Sunday, June 6th, 2004

We are just back from two months in France - the longest time we have spent over there since we bought the house ten years ago. It was great to relax and not have to think about coming home. I suppose you could say we "went native".

While we were there we went to visit Malcolm Alder-Smith who lives near Argentat on the River Dordogne in Correze, in the area described by Valerie Thompson in "The Hidden Triangle - A French Odyssey". A former professional chef, he has written a cookery book of mouth-watering Correze recipes called "19" (the number of the department of the Correze), which we will be publishing in time for Christmas. He tried some of the dishes out on us and they were delicious.

We also went to Lot-et-Garonne to visit Pamela Barnett, who has written a French family saga called "The Spirit of Mathilde" under the influence of a mysterious woman in black who appeared at the end of her bed one night three years ago when she and her husband Tony were househunting in the region and staying in a converted dairy. We accompanied Pamela and Tony back to the dairy for the first time, and when she entered the bedroom she was suddenly struck cold and was covered with goose-pimples - convinced that the woman was somehow still there. "The Spirit of Mathilde" will also be published before Christmas.

March 27th, 2004

Yesterday we held the launch of "A History of Whiston - From the Stone Age to Plastic" by Bill Blinkhorn, at Prescot Museum, Merseyside. About 70 guests attended and it was 'standing room only' in the museum foyer where the event was staged. Such a turn-out was a big tribute to Bill and to the museum, which is regarded with great affection by the local residents - thanks to the enthusiasm of its curator, Rosemary Tyler and her co-workers. Among the guests were the Town Mayor of Whiston, Cllr Doyle, her deputy and the Town Clerk, Mr Brady. Also present were many members of the Whiston Historical Society, of which Bill has been honorary secretary since it was formed 30 years ago.

Bill's wife Elsie is a noted cook and in her speech, Anne teased the assembled throng, saying that they had only come along because they knew that Elsie's fruitcake and cheese scones would be the highlight of the buffet!

The Mayor of Whiston, Cllr Doyle and her deputy with Bill Blinkhorn	Bill chats to one of his guests whilst Jack has his hands in the cash box!
Elsie and Bill Blinkhorn after the launch formalities are complete

We were sorry to hear that it had been leaked that morning that the museum, which had been short-listed with 12 others for the prestigious Gulbenkian Prize for museum community projects, had not reached the final four. However, for such a little museum, with a small staff and a tiny budget, getting this far had been a remarkable achievement. The project entered in the competition was linked to bringing alive memories of the local BICC factory, now demolished, which had once been the focal point of the town and its major employer. The judging had been held the previous Friday - a nerve-racking day for everyone concerned. Bill's son, Paul, a well-known archaeologist who often appears on TV programmes, had come along to support the museum's case to the judges as one of the 'celebrity backers' of the Prescot bid for the £100,000 award.

However, in the spirit of supporting all things North Western, we were pleased that Norton Priory Museum at nearby Runcorn had reached the finals.

March 21st, 2004

We were in our home county of Lincolnshire yesterday, Saturday, for the launch of "Pinafore Street - A Fenland childhood" by Kathleen Lord. It was held in the beautifully-appointed Communty Centre of the Deepings at Market Deeping, about half a mile from her home. Friends and relatives came from as far away as Carlisle to share her special occasion.

In her speech, Anne said: "This book has a special poignancy. After her stroke five years ago, Kathleen finds it rather hard to speak. It must be an intensely frustrating affliction. In 'Pinafore Street' her voice comes across loud and clear - clever, original, amusing, witty and fluent."

Replying on behalf of Kath, her 85-year-old little sister Vin (Lavinia), talked about their happy childhood in the days when youngsters made their own amusements, and unwittingly corroborated several of the stories in the book - which she had not yet read!

Kath and Vin reminisce with a cup of tea and a "nibble" after the book signing

On Friday we went to Boston, where the book is set, to deliver copies for sale to the Library at County Hall and to the book section of Oldrids, the local department store. While we were there, we tracked down Kathleen's old two-bedroom home in Freiston Road (which she originally called 'Pinafore Street'), described in the book as "claustrophobically small" - as indeed it is! We also found her second home in Browns Road, a three-bedroom terrace house where the family moved after the birth of her sister Frances.

We took photographs of both houses and of the nearby Maud Foster Drain and the Maud Foster Mill, which are mentioned in the book, and showed them in a continuous slide show on a laptop during the book launch.

We were very pleased that an article about the book has been published in the current edition of the Boston Standard. Press releases have also been sent to the other local papers in Spalding (covering Market Deeping) and Stamford (Kath's home-town for most of her life) and we hope they will be used next week. Copies of the book are also available from Walkers Bookshop in Stamford and from Bookmark in Spalding (UK Independent Bookseller of the Year 2002), where it features together with a poster, in the shop window!

Kath's book in the window of Bookmark, The Crescent, Spalding