Kenya from 1961 to 1982. During my years there I visited Thika. When I first went to Kenya I had not heard of Elspeth Huxley's non-fiction book, The Flame Trees of Thika, Memories of an African Childhood, first published in 1959.

I can't remember when I first read the autobiography, but I do recall finding it very interesting, although Elspeth Huxley's experiences in Kenya were so far removed from mine.

The other day, after I met my friend at The Coach and Horses in Rickmansworth I was delighted to find a secondhand copy of the book in a charity shop.

I've finished reading it with a sense of nostalgia for the beauty of the country.
The Flame Trees of Thika is a fascinating account of Elspeth Huxley's life and that of the first settlers in and around Thika, amongst whom were her parents, Robin and Tilly.

The author breathes life into her descriptions of the African tribesmen and women, their way of life, their beliefs and their attitudes.

I shall search for two of her other books, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, !"A Journey through East Africa",and White Man's Country, "Lord Delamere and the making of Kenya," as well as her novel, Red Strangers, a story of Kenya. 

Rosehipa Jelly

Wet and windy today, so I put the rosehips collected earlier in the year to good use. I boiled 1 kilo of organic rosehips in 1pint of water  and 2 kilos of organic Bramley cooking apples from my garden in the same amount of water. The rosehips and the applies are now in separate jelly bags, to drain the juice from the pulp. Tomorrow, I shall add the finished jelly to my store cupboard.

Beetroot Soup and Plum Pie

I have lots of beetroot from my organic garden. Yesterday, I made a big pot of soup to be served with sour cream and fresh dill from my garden.

From lunchtime onward members of my family popped in and had one or two bowlfuls of soup. So much for freezing some, but I don't mind. Even more than cooking, I like watching other people enjoying one of my homemade meals.

I also picked plums from the garden and made a plum pie, which members of the family ate with gusto.

My organic garden plus a reciepe

Yesterday, I gathered my marrows and summer squash, cleared the  veggie patch where they grew, and then spread lime over it. Recently I bought a tray of winter cabbage and another of purple sprouting broccoli for next to nothing in a sale at a garden centre. It's a little late to plant them in the garden, but I've limed their patch and if I cover them with fleece to protect them from the worst of the weather I hope they will thrive.

The broad beans I planted two weeks ago after enriching the plot with manure are coming up. They are hardy and will survive even the worst winters. The plants toughen up so much that few blackfly attack them. Early next year, after sufficient pods develop, I shall pick the topmost leaves and cook them like spinach.

At the moment I'm enjoying apples, pears and plums from the garden. Today, I plan to make a plum pie, yesterday, I made vegetable marrow soup.

To serve four.

2 lbs of peeled, cubed marrow, seeds and pith removed.
2 ozs butter.
1 & a 1/2 pints vegetable soup stock.
1/2 pint milk.
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp pepper or more to taste
(I added a tbs of hyssop leaves from the garden but it's not essential.)

Locked Out

After spending an enjoyable Sunday with some of my friends I returned home, went upstairs and could not open my bedroom door. Guess what! My address book, diary and mobile were in the bedroom. I used my landline to phone people whose numbers I remembered. Everyone was out.
Eventually I contacted a workman who came within the hour. He managed to open the door but the paintwork has been damaged. Anyway, in spite of that, I'm grateful to him.

Tag for The Captain and The Countess

Last night I woke at 2.a.m and fretted about all the things I must do and those I want to do. While trying to go back to sleep I composed a 21 word description of my new novel The Captain and The Countess for my publisher. Afraid I would forget it, I turned on the bedside lamp and jotted it down on a notepad I keep beside my bed. I've sent it to my copy editor and hope she approves of it.