Mike's memories Last Christmas in Germany

When my daughter was a little girl we lived in Germany, at the time it seemed then far away from our families. As Christmas approached we were devastated to think that she would be short of presents and set out to put it right. It had also occurred to NAAFI shop as well and they put on a great display of toys. The Germans made more of New Year than Christmas so there were fewer toys for purchase though we did find a working telephone set (no mobiles in those days) which we bought for Karen. In addition we did spend a few weeks wages on toys for her at the NAAFI, as Christmas drew nearer  parcels started arriving from our families it seemed that everyone had had the same thought and over bought on the toy front so she wouldn’t be left out. In fact by Christmas day Karen had so many toys that they practically filled the lounge. Naturally she was delighted and somewhat overcome by amount of riches Father Christmas had left for her.

On New Year’s Eve  the boys on I worked with, without prior notice arrived with drinks, eats, record player and records. It was obvious that they had started rather earlier in fact one of them parked his car between two trees in the front garden and was unable to get it out when time came for them to leave. We set up the bar, buffet and music. The party got going when suddenly the telephone rang, it was Karen, I’d fixed it up for her on Boxing Day. “Can I come down?” Of course she did by a unanimous vote in favor and was the star of the party from then on dancing, with all the boys. That year she started school.

The tapestry

I am often asked what I do when I’m not writing. Well I haven’t had any dogs for a long time and when I lost Hogan my last one I started a tapestry that’s about 10years ago and last week I finished it! Yes it does sound a long time but then the tapestry itself measured 51X75 inches or one and a half by two metres if you prefer but I did it as a relaxation between writing and the usual domestic chores.

To start with Mike adapted a frame on a floor stand to take it as there wasn’t anything on the market big enough. From there on it was a straight forward enjoyable employment for my spare time. Now having finished it and as it is embarrassingly large the challenge was how and where to hang it and even how to hang it!! We contacted the arts centre at the university for suggestions who were kind enough to put us in touch with their display team but they were out on a show. So by the time they returned our call we’d sussout how to do it, by fastening it to a batten and screwing it to the wall in the dining room the only room with a suitable wall, the rest are rough stone or not big enough.

As you can see from the picture it doesn’t look too bad, but now I have a problem, what to do when I’m not writing. However that is something for the future as I’ve just started my new book. It’s an interesting story and I’m enjoying its creation which I will share with you later.

Golf grows on me

After I finished my last book “The Daughter of Sandstone Manor” I decided to take a year off from writing. After all I’d been writing constantly for about 3 or 4 years and had seven books to my credit. But writing for me had become a way of life and after a little while I felt the need to create something. So for a change I thought maybe a short story about golf would be the answer. In the past I had played a little golf and as this was only a short story why not try it as a subject using the little knowledge I had.

Of course the best laid plans of mice and men etc the ideas kept coming and my short story has become the start of a book. I’d promised myself that my next book would be another historical novel having done so much research on the 18th century. It had seemed the way to go but once started I couldn’t forget golf and the tale of a lady champion. Naturally I don’t know enough about the professional game so I’m back on the research trail. It’s a far more fascinating the game than I first thought, now with sponsors, training, diet it has become so complicated even before you get to the course. Naturally professional golfer have a personal life too which can add a load of possibilities especially for a single lady golfer.

The seven books I’ve written cover so many aspects of life. In Saudi Arabia where I lived and wrote my fist book to the tales of intimate relationships in a factory, a highly successful woman in tourism and 18^th century lady; as well as a very personal book about my wonderful Newfoundland dogs. I love writing it is so life expanding.

Mike's memories Sliding home on my bottom

When we left Wellesbourne I was posted to Cosford a very busy base at the time and I was to teach at the School of Photography there. However there was no accommodation  for married families, so I eventually found a little cottage in the hills 34 miles away. Quite a commute, at the time I had no driving licence, so I bought a small motorbike (a BSA Bantam) to do the journey each day. It was of course second hand and had developed several idiosyncrasies before I got it.

The first problem to emerge was a tendency to blow the lights if the revs went up to what we might term normal travelling speed. It did not affect the commute when we first got there but as the winter drew on I took to waiting for one of the long distant coaches to come along and I would tuck in behind it and follow it lightless down a main trunk road till we came the junction where I turned off for home. If there was no moon I would wait for some other vehicle to follow, they were exciting days!

Another time I had left camp early as it was winter and the roads were icy. Naturally being young and inexperienced I had convinced myself that if you were confident you could ride at normal speed without mishap. This proved fine until I came across an unexpected sharp right hand turn, taken by surprise I applied my breaks. Next I was sliding along on my bottom following my bike as it went through a five bar gate making a hole for me to pass through shortly afterwards. Naturally the contretemps had bent the front forks but it was still ride able if you aimed off to the left, a technique I maintained for the rest of our stay. (Failing several driving test because of it). Next day on my way home there was a large notice reading “For the love of Mike turn right” my students had heard about it.