Just a quick one – Oooh, Matron!

If, by any chance, you’re wondering where I’ve been for the last month then I can now reveal to you that a fortnight of it was spent in the Dordogne region of France. A desperately needed holiday, or getaway, or whatever you want to call it. And it was utterly sublime.

I have returned feeling inspired, gentle reader. In fact, I was so inspired whilst I was in France that I wrote seven poems and even worked out the plot for the next Joe Wilkie novel. How about that then? You can’t accuse me of being completely idle, even though I also spent large swathes of time crashed out in a conservatory chair on the patio. Ahem!

I’ve published the poems on Substack this week and you can read these French fancies HERE.

The thing is, where we were staying was so eye-wateringly beautiful it would be a hard-hearted individual who wouldn’t feel inspired. I’d heard the Dordogne was nice but it’s so much more than merely nice. It’s truly bucolic in every sense of the word.

*Bucolic – an adjective that refers to the pleasant, peaceful aspects of the countryside, country life, or rustic landscapes. It is typically used to describe idyllic, natural, and charmingly simple settings, such as rolling green meadows, grazing animals, or quiet rural villages

That sums it up pretty well.

Naturally, being something of a gourmand, I sampled a great deal of wine and cheese on my hols and have returned five pounds heavier than when I left. Take that Ryanair!!!

I even had a go at pétanque which ended in dismal failure of course. My wretched arms and back simply weren’t up to it and to tell you the truth I’m glad because a couple of local children were taking me to the cleaners at it which was tres embarrassing. Fun whilst it lasted though.

So yes, I’ve come back feeling refreshed. We ate well, slept well, and lived well for twelve days in the French sunshine and I’m now about ready to take on that next novel.

*Talking of novels, can I just prompt anyone who has read Beastie to please leave me a review on Amazon, Goodreads or Facebook. Thank you.

My fear of flying came fully to the front before and during our holiday and it didn’t help that our outbound flight was at 06:00 in the morning. I even had a pint of lager in the airport bar to try and stem the nerves and the thought came to me that the last time I had a drink at that time of day was somewhere in my mid-twenties. And it didn’t really help anyway.

The only thing that made me feel better was the woman sat next to me who was even more terrified than I was. I thought she was going to burst into tears when we landed. I did work out a little system though to keep my mind occupied. I worked out how long the flight was in five-minute increments and then counted them off one by one as they passed and actually, that helped. Yes, I know I’m a big girl’s blouse but we all have a fear of something or other.

Anyway, needless to say we had a nice time and got safely back in one piece. I now need to lose my holiday weight, which I have already started doing, and get some writing done.

It’s always great to go on holiday (unless it’s Skegness) but it’s equally lovely to get home again and back to a bit of normality. Blimey, if I were still there stuffing all that camembert and red wine down my gullet I’d be enormous. Oh! How silly of me; I already am.

Business as usual now.