Welcome to my occasional blog!

21st October:

I went to visit the Imperial War Museum at Salford Quays today.  I didn't take the camera so I'm not able to show you the stunning architecture but the area is worth visiting to see the buildings alone.  The museum is very interesting and strives to make visitors 'think again' about war.  But as I followed a elderly man around some of the exhibits and listened to him regailing his grandchildren with tales of his exploits and the guns he'd fired I couldn't help but wonder if his enthusiam was giving them the impression that the war had been exciting and something to look back on with affectionate nostalgia.  I had much the same feeling as the lady sitting beside me during one of the presentations sighed at her memories of days gone by.  Whilst those who lived through the war years remember and relate their experiences with such apparent regret for the 'good times' how will the message that war is horrible and that we should strive to never let it happen get through to the next generation?

4th October:

I was in the Kaydee book shop in Clitheroe this afternoon when I overheard a conversation about the meaning of the Lancashire County Palatine.  Two ladies had just driven down from Gisburn and seen the marker on the roadside that shows where the historic boundary between Lancashire and Yorkshire was sited.  They were asking the salesperson if she knew what 'palatine' meant.  Unable to contain myself I butted in to explain that it meant that the ruler of the historical county (the Duke of Lancaster) was given royal (from the palace) powers within the courts and administration of the county and was in reality a ruler with the same powers as the monarch.  Of course the title of the Duke of Lancaster became one of the titles of the monarch when Henry IV became king and the present queen is also the Duke of Lancaster.

The two ladies listened eagerly and seemed impressed.  Then one jokingly asked how much they owed me.  "You can buy a copy of my book!" I told them cheekily and showed them the shelf where Tales of old Lancashire was displayed.  I did walk away at that point rather than pressuring them into a purchase, but I hope that if they did buy it they enjoy reading it!

29th July: 

Last week I was in Yorkshire.  Now I know there's supposed to be huge rivalry between the counties and it's true that there is a light-hearted way, but I've been reading a lot about the Wars of the Roses and the life of Richard III in particular and it's a fascinating subject that reveals there is no clear divide between Lancashire and Yorkshire in a geographical sense.  In fact it seems to have been more of a north/south that caused much of the trouble during the reign of Richard; well that and his relationships with the Stanley family which seem to have been on shaky ground for much of the time, especially after Thomas Stanley married Margaret Beaufort who was the mother of the man who eventually became Henry VII.  I could go on for ever about this period of history as I've become quite obsessed, but I'll save it for the new novel I'm writing which will reveal the true reason for the death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Anyway, as I was saying, last week I was in Yorkshire.  Middleham to be exact and that's where Richard III had what is said to be his favourite home at Middleham Castle.  Mostly ruined now it's a beautiful place and I found it very atmospheric.  

But I'm spending the second week of my holiday at home or on a staycation as the current popular terminology calls it.  It's good to stay at home and try to keep that holiday feeling; I'm trying to treat the house as another holiday cottage (and a very nice one it is!)  It also gives me time to visit the places nearby that I tend to take for granted.  I've been to Whalley Abbey and to Hoghton Tower so far.  Both are places that people come great distances to visit but because they're so near to my home their familiarity tends to make me overlook them.  I have been to both before but it was interesting to see them with 'holiday eyes'. 

11th May:

The other day I went to visit Norton Priory in Cheshire to look for the grave of Richard FitzEustace (also known as Richard of Chester) who is one of the main characters in my novel The deLacy Inheritance.

The priory was built using money given by the barons of Halton who were Richard's family and sources record him being buried there, probably under the chapter house.  The picture shows a stone coffin in that location that contained bones that showed signs of leprosy.

The site of the priory was excavated in the 1970s and bones were removed from all the stone coffins.  Some, including one full skeleton, are displayed in the priory museum and the rest are in boxes in a storeroom.  I found this quite troubling.  These people were buried with reverence and what right have we to remove and display their remains as curiosities?

Part of the newer extension to the chapter house was not excavated as it had yew trees growing there.  Although it is probably too 'new' I hope that Richard's remains are there, undisturbed and not the ones on display in a glass case.

Here's a quote from John Webster's Duchess of Malfi:

I do love these ancient ruynes;
We never tread upon them but we set
Our foote upon some reverend history;
And questionless have in this open court
(Which now lies naked to the injuries
Of stormy weather) some men lie interred,
Loved the Church as well, and gave as largely to’t.
They thought it should have canopied their bones
Till Domesday ; but all things have their end;
Churches and cities (which have diseases like to men)
Must have like Death that we have.

Easter Day 2008:  Sunday 23rd March:

Despite most people hoping for a white Christmas a white Easter seems much more likely, especially when it's as early as it is this year.  I woke at five this morning and peeped out of the window to see everything covered in a couple of inches of snow.  It was mostly melted by morning though some remained all day even though the sun broke through the clouds from time to time.

So, eschewing the temptation of chocolate, I went out to get some fresh air and exercise and took the camera.  My main aim was to photograph the graves in Stydd Chapel at Ribchester, but afterwards I walked down to the riverbank and saw that there was still snow coating the slopes of Pendle Hill.

