On our last day - a Sunday - in Paris this January, Big Sis and I decided to have a long leisurely lunch close to the hotel before our scheduled departure on Eurostar back to London later that same afternoon. The trains had been cancelled the day before due to a lorry fire in the freight tunnel, but … [Read more...]
Paris after Charlie Hebdo
Big Sis and I have a tradition; we meet up in early January each year, and have a holiday a deux somewhere a little warmer than London. This year we chose Paris (hence the French above), since neither of us had been there for years.Then the unthinkable happened, and there was the most horrendous … [Read more...]
Palermo in January
There should be a song called, 'It never rains in Palermo.'For the past four days, the weather reports have predicted rain, but it's just never materialised. Instead Sorellona (Italian for Big Sis - I think this nickname is going to stick) and I have been able to wander around the city under mostly … [Read more...]
Palazzo Cattolica Palermo, Sicily
My big sister and I usually spend a week together in January in London while the Englishman goes away skiing. But this year, Big Sis suggested we'd also go away. 'To somewhere where there's a chance of sunshine. Not that I don't like London,' she continued, 'but we've seen it now, haven't we?' … [Read more...]
The Englishman in paperback – nearly!
Yes, you read it correctly, The Englishman is very, very nearly out in paperback.When I received the proof copy in the post last Thursday, I felt quite emotional. This is the first time one of my novels is in proper print, ink on paper, and the feeling of holding my own written words in my hands (or … [Read more...]