Monday, 15 July 2013
Romantic Novelists' Association Conference 2013
Here are a few photos from the Sheffield Conference, which ended on Sunday. Soooo enjoyable! 
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Festival of Romance 2012
The Festival of Romance took place in Bedford 16-18 November 2012. I attended the Awards Ball and next morning took part in a workshop run by Sally Quilford on writing Pocket Novels.
At the Awards Ball I was fortunate to be sharing a table with the Romaniacs, all writers on the RNA's New Writers' Scheme. Except that one no longer is. She won her spurs that evening. So congralulations Celia Anderson!
A few of the photos I took that evening are here. My apologies for the red eye. My camera has a facility for avoiding it, if only I knew how it worked!
I won't post names. You all know who you are!
Monday, 16 July 2012
RNA Conference Penrith 2012 Part 5
I never went to University so the RNA Conference at the Newton Rigg Campus in Penrith these past few days, gave me an opportunity to experience the kind of student life I had missed. There were lessons of course, informative talks and workshops and publishing industry updates, but there is also that fascinating process of osmosis, and I’m not just talking about how my trousers soaked up the water from the floor of the shower when I was sitting on the loo. (I remembered to bring the kitchen sink but, sadly, not my bicycle clips.)
No, I’m talking about education. I absorbed so much information from my fellow delegates that not only has my vocabulary expanded – I now know what a merkin is – but so has my knowledge across a whole range of academic disciplines:
Ancient Mythology and Biology– I have a greater understanding of how a centaur might copulate.
Animal Husbandry – the technique of squeezing the innards from a mealworm in order to breastfeed an orphan bat.
Diet, Health, and Arithmetic – just how many caramel shortcakes equals half a stone.
A memorable weekend indeed, and in wonderful company.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Bradford-on-Avon and Birds
After a very busy but enjoyable few months, my last two 'summer' visitors went home yesterday and I'm getting back to the short contemporary novel I'm close to completing. As a way of getting myself in the mood for writing I thought I'd blog briefly about yesterday's trip to Bradford-on-Avon, just a few miles from Bath. In the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, Bradford was a mill town. The view below is taken from the bridge. The large building reflected in the Avon was once a mill. Built in 1875 on the site of an earlier mill, it has been converted into retirement flats.
Bradford is on the River Avon but it is also on the Kennet and Avon Canal. The photo below was taken at the Canal Wharf, a short walk from the town centre.
The towpath was a little muddy but we managed to walk along it. Thankfully the rain held off enabling me to take the photo below without having to juggle with a brolly.
What's great about Bradford is the abundance of little shops and cafes. Of course, we went in one to partake of a pot of tea and a baguette. The name had me wondering why my favourite cafes always seem to have the word 'horse' in their names. The one in Bradford is called the 'Scribbling Horse' and there's another in Dorchester (Dorset) called 'The Horse with the Red Umbrella'.
From horses to birds. At the end of August I posted a blog about garden birds, or rather the absence of them in our garden. Well, apart from the most fleeting of flock visits (ten minutes perhaps), for the blackbirds to eat a few hawthorn berries and the families of sparrows to check out their old nesting sites in the eaves of a neighbour's house, our feathered friends are still absent. Their visits always seem to take place after a cold, wet day. They eat very little from the bird table and are gone almost before I've noticed they've arrived. I haven't had to buy any bird food for about three months. It'll be interesting see what their numbers are like in the spring.
Bradford is on the River Avon but it is also on the Kennet and Avon Canal. The photo below was taken at the Canal Wharf, a short walk from the town centre.
The towpath was a little muddy but we managed to walk along it. Thankfully the rain held off enabling me to take the photo below without having to juggle with a brolly.
What's great about Bradford is the abundance of little shops and cafes. Of course, we went in one to partake of a pot of tea and a baguette. The name had me wondering why my favourite cafes always seem to have the word 'horse' in their names. The one in Bradford is called the 'Scribbling Horse' and there's another in Dorchester (Dorset) called 'The Horse with the Red Umbrella'.
From horses to birds. At the end of August I posted a blog about garden birds, or rather the absence of them in our garden. Well, apart from the most fleeting of flock visits (ten minutes perhaps), for the blackbirds to eat a few hawthorn berries and the families of sparrows to check out their old nesting sites in the eaves of a neighbour's house, our feathered friends are still absent. Their visits always seem to take place after a cold, wet day. They eat very little from the bird table and are gone almost before I've noticed they've arrived. I haven't had to buy any bird food for about three months. It'll be interesting see what their numbers are like in the spring.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
RNA Regency Day
I would like to nominate Hermione Granger as an associate member of the Romantic Novelists's Association so that she can come with me to RNA events like the Regency Day held on Saturday. Her skills would remove the need for decision making. A panel discussion on Sense and Sensibility or a talk on Regency clothing? Regency Dancing or Regency Scents? A talk about Sex and the Georgians or Parlour Games? No problem. With Hermione and her magic medallion, I could have attended them all.
