Sunday 31st July

The first day of August tomorrow. Once more the weeks have flown by. July; the most predictable thing about this month is that weather -wise it is always unpredictable. Here in the East Riding of Yorkshire we have had a month of  thunderstorms, sunny spells, a deluge of rain and glorious sunshine.

July is the month for garden parties. I have been to two, both in aid of local charities, Dove House Hospice and a Scanner Appeal. One which I have mentioned previously, organized by Probus in the garden of Jim and Gill Stansfield was a water world spectacular: the Morris dancers and the local dance school were both jolly and delightful and with a 'show must go on' enthusiasm in spite of the pouring rain. They gained great applause from the welly booted, mackintosh clad audience. Amazing how the Brits seem to thrive on adverse weather conditions! I'm sure money was made for the charities and a great deal of effort was put into the day to ensure its success.
The following Sunday was different again. In a delightful private garden in Hotham, we enjoyed brilliant sunshine and I for one wondered if I was wearing enough suncream. We were entertained with live music and ate a mouth watering picnic courtesy of Tina Cerrutti and many lucky people went away with some excellent raffle prizes. No, not I, but never mind, I enjoyed the day.

Last week, I was recorded on video for You Tube which is now up and running. It's very odd that I have no difficulty in speaking to an audience, either for recording or live, but speaking into a camera is quite different and I am very critical of myself. Voices too sound different; I can hear the northern-ness in my voice, but whether it is West or East Yorkshire I can't decide, probably a little bit of both although having lived most of my life in East Yorkshire I suspect that is where my accent hails from -- sorry Castleford!

Speaking of which, I have received an invitation from my old Castleford school now re named the Henry Moore Smawthorne Lane School, to visit them sometime in the autumn term. It will be lovely to go back  again and to meet up with people from the town of my birth. The last time I was there was to attend the centenary of the library. The town has changed enormously since I lived there as a child; the pit head has gone and in its place the Xscape, the dairy across the road from my granny's house has housing in its place. But the people remain the same, warm and friendly.

My copy edited manuscript of THE HARBOUR GIRL came back for checking last week so I have spent each day at my kitchen table re reading it before it goes off for printing. I haven't seen it since I sent it off to my editor back in February and as I have been in the process of creating another novel with new characters,  during the re reading of it I find I can read it in a more detached way than I could whilst writing it. Although I must admit to spilling a few tears. How emotional we authors become over our characters.

Friday 8th July

A good meeting with James Hoggarth at Radio Humberside on Tuesday. I won't tell what topics we discussed as the broadcast hasn't been aired yet. From there I went on to the Talking Magazine studio for my voluntary work; this week my colleagues and I had our editors' hats on as we prepared material for the Thursday recording.
I've had quite a good week of writing and the first draft of the present book is progressing, slowly but reasonably well as I come to know my characters and what they are getting up to. I have a rough idea of where I am going with it, but sometimes I'm surprised by the events which unfold, as in one thing can often lead to another which I hadn't planned. I've also had time to meet friends for coffee which is so important and such a nice thing to do.
On Saturday 16th July a Garden Party given by the Holderness Probus Society is to be held by kind permission of  Mr & Mrs Jim Stansfield at 15 Windsor Close Cottingham, and is in aid of Dove House Hospice and the Yorkshire Scanner Appeal. There will be a barbecue and stalls, putting and games, and a raffle. I shall be there signing my books supplied by Barkers of Cottingham. The garden is open from 11am to 5pm and all are welcome.

Tuesday 5th July

I'm about to visit Radio Humberside studio so thought I'd write a quick blog before I leave. I'm expecting to be talking to James Hoggarth about the Humber Mouth Lit Fest which was on last week and for the rest of this. I think it has been successful in spite of the cuts in Arts and the departure of several people who have previously been involved in it. I attended two events; one at the Hull Central Library where Oxygen Books, who produce the City-Pick books came to look at Hull through the eyes of  local writers. City-Pick books are not just travel books even though they cover cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Venice, London and Paris, and now have visited Hull and gained an impression -- hopefully a good one through the work and description of those of us who write about it. Submissions of various works were submitted by readers and writers and to be honest I didn't think mine would be chosen as I write of 19th c Hull and not as it is today. However, mine was there alongside Andrew Marvell, Philip Larkin, Winifred Holtby and those with a contemporary slant such as Linda Acaster, Penny Grubb, Sue Wilsea, John Godber, Nick Quantrill and others. It was very interesting to see how different writers see the city. It is also hard to define what it is that attracts writers and poets to the region. Is it the Humber, the wide skies, fantastic sunsets, the sense of history or the slight sense of isolation? Or is it the people? I suspect all of these things play a part in creativity. Sometimes Hull gets a 'Bad Press' and yet it is a very special place for those who live here.

Another event was at the Hull History Centre, of which I have spoken previously. How lucky the city is to have such a splendid building and amazing facility for searching through the past.
The meeting took the form of a workshop day and those who were interested were invited to write a short piece relating to either their own experience or of someone from the past or just pure fiction. My role was to explain how I use research to write my own brand of 19thc novels merging fact and fiction. More anon