Brightening up?

plaidcamper

Dec 1

We've just returned from a flying visit to SW England (with a bit of NW England thrown in at the end) and what a trip it was! Being happily tired this week, here's a quick report and a tangent or two. Perhaps I'll include a few extra bits and pieces in future posts as and when my brain untangles the wonderful whirlwind of highlights and events.

Falmouth, Cornwall, UK

After landing in London we travelled down to Cornwall to celebrate my mother's birthday - one of the landmark ones. "A landmark birthday? How old?" I hear you ask? Or did you? (I've not lived in Britain for almost two decades, and even when I did could never be bothered to understand the stifling intricacies and eccentricities of how one "should" behave. I'm not too sure, in the post Jane Austen era, if it's yet entirely acceptable to reveal the age of a lady, particularly the age of a lady of a certain age. I'll simply say it is a number between 79 and 81 and leave it at that…)

A certain age

By the way, some of the above will certainly influence the title of my new, and, dare I say, difficult second novel. "Portrait of a Particular Lady of a Certain Age and Certain Sensibilities in a Particular Age, An Age of Intricacy and Eccentricity".

Catchy, hey? A comedy of manners with no funny bits. My hope is for it to be published soon after my first (also difficult) novel is completed. This will be a more modern tale, based on almost real events, and is definitely not a comedy. It attempts to capture Britain today. The title? "Black Coffee Please. Black Coffee? Of Course Sir. Milk and Sugar With That?"

Eventually I'll write a sequel to Black Coffee Please called "Please-Thanks, Thanking You, Please-Thanks, Yes Thank You, Yes Please-Thanks and Thank You. Milk and Sugar? No thanks!" Bestsellers all, if only they existed. Order and pay for a black coffee in England and count the please-thanks. Honestly, you could write a saga poem…

Dear old Falmouth

Where was I? Why, in dear old Blighty! Mother had a splendid time, and it was great to catch up with family and friends, enjoy a meal or two and a drink or three in comfortable surroundings. It might have been the drink or three that had us heading outdoors every now and then to take in the bracing sea air and help a head that needed clearing.

The "brightening up" title this week is from what some British people might say as they decide to go for a walk. This makes sense if you know that often in Britain it's just stopped raining, about to start raining or is actually raining.