The Regency Celebration took place at the Royal Overseas League just off St James's Street, and another choice item on the agenda was the chance to go on a guided walk of the area to discover what it was like in that period. In the afternoon I, along with 50 others, plumped for Afternoon Tea at the East India Club (pictured below).
It is in this building, indeed in the room below, that the Prince Regent received the despatch sent by the Duke of Wellington announcing the allied victory over Bonaparte at Waterloo.
The story of how that despatch reached London was given in readings by novelists Sophie Page and Elizabeth Hawksley. Entering into the fray in his regimentals was despatch rider Major Percy aka Miles Barden. Below Sophie Page starts off proceedings.
For me this was the highlight of the day, and there was more than one historical novelist present who, witnessing the re-enactment, experienced a lightbulb moment regarding a certain eagle!
The day was organised to celebrate Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer and their work. In an afternoon discussion the question was asked if there was something we could change about a book by either of them, what would it be? I couldn't think of anything at the time, but on the way home on the train from Paddington, the answer where Heyer is concerned was obvious - ditch the exclamation marks! I was reading 'Bath Tangle' and there were so many of them that by the time I arrived at Westbury Station I had a headache from all that 'shouting'.
For a detailed report of the events and some fantastic photos of the day, do pop over to the Romantic Novelists' Association blog. A real treat.
The Regency Celebration took place at the Royal Overseas League just off St James's Street, and another choice item on the agenda was the chance to go on a guided walk of the area to discover what it was like in that period. In the afternoon I, along with 50 others, plumped for Afternoon Tea at the East India Club (pictured below).
It is in this building, indeed in the room below, that the Prince Regent received the despatch sent by the Duke of Wellington announcing the allied victory over Bonaparte at Waterloo.
The story of how that despatch reached London was given in readings by novelists Sophie Page and Elizabeth Hawksley. Entering into the fray in his regimentals was despatch rider Major Percy aka Miles Barden. Below Sophie Page starts off proceedings.
For me this was the highlight of the day, and there was more than one historical novelist present who, witnessing the re-enactment, experienced a lightbulb moment regarding a certain eagle!
The day was organised to celebrate Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer and their work. In an afternoon discussion the question was asked if there was something we could change about a book by either of them, what would it be? I couldn't think of anything at the time, but on the way home on the train from Paddington, the answer where Heyer is concerned was obvious - ditch the exclamation marks! I was reading 'Bath Tangle' and there were so many of them that by the time I arrived at Westbury Station I had a headache from all that 'shouting'.
For a detailed report of the events and some fantastic photos of the day, do pop over to the Romantic Novelists' Association blog. A real treat.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Georgian Bath
The historic city of Bath is beautiful and if you can get there early in the morning, before the shops open, you can really get a feel for its Georgian past. Here are some of the photos from a week ago when I managed to do just that. The lovely building below is in Abbey Street, just off Abbey Green.
Below is the colonnade in Bath Street. The photo was taken outside the Cross Bath (rebuilt about 1789) and looking towards the entrance of the Georgian bath in Stall Street.
Below is curving Hot Bath Street. The Cross Bath is on the right.
And here is Stall Street, looking towards the colonnade which forms one side of the Abbey square.
Bath Abbey is facing you. On the right are the entrances to the Roman Baths and the Pump Room.
The viewpoint for this was in the Roman Baths. An arched window looks out over the Georgian Bath and up to the window of the Pump Room where the thermal drinking fountain is located.
My next post will feature the Roman Baths.
Below is the colonnade in Bath Street. The photo was taken outside the Cross Bath (rebuilt about 1789) and looking towards the entrance of the Georgian bath in Stall Street.
Below is curving Hot Bath Street. The Cross Bath is on the right.
And here is Stall Street, looking towards the colonnade which forms one side of the Abbey square.
Bath Abbey is facing you. On the right are the entrances to the Roman Baths and the Pump Room.
The viewpoint for this was in the Roman Baths. An arched window looks out over the Georgian Bath and up to the window of the Pump Room where the thermal drinking fountain is located.
My next post will feature the Roman Baths.
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