Sand, surf and custard tarts!
I’ve had an amazing month – spending most of it on holiday. That means that I have not done much new writing, but I did get almost half of the first draft of another Kismet book written before I left. As I was unable to take my laptop, I looked for ways to use my phone, and found I can edit on it quite comfortably. While I was away, I’ve been editing the book I finished earlier this year, set on a lavender farm in Türkiye. I could actually write by dictating to my phone, but I feel like my creative process is tied into the act of typing. However, I am still hoping to write a book about the ups and downs of running a hotel, a sort of collection of significant moments, and I think I might be able to dictate this. I haven’t given it a go yet, though!
I am still trying to get ISBN numbers for Precious Things, but should be able to announce publication soon.
So, to my travels … I started in Portugal, hiking along the southern-most section of the Fisherman’s Trail from Lagos to Sagres. It was a wonderful three days, following paths along the cliffs, dipping down to beautiful and mostly empty sandy beaches, with a sea breeze keeping the temperature pleasant. I enjoyed Lagos, loved the small town of Praia da Luz, which was the second stop on our route, and fell in love with pastel de nata! (If you haven’t enjoyed these treats, they are small, flaky pastry tarts, filled with creamy, vanilla custard).
From there, I went up to Arrifana Beach, on the Atlantic Coast, where my friend had rented a villa. We had a glorious week making sandcastles, (we had two little ones with us, though with such beautiful sandy beaches, I think I would have felt compelled to build some even if we hadn’t), jumping the waves, (the sea was also beautiful, but rather cold), and watching the surfers, who hovered like a pod of seals or dolphins a little way out to sea, waiting to catch a wave. Incidentally, while checking the word pod, I found out a group of seals floating vertically with their heads sticking out of the water are known as a bob. How apt!
After Portugal, I had 10 days in the UK. The weather was glorious, (too hot for some, I know), all the gardens were bursting with flowers, and the summer fruits—strawberries, cherries, plums, peaches—were plentiful. I visited a lavender farm, to see how it compared to the ones in Türkiye, and found the main difference to be of scale. Though using less than 10% of their land for lavender, the one in the UK still had almost 100 acres, and enough bushes that if you put them all end to end, they would stretch about 135 miles! They used a specially-designed harvester, and had a modern distillery on the farm. By contrast, most of the farms in Türkiye are a maximum of 5 acres. They sometimes distil their own oil, but the stills are small and a bit old-fashioned (see the picture above).
I also enjoyed a trip to the Globe Theatre. I have walked past it on the Embankment many times since its opening in 1997, but this was my first actual visit and I loved everything about it. It was built very close to the original site and along the same plans, using solid timbers, white plaster and a thatched roof—the only one in London since the Great Fire in 1666! We watched a great production of Much Ado About Nothing, but I would go there to watch anything, because it is so unlike any other theatre experience. We were seated on wooden benches under the roof, but looking down on those standing in ‘the pit’, you could easily imagine yourself back in the 17th century when many of Shakespeare’s plays were premiered here. Thankfully, the people (known as ‘groundlings’) are a little better behaved than in his time and no longer throw food, or boo and hiss; or maybe they just enjoyed the performance!
Another wonderful thing about holidays is that they give you plenty of time for reading! Here are a couple that I enjoyed:
A Stranger in the House – Shari Lapena
This is a story that really does keep you in suspense. Karen appears to be happily married and living a quiet life, until she leaves the house suddenly, is spotted in a bad part of town and then crashes her car. She can’t explain what she was doing because she has lost her memory, but the police suspect she knows something about the body that turns up, and even her husband begins to doubt her. And then there is her friend across the road, who is on her side – or is she? You can’t judge a situation until you know the full story – as this book proves!
The Promise of Wonder – Katherine Webb
I enjoyed this story, set at the end of the nineteenth century, when the aristocratic Theo is only a teenager when a silly mistake on midsummer’s eve has devastating consequences for people she loves. Alienated from Toby, who is also struggling to deal with the events of that night, Theo marries a man who appears to adore her, in the hope that she will come to love him. Unfortunately, appearances can deceive! The only disappointing thing is that this is a trilogy, and the second book is not due to be published until September this year, so I have to wait for the next part of their story.
Hope you had as wonderful a June as me!
Melanie