Passion, Obsession and Curiosity at the Alternative Guide to the Universe, Hayward Gallery, London

What makes art? A listener posed this  question to our tour guide as we stood looking at two art gallery walls covered with self-portraits of a bag lady, taken in various public photo booths. And this  was the question I pondered as I , with my two teenage children, looked round an exhibition of wondersContinue reading “Passion, Obsession and Curiosity at the Alternative Guide to the Universe, Hayward Gallery, London”

Book Trailer Fun for Mystical Circles

I’ve been out and about in Warwick and the Cotswold hills with my film-maker daughter Abigail, having great fun as Abigail puts together a book trailer for my romantic suspense  novel Mystical Circles. As I’ve watched our actors follow Abigail’s directions and play my characters, my story has come alive in a new way. I’veContinue reading “Book Trailer Fun for Mystical Circles”

In Search of Authenticity: Our True Selves and Our Essential Need for Community

How can we be true to ourselves? And how can we live in ways  that are true to what  we believe? And how can we mix up our inner and outer worlds, so we are not compartmentalised like a waffle, but rather, more like a bowl of spaghetti? These were just three of the questionsContinue reading “In Search of Authenticity: Our True Selves and Our Essential Need for Community”

Gazing Out to Sea: The Beauty of the English Coastline

I recently visited Beachy Head, East Sussex, with a friend and  my two teenage children. As we walked along the cliftop, we all agreed: Where in the world could we go that’s more beautiful than this? Beachy Head, together with the Seven Sisters Country Park and Birling Gap are all protected by The National Trust and theyContinue reading “Gazing Out to Sea: The Beauty of the English Coastline”

A Golden Field, a Short Life That Touched Many Hearts, and a Poignant Moment in a Country Churchyard

This photo was taken on Milverton Hill, Leamington Spa  between St James’s Church Old Milverton and the Saxon Mill, Warwick. At about 4.30pm on Friday 7 June I walked with my two teenage  children through the churchyard to  reach this field. A late summer afternoon in the English countryside is such a quiet, luminous, poignant time. And it’s one of theContinue reading “A Golden Field, a Short Life That Touched Many Hearts, and a Poignant Moment in a Country Churchyard”

Mystical Circles Romance and Psychological Suspense Free Promotion Bonanza!

Mystical Circles is on free giveaway to Goodreads members for the next month! Five copies of the paperback second edition are on offer. Goodreads Members, get on over there and sign up for the giveaway! Mystical Circles is also FREE ON KINDLE FOR 5 DAYS STARTING NOW! ROMANCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE IN THE HEART OFContinue reading “Mystical Circles Romance and Psychological Suspense Free Promotion Bonanza!”

A Pilgrimage By Steam to The Shrine of a Martyr in Canterbury Cathedral

“This world nis but a Thurghfare ful of wo And we ben Pilgrimes passinge to and fro.” So says Chaucer’s Knight, towards the end of his tale as recounted by Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales. Gloomy those words may be, but they totally belie the racy, colourful and much-loved tales told byContinue reading “A Pilgrimage By Steam to The Shrine of a Martyr in Canterbury Cathedral”

The Joy of Singing, from the Challenge of J.S. Bach, to A Community Choirs Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon

Singing is  a gift of God, and a channel for empowerment. This weekend has been an amazing time of singing. And I’ve learned a few things about this life too. On Saturday night, the choir I sing with, the Warwick & Kenilworth Choral Society, gave a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass that truly honouredContinue reading “The Joy of Singing, from the Challenge of J.S. Bach, to A Community Choirs Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon”

Youth, Time and Soul – Old Photographs & Memories: Coloured Rags or Treasures?

Birthdays and old photographs. How they arouse our emotions! So many words have been written about time, and our attitude to it. Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food said Austin O’Malley. How much is concentrated in this deceptively simple remark: far more than a comment on human fallibility, Continue reading “Youth, Time and Soul – Old Photographs & Memories: Coloured Rags or Treasures?”

The Lovely Bones Film – New Insight Onto a Terrifying Subject

What could be worse than losing someone you love through untimely death? And what could be even worse than that? Losing them through murder. And then worse than that? Just imagine – the person you love, who is murdered, is a child, with all life and hope ahead of them. This is the nightmare scenarioContinue reading “The Lovely Bones Film – New Insight Onto a Terrifying Subject”