Sunday 16th March:

Yesterday was the Annual General Meeting of the Lancashire Authors' Association.  I've been a member for well over 25 years and worked my way up from novice to Chairman.  The LAA will celebrate its centenary next year 2009.  It will have been in existance for 100 years! 

That is quite an achievement, but like many other small organisations the LAA struggles with numbers these days.  The membership is increasingly elderly and I've been looking for ways to encourage new members. 

I talked (for far too long) about publicity yesterday and the need to provide a reason for new members to join. 

Attempting to drag the LAA into the new millennium I've set up a chatsite, though the response was mixed.  I think that there is so much negative publicity about the internet in some areas that older people especially are terrified and think that one click will either see their bank accounts emptied or display the most disgusting pornography on their screens.

I think it's a shame that the negative side of the web should be uppermost in their minds when there are so many good things to be found online.  The internet has been literally life changing for me, allowing me to live and work in a way I could never have imagined even ten years ago.

I often think that I am privileged to have lived during these years that have seen such enormous changes.  My life has seen the beginnings of space exploration, the first man on the moon, the first landings of probes on Mars and the development of computer technology that would have seemed fantastic when I was child when someon's idea of technology would have been an adding machine.  It has been a revolution and I'm thrilled to have had the chance to be a part of it.

Sunday 2nd March:

I spent most of yesterday in Manchester at the Society of Authors' meeting.  The two very interesting speakers were Geoff Fisher from Antony Rowe who spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of publishing your own work, and Alison Baverstock who spoke about marketing yourself and your work.

 But for me I think the most enjoyable part of these meetings is meeting other writers.  One of the things that Alison spoke about was 'accessing encouragement' and that is so important for writers.  We sit alone in our rooms putting words on paper or screen and it is so easy to become discouraged.  Having support from other writers can make all the difference and I really appreciate the opportunity to chat and compare notes with other writers either in real life or on the writers' sites I visit online.  There can be a disadvantage though!  It's so easy to spend the whole day talking about writing that nothing ever gets written.

Friday 29th February 2008:

So, the question is whether today is really an extra day in your life.  and if so did you do anything exciting with it.  Well in my case the answer is no.  I spent the day marking students' work and battling with websites that seemed to believe that they were owed a day off. 

In fact yesterday was a better day.  For one thing it was dry and sunny, unlike the wild wind we've had today that blew the boiler out.  That is another story: re-setting it involves climbing on a stool or stepladder in the corner of the garage and both boiler and boiler controls are positioned in the ideal place for giving anyone a crick in the neck.  But yesterday -yes- yesterday was a good day (apart from getting overcharged in a restaurant - I wouldn't mind paying twice for puddings if I'd eaten two puddings!).  I was at Grasmere in the Lake District to see if the daffodils were out.  Not quite as you can see from the photo on the left, but a very tame robin in the churchyard was delightful.  Here he is posing on a gravestone and hoping for some crumbs from the gingerbread shop.

Saturday 9th February 2008:

Well yes I am well aware that the idea of a blog is to write it regularly and not every two months!  But I do have an excuse of sorts.  Do you remember that really icy day the week before Christmas?  You probably don't but I do!  Trying to keep my 2007 New Year's resolution to walk every day I set off to the postbox on very icy pavements and coming back down the hill...well you can probably guess...I did the worst type of ice skating possible. 

Isn't it strange that when you fall down the first thing you worry about is whether anybody saw you and if you've made a fool of yourself?  I assured the young girl who lives around the corner that I was fine but when I got home it became increasingly obvious that I had hurt myself.  Okay, I could move my fingers but the strange grating noise when I tried to bend my elbow was a bit worrying.  So off I went in a taxi to our new 'state of the art' hospital and the 'emergency' unit which is situated in a portacabin just outside.  The outcome was a radial head fracture which, I have to say is one of the most painful things I've ever endured.  So I've been feeling sorry for myself and I've only been able to type with one hand.  I'm still finding many things impossible, for example getting the lids off things, and typing is still painful although it is apparently good exercise, but the worst thing is still not being able to drive the car; at least the gear changing and handbreak bit which are fairly essential!

Anyway a belated 2008 resolution is to keep the blog and the website updated, hopefully with encouraging news and less whingeing.

Sunday 11th November 2007:

 Having spent the afternoon battling the computer to get this new website up and running there's not much to say except that computers are wonderful when they co-operate and when they don't - well...

So as I'm at a loss for words for the time being here's a picture for you to look at: autumn in Grasmere.

Thursday 6th December:

I was interviewed on the late show on Radio Lancashire last night.  Although the interview was recorded earlier in the evening I didn't stay up to listen as I find little more excrutiatingly embarrassing than listening to myself talk!

I'd been nervous all day about what I was going to say.  I always think I'm better on paper than I am in real life and I'd made copious notes in case my mind went blank.  But when it came to the interview I just went into 'performance' mode and talked.  I hope it made sense.  The interviewer, Carole Turner, was very nice and let me chat away and mention both my books as well as my website.  Thanks Carole!