A gem from the past . . . and coffee and cake too!

/in /by

I’ve just returned from a wonderful afternoon out at the Redoubt Fortress on Eastbourne seafront. It’s one of the events that you wonder why the place is not stampeded by eager visitors taking advantage of the £6 ticket fee for entry to the museum, an hour’s talk in one of the atmospheric ‘casements’ (a cell like room) and afterwards, delicious tea/coffee and cake – all for £6. Incredible – and the fortress is incredible too.

For those who don’t know what the Redoubt Fortress is, it’s one of those buildings that were inspired by our ancestors’ imagination and seemed like a good idea at the time. Read more

One of Eastbourne’s best kept secrets – Compton House

/in , /by

I was lucky enough to be included in a tour of one of Eastbourne’s best kept secrets: Compton House. It is not open to the public, but thanks to Sussex Archaeological Society, I was able to join in with one of their rare tours.

It’s a secret place, hidden behind tall, knapped flint walls with a narrow entrance. Mmm, intriguing. I’d always wanted to explore . . .   Read more

Some days are just special

/in , /by

I got up one morning and saw this . . .

Read more

Review of A Coward’s Tale by Vanessa Gebbie

/in , /by

I loved this book. I bought it because I had met Vanessa at some event I can’t remember now, but also heard her talk about writing and that her publisher’s had bought the rights to the book before she had finished it. But I had not yet taken the plunge; not invested my time.   Read more

Peter James

/in /by

A month or so ago, I went into my local Oxfam bookshop and bought a Peter James Book. This was the first time I’d read him and as I settled down all comfy with coffee and biscuits full of anticipation of a good read, something fell out of the book.

It was a Euro Millions lottery ticket!   Read more

Remembering

/in /by

If I don’t write it down I don’t remember it. Now I have sheets of scrap paper everywhere – their surfaces defaced with aide memoirs scribbled inelegantly across them.   Read more

De-Cluttering Mystery

/in /by

Has anyone seen a house floating in the sky recently? I swear it’s up there – and it’s mine!

I’ve cleared out the loft, de-cluttered, de-nuded, de-homed countless spiders and other creepies from their secure and undisturbed abodes as box after box was emptied of its unloved contents, stuffed unceremoniously and without scruples into black bin liners.   Read more

Fate?

/in /by

It’s the tenth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. That dreadful event that took nearly a quarter of a million lives in such a cruel and terrifying way.   Read more

Radio Programme – My Passion My Music

/in /by

I was taking part in the Hailsham Festival in 2013 when something extraordinary happened to me.   Read more

Secret Samurai, Book One, Tangled Lives

/in /by

NEW NOVEL PUBLISHED

Anyone following my blogs will know that I’m not a blogger at heart. I need something to really push me before I’ll add to my store. I haven’t been moved recently, curled over my computer, lost in my own created universe. But as we all know, sooner or later, real life intrudes and you have to get your head up and face reality because the book is ready and needs to be launched. Expose it to readers; hoping that comments won’t be too harsh.   Read more