Local Event – Come Along If You Can!

Just a quick update – If you subscribe to the New Writing North newsletter (“The Listening Post“), you probably noticed that I’m speaking at the Ryton Social Club on Thursday evening.

I’ll be there as one of Gateshead Libraries’ Local History Month events. The main thing I’m going to be talking about is researching historical places – I’ll be focusing on the North East locations that featured so prominently in the Jarrow and Durham Trilogies, and the six Tyneside Sagas.

Speaking of the Tyneside Sagas, I’m overwhelmed with how well the new Kindle edition of The Tea Planter’s Daughter is doing – currently at number 24 in Amazon.co.uk’s Kindle Bestsellers List.

Normally at events like this, I’d sign any copies of my books that you brought along with you. But I’m not sure how this works for Kindle books – maybe I can sign the back of your Kindle for you!

The evening is just £3 on the door, and there’s lots of parking available as the social club is right next door to Ryton’s Summerfield store.

I hope to see you there!

The Falklands War of 1982

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands war, which is being commemorated at the National Memorial Arboretum with the lighting of a single flame. This will burn for the length of the conflict – 74 days:

Several of the hundred ships that sailed for the South Atlantic less than a week after the invasion were built on the Tyne - HMS Bristol, HMS Glasgow, HMS Exeter, HMS Glamorgan, HMS Argonaut, HMS Penelope, HMS Cordella, RFA Omleda, RFA Stromness, SS Atlantic Conveyor and SS Atlantic Causeway.

It was through discussion with my husband’s family who lived in Wallsend, and a meeting with John Mew who served on HMS Coventry that I came to write For Love and Glory.

Over the next ten weeks, I (along with the rest of the British media!), will be covering the events in the Falklands from thirty years ago. Later THIS month, a new edition of For Love and Glory will be published – initially for Kindle, but the paperback version will be ready soon after.

SUFFRAGETTE REMEMBERED WITH SONGS AND FLOWERS

To mark International Women’s Day, we gathered in the ancient church of St Mary’s in Morpeth to celebrate the life of Suffragette martyr, Emily Wilding Davison

Wearing suffragette ribbons, our gathering of North East women (and a few men!) sang hymns, joined in songs with Werca’s Folk, listened to amusing and spirited words from Northumberland’s female High Sheriff (who happens to be a reverend too – how Emily would have approved!) and the Romanian consul – also a woman.

Afterwards we were given long-stemmed white carnations and processed behind Emily’s descendants to her graveside.  Flowers were laid to the sound of Werca’s Folk singing the rousing Women’s Marseillaise that Emily would have known well.  Then there were hot drinks and a buffet in the nearby hall – the whole event laid on by Northumberland County Council.

(I took this with my phone, balanced against the railings, so that’s why it’s on a tilt!)

Next year is the centenary of Emily Davison’s death – there will be many events to mark the occasion – I’ll keep you updated here.

“The tranquil graveyard was so overrun with mourners that Maggie and Rose could not get near to see the coffin lowered into the ground at the Davison burial mound, so they patiently waited their turn among the lofty pines. Some time later they were able to approach the iron-fenced memorial which was almost hidden under the heaps of wreaths and floral messages. The scent of the flowers was overpowering as Maggie tossed her own modest purple iris onto the coffin.

‘I’ll fight on, I promise!’ Maggie whispered, as around her women openly wept.”  

Extract from my novel THE SUFFRAGETTE

The Vanishing Of Ruth: Exhibition Material

I’m really pleased about this – some of the original research materials for The Vanishing of Ruth is to be featured as part of the Lit & Phil (that’s the Literary and Philosophical Society) exhibition on North East authors.

The exhibition – Creative Passions: An exhibition celebrating literature in portraits and words runs from 1st February to 3rd March 2012.

Hopefully if you’re in Newcastle in February, you’ll have time to pop into the Lit & Phil – it’s one of my favourite buildings in the North East, and a great place to work on my writing. The materials I’ve submitted for the exhibition include:

• Diary extracts from Day 1 and Day 53 of my overland trip of 1976 from the Isle of Skye to Kathmandu.
• Day 53′s entry was written in Balochistan, which formed one of the key settings for The Vanishing of Ruth. I refreshed my knowledge on the area some thirty-odd years later with the help of the Lit & Phil’s copy of Stanford’s Compendium on Balochistan.
• A letter written home from Afghanistan. Beautiful country, and wonderful people!

More on the Vanishing of Ruth later in the week…