Dartmoor and first walk of spring

Last weekend saw an overdue visit to my mum, and some Dartmoor walks with my dear mate Av. After months of really horrible weather, it was a joy to wake up, several mornings running, to a sun drenched garden with birds singing their heads off.

We explored Ashburton, had some lovely grub and walked miles. All in all, a lovely weekend, so I daresay we will return...

In the meantime, I've got steam coming out of my ears trying to finish the book before the end of the month so excuse me, must dash...

Part of the amazing mural at Buckfast Abbey, where we had a coffee to revive drooping energy levels.

Vole hunting and teeth out

This was taken on Sunday when we went down to Gunwalloe and walked along the cliffs to Church Cove and Dollar Cove, on the Lizard. As you can see, Moll was busy vole hunting and enjoyed her last day of teeth before having to go to the vet on Monday to have some removed - they weren't quite sure how many till they got her there, as she doesn't like having her mouth looked at.

For anyone who doesn't know, gum disease is just as prevalent in dogs as humans, particularly with increasing age, and tooth brushing is ideal. However, if you have a dog like Moll who hates having her teeth brushed, you have a problem, which turns into gum disease, which means having teeth out.

We picked her up on Monday afternoon, all groggy from the anaesthetic. Poor love was really confused and couldn't settle, spent all evening and that night whimpering (that was a long night) but by the morning she'd settled a bit. This afternoon she'll be able to go for walks again and her appetite doesn't seem to have been affected (mind you, nothing affects her stomach).

As from tomorrow it's all change again. I'm off to Devon to see my mum and my dear mate Av for a few days, then I have another trip to Penzance next weekend, while Mr B departs to Lanzarote for his annual trip for two weeks.

The book is nearly finished. I'm going through final edits, we're trying out ideas for the cover, and I have this horrible sense of impending loss. You know when you get really stuck into a book, and feel really bereft when it finishes? Well, magnify that feeling about a hundred times and you get some sense of what it's like when you finish writing a book. So I shall be quietly (or loudly) bawling my eyes out and working on my next project - which is finding more journalism to pay some bills.

There is an idea in the pipeline for another book but I don't know what my publishers will think. They will probably want to see how this one goes. But we will see.....

Sunset at Burton Bradstock a few weeks ago.... seems like yesterday...

Dreamy Dorset

Dorset was a really lovely break - so good we didn't want to come home. The weather was kind to us - it only rained twice I think - and despite a few health hiccups, it was just what was needed.

I also saw my dear friend Av which was a bonus, and drove home in torrential rain which made me value the good weather all the more.

It was my birthday on Sunday and, not having expected anything, I had a wonderful day. C took me out for breakfast, then Fiona and I did the last walk for the Poldark book, stopping at Charlestown for a drink, where we bumped into Av and her husband again! That was followed by a lovely meal cooked by friends, so I felt truly lucky.

Now of course it's back to work with a vengeance - I have two weeks to finish the book in. And I left my brain in Dorset. Come back please all is forgiven, and I need you.......

A break

Now is not the ideal time to go away - given the weather particularly, but also given that I'm working flat out to finish my walks book for the deadline of end of March. I've actually only got one more walk to do but that is, hopefully, on Bodmin Moor, and no one in their right minds would go there at the moment as it's far too boggy. With a walks book, the writing is in a way the fun part. What takes more time is editing all the photographs, and sending those over. Tracing the route on maps and scanning those in and sending those off. Writing the introduction and the blurb on the back. A biography. And, of course, proofing it when it comes back from the publishers. I have edited the walks several times, as have four trusty friends, but it's amazing what slips through even the beadiest eye.

However, having worked very hard since October - and straight through Christmas - I feel I deserve a break, so Friday will see us heading towards Dorset where the weather has, so far, been kind. (I rather doubt it this time, but you never, know. I may be lucky.) However, I intend to do a lot of walking and exploring, enjoy some good food and see my dear friend Av.

So here's to a break. And to kinder weather. Please. Will be back in March!

Room, Holyer an Gof, and Talks

This is of a gorgeous pine tree near Durgan - any local walkers will recognise it - near the car park at Bosloe!

