Tag: Holidays

Posted in Writing

A DRIFT INTO AUTUMN written 29.10.24

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

Yes, I’ve been absent since my March/April update. Where has the time gone? It’s been a busy year, with lots of distractions, and suddenly here we are, almost at the end of October. Last year seemed to rush by as far as summer was concerned, probably because the weather followed a more balanced pattern. This year, constantly yo-yoing between rain and sunshine, and never seeming to settle for long bouts of one or the other (although there has sadly been more wet than warmth), the season seems to have stretched.

All in all, it has been a good year. Although a week in Derbyshire in May was a bit of a wash out, Fowey in June proved exceptionally sunny and dry. The week was busy, meeting family and old neighbours for lunch. In addition, friends came to stay with us for a few days. We had our usual Sunday lunch at the Fowey Harbour Hotel, where we discovered from staff that there were seagull deterrents in the form of giant water pistols placed on outside terrace tables. It’s one of the problems when eating outside and we have experienced Fowey seagulls in the past – at best cheeky and at worst determined to get you to share your meal with them!

Staying in Fowey proved a great opportunity for soaking up the atmosphere and getting back into my Kingswater mode. For those who are unaware, my fictitious Cornish coastal town is loosely based on a mix of Fowey and Dartmouth. Although I had planned to be part way through a new book by now – one based in Somerset, I got so far with the story and then somehow everything stalled. The work will not be for nothing though, as I have filed it for later use, when the Somerset muse comes calling again! No, what did influence the change can be blamed on the fact I had convinced myself that there was room for a fourth book in the Kingswater series. Another story that needed telling. So, I’ve been working on this with a view to begin writing in November. I usually write through the winter anyway, as there are too many distractions during summer months. Now, with our final two trips (one for a week in South Devon, the other to Brockenhurst in the New Forest, to celebrate our wedding anniversary), I can give my total concentration to writing.

Still on the subject of books, I hit my Goodreads 2024 target of 40 books read a few months back and can now add an additional 22 to the tally. Currently I am 55% over my target. Really pleased to have been offered a pre-published copy of the new Kate Atkinson novel, which I really enjoyed. I also have a copy of Annabelle Thorpe’s latest book, due to be published in March 25. This is the sequel to The Enemy of Love (renamed The Village Trattoria) which I read and reviewed in April 2023. Set in 1940s Italy during WW2, the story finished in a way that meant a sequel might follow. And happily it has. The Moonlit Piazza will be published in March 2025 and I’m hoping it will be every bit as good as the first book. If you are a fan of WW2 fiction then I recommend reading The Village Trattoria and following Sophia and Georgio’s journey.

And that’s it until next time. I’ll be back in the run up to Christmas. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a few photos of our holidays.

FOWEY, MEVAGISSY AND CHARLESTOWN ,CORNWALL (JUNE)

Seagull deterrent at The Harbour Hotel, Fowey

BAKEWELL & LADYBOWER DERBYSHIRE (MAY)

KINGSBRIDGE, DEVON (SEPTEMBER)

BROCKENHURST, HAMPSHIRE (OCTOBER)

Posted in Writing

A MARCH/APRIL CATCH UP

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

What’s that famous saying about March? In like a Lamb and out like a Lion? Or vice versa. Well, now we are about to wave goodbye to the third month of the year, looking back, my lasting memory will be one of rain, rain and more rain. Yes, we’ve had one or two days when you get the feeling warmer, dryer days are about to arrive, but sadly, we’re eventually back to rain again. With the bank holiday imminent, and the fact British Summertime begins on Sunday maybe the weather might start behaving itself. Who knows? Miracles might happen.

I may in the past have mentioned that we look out onto green fields. A couple of years ago this came under new ownership and has been undergoing planting to turn it into a conservation area. During this last week in March, tree and hedge planting has been on-going, interspersed with visits from Roe Deer, pheasants and squirrels. Oh, and the pigeons have returned, which means once they begin nest building we’ll be back to having them wake us up each morning with their special version of the dawn chorus.

Writing News

I’m still working steadily on my new book. No title as yet, which is unusual as I normally have something in mind during the early days of my projects. I’m not duly concerned at the moment, what is more important is getting the story written. Looking back on my notes, it’s interesting to see how things have changed since I wrote my original outline for the book. As writers all know, inspiration comes at the most unexpected moments and can take you in new and totally surprising directions.

