Good news!

Good news! C has been given the all clear from the quacks and we are now ready, almost, to head south and find some warmth. I almost said ‘sun’, but you know we’ve had lots of that. It’s just we really need the big ball of hot gases to be a bit hotter than it is now.

when autumn leaves begin to fall

i

We finished off at Mary’s, the party being a great success and then drove down to our new favourite CL on the Levels for a quick overnighter before taking to Doris to the doctors (new rear tyres, tick) and C having her throat looked at by a camera which is really

time to head south?

too big to pass by your tonsils. Tick. Jen’s for an evening, with more dogs than Battersea (she’s still doing that so well), and then a slow potter north to see Bex and Steven.

I pen this on Steven’s Dad’s drive, our usual resting place, after a night which included a pop to the local pub for a beer and, inevitably, a late evening of games including a sort of dominos does world geography which, even though I know where Iran is, I couldn’t get me head round. Never mind.

They’re at work now and we’re getting up slowly. Peter and Karen’s this evening, then a night in Oxford to meet up with on old student of ours, Johanna, to talk about some work for me next summer (yippee?). And, finally, after a quick pop in to see Mary, a ferry in to the sunset. Interestingly, we should land in Calais on exactly the same day we did last year, so we’re not behind schedule in that regard. Of course last year we were going for eight months…this year, just until December. Our big trip should be post-New Year.

But we’ll see. First three chapters and prologue with Mikki, my editor, and chapter four underway. It’s also true to say that I am still selling about a book a day of UH, with a reading group in Riyadh chomping through it now – I’m on a Skype call at the end of November with the group to talk about it! How exciting is that?

Anyhow, hope you are all well. Next time I write we should be in France!