First of all, I went to see ‘Room’ last night - an incredibly powerful and brilliantly acted film about a young woman who was abducted, raped and kept locked in a garden shed. When her son was born this gave a new meaning to her life, and when he reached the age of 5 she launched a bold and desperate plan to escape. But what none of the reviews mentioned was the very clever look at the after effects - what happens when they tried to fit back into real life…..

Go and see it but be prepared. This is emotionally harrowing….

On a lighter note, I had an email from my publishers, Sigma Press, the other day. She said she had entered my book (Walks in the Footsteps of Cornish Writers) for the Holyer An Gof Publisher’s Awards 2016. There are 6 different categories of books, but basically it’s for books either written about Cornwall and/or in Cornish.

I was surprised, delighted - and then I read the different categories, and standards of excellence, and my hopes plummeted. Surely there will be others much better than mine? But anyway, I decided, it is great to be considered good enough to enter.

Last week I went to give a talk at Hayle WEA who were one of the best audiences I’ve ever encountered. And I have been fortunate in usually having very appreciative audiences for my talks.

This gathering of older, intelligent, lively minds, were a joy. With the exception of one elderly gentleman who snoozed through part of it, they all appeared interested, and had some wonderful tales of Cornish history to tell afterwards. Furthermore, they bought quite a lot of books…

One lady took me round a converted chapel in Hayle afterwards, introducing me to everyone who had a unit there (and there were a lot), including a lovely gentleman who has a Cornish bookshop, who would also like to stock my books.

So when presented with a gathering of older people, never underestimate them. This lot were solid gold!

A talk and Robin Ellis's book

Not much to do with this post, but I haven't been able to download recent photos due to lack of technology. My good friend Fiona gave me her old Sony phone to use to take pictures (an excellent phone and much lighter than lugging my Nikon round with me on long walks). The pictures look great but I'm not able to download them at the moment, so waiting for my lovely computer guy to rescue them next time he's in Falmouth.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm giving a talk at Hayle WEA on my walks. I felt it was time the talk had a revamp as I;ve give it enough times to get bored of what i'm saying, and suddenly realised this is another excuse to talk about Poldark....

I am just hoping that it will stop raining enough for me to do my last two walks for the book which are on Bodmin Moor. The ground everywhere is saturated, but on moorland, it tends to be even worse, so it either means wading through bogs (not advisable for safety reasons, let alone enjoyment), or keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will improve enough to walk there in the next month. My deadline is the end of March, so time is ticking on....

On the back of that, i was sent a press release last week about Robin Ellis's new cookery book for diabetics (he played Ross Poldark in the 1970s TV series and is a Type 2 diabetic himself). I was commissioned to write a 500 word piece about this and I have to say the book looks very good - really great recipes for everyone wanting to eat healthily. He will be in Waterstones Truro on March 12th so go along and get a copy!

Many thanks for all the kind comments about losing Echo. it hasn't hit me yet. C suggested going down to see how she was, but I don't think I can bear that yet. At least the weather isn't conducive to boating at the moment, and I am busy enough with the book to keep my mind off Echo.

End of an Era

Yesterday we sold Echo - well, it's strictly Mr B's boat so he sold it, but it's felt like ours given the hours I've spent bailing her out over the years, and enjoying good times on the water.

It all happened incredibly quickly - I put an ad on a local For Sale site via Facebook and was inundated with replies. This, in January, on a morning of tempestuous winds and rain, with people desperate to come and see her. To cut a long story short, C sold her to the first guy who offered a good price, and he was so keen he took his wife down immediately to see Echo. We're just dashing off now to collect our belongings and hand the keys over.

Gulp. Still, it's for financial reasons, so needs must.

I don't like to think of life without a boat. Despite the fact that the weather was so bad last year we hardly went out, she was there if we wanted to. Now she won't be and I feel this is really the end of an era.

We will sail with Al, of course, on his Dragon, and I may race with Flushing Sailing Club, and hope to sail with Tony, but it won't be the same. There's the possibility of buying another boat but I think we may need to win the lottery - or for my book to pull in loads of money, both of which are slightly unlikely.

But you know what they say - when one door shuts, if you work at it, another one opens. It will be interesting to see what that one is.

Meanwhile, here's to our lovely Echo. With thanks for all the brilliant times afloat.