In 2018 I signed a one book contract with Choc Lit, under their Ruby imprint. A Cornish Affair was published in 2019 and I was working on a sequel until the moment I received a cancer diagnosis. All writing was understandably abandoned. I parted company with Choc Lit and the book remained available as an e-book. I am happy to say that after three years of monitoring I appear to be clear, although I have to return for a final procedure next year. I did pick up my keyboard again, but as an indie author and wrote my Cornish Coastal trilogy, the last of which was published in April 2023.

Last year, award winning Joffe Publishing took over Choc Lit and have been working with its authors. All previously published work has been given a new cover, some a new title, and been republished. A Cornish Affair, my first novel set in Cornwall (on the north coast) will join the others soon.

And finally, I’ve just joined a group working with Birmingham University as they explore Reading British Romance in the UK and Australia. The group will run for five weeks. During that time we read and share our thoughts on Shirley Conran’s successful 1980s novel Lace. Books in this genre became known as ‘bonkbusters’ because of the amount of sex they contained. I had originally read this back in the 1980s when it was first published and doing the rounds with it again, forty plus years later I’m reading it from a different age perspective, and very much seeing it with different eyes. So far it’s been interesting to see the thoughts of other members of the group. As I do a lot of reading and reviewing, it’s also interesting to see how different the structure of the novel is compared with modern day novels and also how female characters have changed.

So that’s it for now. I’ll be back again at the end of May, fresh from a holiday in the Peak District and hopeful we’ll be treated to some decent late spring weather.

Best wishes

Jo

Posted in Writing

OCTOBER ….

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

This post, although written well before 31st October, has become like a sticky toffee paper on the bottom of my shoe. It’s reluctant to be dislodged, keen to stay where it is. It seems to me that since I left the workplace behind, the endless amount of time I thought I would have, meaning I’d get so much more done, has not, in fact materialised. Instead, I always seem to have quite a lengthy ‘to do’ list. What is worse, because unlike work any urgency to get a piece of work out (i.e. my monthly update) is all down to me and doesn’t affect anyone if it’s late. However, I am now finishing up and today (10th November) it will be published.

29th October, 2023

It seems that 2023 is now on some sort of toboggan run as October has simply flown by. It’s been a really strange few weeks. Returning from an amazing holiday in the Italian Lakes – clear blue skies and 34 degrees for seven whole days – both of us went down with a virus the day after landing at Bristol Airport. Was it Covid’s latest offering? Well not according to the rapid flow test we both took. Whatever it was, we spent three weeks trying to shake it off, the first ten days indoors and avoiding everyone. It felt as if we were going back to the good old days of 2020. A week after we stepped out into the world again, we had our Covid and Flu shots at our local medical centre. Just as last year, it was well organised, with minimum waiting time and thankfully not much in the way of side effects other than hot, aching upper arms for 24 hours.

Since then, life has got back to normal. I’ve written a Christmas gift list and am now working out what to buy – a complete headache, but I hate copping out and giving everyone gift vouchers. The predictable envelope isn’t half as much fun as a festively wrapped package. I’ve also bought my cards which are tucked away ready for another dose of writer’s cramp as I sign and seal, ready to post. I’ve cut down the number this year as the postal rates are simply crazy. I remember back in the 80s when the Boy Scouts were allowed to issue a specially reduced priced postage stamp which would enable them to deliver local Christmas cards. Sadly, those days are long gone. For Christmas shopping we usually alternate between Salisbury and Winchester. This year it’s Winchester’s turn. The huge open area surrounding the cathedral enables the city to set its Christmas market well away from the main shopping area. Although crowded, it gives good access and isn’t such a crush as many other markets are.

Writing is progressing slowly. I have a few other plans which have taken my attention away, but I hope to be back on course soon.

Of course the monthly news wouldn’t be complete without listing my reading for the month. Of particular mention are Wendy Dranfield’s Her Lonely Bones – the sixth in her Detective Madison Harper series and yet another unputdownable read. Then Jenny O’Brien, The Puppet Maker and Alex Pine’s The Night before Christmas, both of which are addictive reads and highly recommended.

