November already – I can’t begin to think how the year has flown by so fast…. The first of the month found me in London on a wet and gloomy day, lunching on amazing gnocchi at Bancone before wandering through Trafalgar Square to the Courtauld Institute exhibition of The Impressionists at the National Gallery.
There were poppies everywhere for Remembrance Sunday – these knitted ones are in Sandwich and just one of the amazing displays and moving events all around the country to commemorate the end of The Great War.
The Kent MOMI was a wonderful place to spend a few hours with family on a wet day – I absolutely loved the magic lantern slides.
The following week, a walk at Bishopsbourne yielded wonderful unspoilt countryside (top) and the surprise of a Burne Jones window in the local church.
The month brought two or three lots of babyminding with the delight of lots of cuddles, some early reading and two trips to the park. Ellis wasn’t too sure about the swings but the see-saw was fine – with company.
Still in London, I went to the Romantic Novelists Association winter party in the Mechanics Institute Library. I failed to take any sensible photos – the one on the left is out of the back window onto an eerily quiet Westminster, which was odd because on the other side Parliament Square was full of excitement on the day that the Brexit deal finalised – possibly. The other is of Rachel from my publishers winning Publisher of the Year but clutching the only prize worth having – a knitted Poldark.
Off to Edinburgh and I was blessed with glorious weather – clear and sunny if a bit chilly. The city was a revelation, as I haven’t been there since I was about five years old. Walked up Calton Hill and then around central Edinburgh, having a Middle Eastern afternoon tea sitting outside a restaurant on the two-tier Victoria Street in the sunshine.
Then more walking, around the castle and past a splendidly OTT fountain in Princes Gardens.
The following day was a day of culture – a Liberty exhibition at the Dovecot Gallery and beautiful Scottish Samplers at the National Museum of Scotland – where there were more great views of the city from the roof.
My final day found me at the hugely decorative and fascinating Rosslyn chapel – it’s full of intriguing puzzles, but no photos allowed inside…
Back home in Kent on a cold and sunny day there was another trip to Bishopsbourne church and more photos of the stained glass and beautiful altar decorations. This time, the visit was followed by tea and cakes at Tadpoles tea room.
The weather took a downturn and while family and friends were sending me photos from sunny Goa and Thailand, this was my view from the window on different days – although I managed to get out for a sunny walk after the mist had lifted.
Back in London at the end of the month I made a visit to the Burne Jones exhibition at Tate Britain. Tapestries and stained glass as well as paintings. I so loved his work when I was a student – and still do!
Then later in the day, some publishing events – drinks with fellow authors on the 5th floor of Waterstones in Piccadilly, followed by the Avon Books Christmas party in a cellar bar in Covent Garden, with a digital media training day in the News Building the next day. Managed to snatch a few photos of the wonderful views from 17th floor, in between bouts of hard concentration!
A busy month, and very little writing was done… although I did do a bit of planning for Book 5 and editing of Book 4, at least. Meanwhile, Ellis was loving his first trip to Goa, aged 9 months!
Lynne Francis 