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!

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.

RNA Conference Penrith 2012 Part 4

RNA Conference Penrith 2012 Part 3

RNA Penrith Conference 2012 Part 2

RNA Conference Penrith 2012

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.