So that’s all for now until the end of November. Since our return from Italy in mid-September, the weather going into autumn has given us brief glimpses of sunshine amongst the wind and rain. However, I always choose a background image on my PC to remind me that the winter will eventually end and the better weather will be with us once again. On this occasion, I’ve chosen one of the shots from our Italian holiday. It reminds me of that afternoon when after a two hour ferry journey, we disembarked in Garda town for a wander and some lunch. Great holiday memories and looking forward to more in 2024.

See you next month

Jo xx

Posted in Uncategorized

November already??

Posted on by Jo Lambert - Author

Apologies if you’ve read this post before but according to my WordPress account it has never been published and is still in draft form. Therefore am re-issuing.

This time last year I was working and most of the men in the office were growing moustaches – yes it was Movember, or rather November.  And now I’m six months into a new life without the daily 9 -5 and there are some aspects which I miss but others I do not.  One of the things I most hated working during the winter months was when the clocks changed and returning home from work meant walking home in darkness.  By the time we got to December it was going to work in the dark as well.  I almost felt I should be hibernating somewhere buried in straw or under some garden bonfire like a hedgehog.  I suppose the only comforting thing was drawing the curtains and curling up in an armchair for the evening with a book or a good TV programme.  I always knew, however, that by the last week in January it would be twilight as I was coming home and from there things got better.

This year has gone so quickly.  It seems like only yesterday we were in Oxford in February celebrating my OH’s birthday.  We had a wonderful hotel and I absolutely loved the city but boy was it cold!  In early April we spent a break in Chester.  The cold continued and I remember walking the city wall and wondering if it was ever going to get warmer as currently there had not appeared to be any increase in temperature since February!

In early May a big group of us had a long weekend in Lynmouth.  Four of us arrived on Friday and we took the cliff railway up to Lynton on the Saturday morning and walked to the Valley of the Rocks.  It was FREEZING!  Luckily we stopped for hot chocolate at Mother Meldrum’s Tea Rooms just before continuing along the cliff pathway back to Lynmouth with a  force ten gale helping us on our way!  I remember sitting in the B & B breakfast room on the Monday morning just before we were due to return home, looking out at the trees across the valley and wondering whether they would ever come into full leaf.  Of course they did, and we were treated to some really good weather later on in the year.  That, unfortunately did not include the week in Kingsbridge, Devon in late June – more rain than sun but we still had a great time, meeting family and running into friends and work colleagues who had all headed to South Hams at the same time we had.

I think the jewel in the crown for me as far as holidays were concerned was Lake Garda.  We’d been there in 2001 and loved it and decided to go back again.  Now this can be dangerous; you are setting yourself up for disappointment – but we weren’t, it was even more magical.  I absolutely Italy and its people and it has become my number one destination in Europe.  I think if was asked what I remembered most about Garda it was the cleanliness of the place – they seem to take pride in their environment.  Then there were the flowers – even in September such a lot of glorious colours.  Italian food, of course, rated highly and then there was the easy pace of life there even though it was a big magnet for tourists.  We visited Riva Del Garda at the top of the lake and the heat haze which rises out of the water in the early afternoon looked quite magical.

Last month we were off again.  Early October saw us in Bruges, another great place to stay and I’d highly recommend the Hotel Pand – wonderful champagne breakfasts and amazing service.  We ended our year’s travel in the UK with a stay in York.  Here I went on an ancestor hunt.   John Hewetson was made Freeman of the City of York in 1537 and I knew he was buried somewhere.  Certainly not in the Minster, where most memorials date from the 1600s.  As it was, tucked between the sightseeing and retail therapy, the search did not unearth anything positive.  It was only on my return home that I discovered by searching on line that he was in fact buried in All Saints Church.  I will, therefore, be checking it when I return to York again.

So here we are on the evening of the 6th November, by Sunday we’ll be in double figures and then it’s the gradual slide down to Christmas with all its associated expended energy – what to get people, who to invite to what and how much food to buy.  And then when it’s all over, the New Year and then the reality check.  How much money did I spend over the festive season? Is there enough left for that dress in the sales?  Am I really that heavy?  Cue fitness regime and financial tightening of belt then out with the brochures again to plan Holiday 2014.  Oh yes and I’ve a book coming out too!  Ah the cycle of life, never a dull moment!