Little summer Memories

Autumn is well and truly here but at the moment we are basking in  an Indian Summer,cool nights and lovely misty,balmy days! Keats To Autumn is required reading again!
I just thought a little reminiscence of summer days was in order before we start thinking about frost,slow cooked casseroles and mulled wine round the stove.!

I enjoyed a visit to Penlee Gallery to view the stunning exhibition of Walter Langley's paintings and while I was there took some photos around the back streets of Penzance were there are some lovely secret gardens!

Back at home!

  Garden heroes getting rid of the old herb patch and laying a gravel space for me to play with,thanks Steve and Radek.  What hunks?!!!!!

We visited The lost Gardens of Heligan and were inspired !You can just see the sea on the horizon.

The holiday in Mallorca seems far away now, maybe I should start planning the next one! Are there anymore literary pilgrimages I should make? The visit to Valldemosa was a dream come true.
I can feel the call of William Morris and Kelmscott Manor !
 Anyway these are reminders of a few summer  pleasures as we enjoy this bonus of warmth and mellowness .

Writers Workshop

www.sarahduncan.co.uk

Novelist Sarah Duncan and one of her entertaining books!

I work in a vibrant Lottery Funded Community Library here in Truro and so I get to do some great things and get paid too!!

A collection of Sarah's novels.

Sarah Duncan and  agent Dorothy Lumley of The Dorian Literary Agency came together at the library to  give us two  great days  full of advice and insight into writing ,pitching and publishing our work. They were amazing and everyone enjoyed the workshops.

I am trying to write my first novel and I am very lazy about it so this has kick started my enthusiasm and shown me how much I must improve and work if my dream of seeing my name on a front cover in Waterstones is to be realized Ho! Ho!

The workshop was brought to us by an exciting Agency here in the South West, follow the link to find out more about them.www.cypruswell.org 

The standard of work that the writers brought with them for appraisal was very high and  varied  we all went away with renewed enthusiasm.

Dorothy Lumley  helping a new writer.

I had better get on with writing myself !

Autumn has come.

The weather has turned here in Cornwall,gusty wind and rain and although the trees are not dropping leaves yet there is a definate change in the season, I always get nostalgic when summer fades!
Today I woke up thinking about age,the passing of time, people I have loved who have died and what it all means.The government seems bent on breaking down some of the institutions that have been so important in my life ,the rich get richer and tell the poor to pull in there belts and it is hard not to feel despondent.The worst thing to do is to get stuck in a rut and I know life is a never ending cycle of change so to find  new ways to fight greed,fear and injustice is the only answer!

One of the people I was remembering was a woman who lived here in Cornwall , I met her when I was working on the mobile library and we became friends. She was in her nineties when she died but in her mid eighties I would arrive and find her digging her vegetable garden still strong and vibrant. Going into her house was a healing process for me ,any worries would fade when I sat by her fire and drank her excellent coffee.She would always ask if it was good sometimes saying she was trying out another blend.Her house was timeless, she made lace,listened to classical music,read poetry, loved flowers and reading.She was often quite blunt  and could hurt peoples feelings,she could not have been described as a dear old lady however she was true to herself and that was so important. . We would talk about all sorts of things and often dissagreed especially on politics but to me she was one of the most successful and admirable women I have ever known.

She had always lived close to nature,and it seemed to me that what she had achieved was a very full life.I miss her sharpness , her wit,the taste of her jam,the best mince pies ever and listening to Bruch's violin concerto over coffee on a cold winters morning. I remember being taken down into the wild place in her garden to see the first snowdrops peeping out of the frosty earth!

She always was such  an inspiration.