by Valerie | Feb 17, 2015 | people, travel, Uncategorized
For some years I used to go twice a year on lecture tours of the USA. It was a very pleasant way of seeing friends from the summer courses I had led in Cambridge and in Tuscany for UCLA and Berkeley. It was also a chance to travel all over the country and meet many... by Valerie | Feb 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
I’ve just finished the second revision of chapter 1. Rewriting has started. I’ve decided to seed references to current events and see how they grow. My current reading helps me to stand back and reconsider. Having not read a book by Colm Toibin for some time, I... by Valerie | Nov 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
Olives eaten by bugs and autumn leaves blown off by gales – what a prelude to winter! Every year we drive to Rievaulx Abbey to see the autumn colour and walk along the terrace with a perfect view down to the ruined abbey in the valley below. It was one of the ones... by Valerie | Sep 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
We’d celebrated 30 years at the Casa del Mulino with a rousing party and fantastic fireworks. Now it’s 40 years and the next generation is taking over. Now’s the chance to invite close friends who have enriched all these years, to thank them and celebrate. It’s a... by Valerie | Aug 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
A frivolous subject, but after having enjoyed one specially made for me, I feel inspired to celebrate the demise of what I, in my culinary ignorance, considered to be normal. I thought that most families who could afford it had a two-course meal once a day. Something... by Valerie | Feb 14, 2014 | 1950s, art, book reviews, childhood, Fifties, General interest, history, people, Uncategorized, writing a novel
I expected one of the three I was to drive to our book group member who lives in the countryside would call and tell me it was too dangerous. Gale force winds were wailing outside. They all came, intrepid and determined not to miss our meeting. At the first roundabout...
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