NEW WRITING HUT

I adore my new thinking and writing space which has a log fire in the centre. The design is based on the Finnish Kota, used by Sami reindeer herders as they follow their herds across the tundra. Reindeer are essential to traditional Sami culture and provide food clothing and shelter. I have reindeer skins on the seats in my Kota and they are wonderfully warm. I am looking forward to the cold weather!

I can use the central fire pit to cook as well and, in the UK, the huts are gaining popularity for barbecues in our changeable weather. If you are interested in one for your own garden look at www.bbqlodges.co.uk. Sue and Graham Tout, who import, deliver and build them, give an excellent personal service and I recommend them. No, I am not on any sort of commission, I am simply very pleased with my Kota!

And now I must use it as intended and get on with writing my next book.
Best regards
Catherine

The Lake at Lowick's House

The lawns slope gently down to the lake where water lilies thrive near the edge. Hidden between the two large shrubs lies a secret bridge to a secret tiny island! There are large carp and pike in the lake which have evaded fishermen so far.

After lunch a few of us were energetic enough to walk all the way around the water's edge. With views like this, what writer would not be inspired to pen a bestseller!

Society of Authors Three Counties meeting

Our summer social meeting was kindly hosted by Marnie and John de Carle in the magnificent setting of Lowicks House in Surrey. The house was originally a hunting lodge for Victorian tea trader and Quaker, Frederick John Horniman, who began trading in 1826 and is credited with the idea of selling tea in packets. At the time, all the tea in the world was traded through London merchants. We authors, however, drank Buck's Fizz with our lunch! The house,approached by a long winding drive through woodland, sits atop a huge lawn that slopes down to a lake containing several small islands. I felt as though I had stepped into an Enid Blyton Famous Five setting! The weather stayed fine and a flock of Canada geese obligingly floated by on the water. Pics of the lake follow in my next blog.

The Af Chapman - Captain's sleeping Quarters

The original cot bed with drawers underneath is still there, opposite a magnificent desk where I wrote some of this blog on my net book. I spent three nights here, spending my days sightseeing in Stockholm. More about this beautiful city in my next blog.

The Af Chapman - inside the Captain's cabin

THE Af CHAPMAN - INSIDE THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN
This second pic shows the reception room where the Captain would have dined with his officers and conducted ship's business. Beyond is his sleeping quarters and the heads, now converted into a smart white-tiled bathroom. My next blog has pics of the Captain's bed where I slept for three nights. He wasn't there at the time!

The Af Chapman, Stockholm, Sweden

THE Af CHAPMAN, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

The af Chapman was built in 1888 in the English town of Whitehaven and was then named Dunboyne. She was the last of this particular type of three masted fully rigged ship to be built. The pic shows the stern where the Captain's cabin is situated.

During her first 25 years service, the Dunboyne was a cargo ship, sailing first under an English flag and then a Norwegian one. In 1915, her last year under sail, she was bought by the Transatlantic Line in Gothenburg, rechristened G D Kennedy and converted into a training ship.

The Swedish Navy became her new owners in 1923. She was renamed Af Chapman and was used to train ship’s boys until 1934. She was then laid up in Karlskona until 1947, when she was bought by the City of Stockholm, and the Swedish Youth Hostels Association (STF) was invited to run the ship as a youth hostel. The hostel, sleeping 136, was opened in 1949. She has recently undergone extensive renovations to provide comfortable accommodation with a bar and restaurant on deck. The deck of the Af Chapman is moored opposite the Royal Palace in old Stockholm and commands stunning views.

Cheam Village

I was pleased to be invited to contribute to IMAGINE, the London Borough of Sutton's Festival of Arts, this year. Last Saturday I delivered a workshop on Creating Romantic Heroes at Cheam Library, a little way along the road from Sutton. Before the weekend my only knowledge of Cheam was Railway Sidings, East Cheam, made famous by the late Tony Hancock, one of the best original comic talents of my formative years. 'Would you believe it?' from Hancock's Half Hour Tony was as funny to me as 'I don't belieeeeeve it! from Richard Wilson's later comic creation.

I chose to drive to Cheam because, according to my satnav, it was only three streets away: the M27, the A3 and the A2043. The journey was surprisingly easy including negotiating the much-dreaded traffic queue at the Hindhead Tunnel roadworks. The tunnel opens next month and I can't wait! I planned to arrive early for my workshop so I could take a look at Cheam and get a feel for the area. I wish I had allowed more time. Cheam is wonderful! I drove through Sutton, which has a thriving busy shopping centre, and out of the other side knowing I was nearly at my destination. I could not believe it when I arrived at this beautiful historic village, clearly with its own distinctive identity, called Cheam. I wandered around centuries-old, white-painted, timber-framed houses, one of which was a museum, until I found an expanse of well-kept public parkland that had once been a private estate. It sounds a cliche but it was, truly, an oasis of quiet calm a few steps away from a busy London route. I wished I had brought a picnic!

I could not linger too long as I was there to work, but noted a Waitrose to sample later, after my class. I really enjoyed my workshop. Some of the participants were acquainted from prior creative writing courses they had attended at the Festival. We had a lively discussion on who our male and female heroes were, and why we thought of them as heroic, then I asked participants to create and write about their own fictional hero. At that point I knew that everyone in the class was a writer. The room went quite and they were away, inventing characters suitable for books and stories. It was pleasing for me that all participants created memorable protagonists and were confident enough to read their work to the group. We could have gone on but time ran out and we had to say our goodbyes.

I have happy memories of my visit to Cheam, not least of which is that parking was easy and the charges were very reaonable. I hope I have an opportunity to return one day.

With best regards

Catherine