Hello everyone. I have put the date of August 31 on the header, but most
likely will not be able to send to you until the beginning of September,
when we will be in Kenya.



Two exciting pieces of news for me. When I arrived in London, I picked up my
copies of the hardback, large print edition of my novel "A Suitable Father,"
published in July by Ulverscroft (www.ulverscroft.com) It has a wonderfully
evocative cover. This was my first book to be published (a contemporary
romance) back in 2000, and I felt the thrill all over again as I held this
new edition.



I am looking forward to being on line again, so I can check out my romatica
novel "Secret Services" w/a Margrett Dawson. It should be released from
Ellora's Cave in mid September (www.ellorascave.com) and I can't wait to see
the cover.



I am writing this in Marlow, near London at the home of my mother-in- law.
Marlow is on the Thames, west of London, and its main claim to fame is the
old hostelry named the "Compleat Angler." This is the title of a book on
fishing, written in Marlow by Sir Isaac Newton, who was apparently a fishing
fanatic.



The river is fairly wide here, flowing quite fast before it reaches the
pools of London. One sees fewer fishermen nowadays than holiday barges and
rowing crews. It's always fun to watch a boat manoeuver through the locks,
stepping up or down to continue its journey.



Other nearby towns are Windsor and Eton, where the schoolboys stroll the
streets in their frock coats and high collars. Ascot and Newbury are also
close, the sites of famous race tracks and stables.



We visited friends in the north and took the opportunity to go to Durham and
the magnificent cathedral, begun around 1000 AD. It is unusual in having two
patron saints, Clement, who was abbot of Lindisfarne, and The Venerable Bede
who wrote a history of the British people in the 700s.. Both are buried in
the cathedral.



We took a short trip to southern Germany to visit friends in Baden Baden.
There the devastation of the unusually long, hot summer is very apparent.
Whole fields of maize stand yellow and brown, totally desiccated and
useless. Other crops and fruit trees have suffered equally. The death toll
in Paris as a result of the summer heat now stands at over eleven thousand.





***

My quick addendum is from Heathrow as we wait for our flight to Nairobi. We
have left my mother in law in hospital where she is undergoing tests &
assessment after a couple of falls. Wish we could stay around while
decisions are being made.



Hope everyone had a great summer.