The weather has broken, but it isn't that simple, is it? Outside, it is 17c, with a lovely fresh breeze. In the living room where I'm typing, it was 27c when I came downstairs. Too hot for me, and I know I'm lucky, because after living here for 36 years I've just worked out that I'm living on a peninsula, so it's cooler than most places. In my defence, it's almost all been built on, but isn't it daft that I've only just done some googling and found I'm a mile away from the sea on one side, a mile and a half on another and two miles on a third side? When I was a child, I always dreamed of living close enough to the sea to be able to walk there, so that's a dream come true that I hadn't really thought about before because it's not a beach sort of seaside. But boats and sea birds and fish and chips are good too, so I'm blessed.
What else do I now know? That our water comes from an aquifer, which is a body of rock that holds groundwater. I always thought it tasted really nice, but now I know I'm drinking mineral water! And bathing in it too, which sounds very luxurious. And fighting limescale and kettles that fur up, which isn't quite so luxurious!
The weather ahead looks much better, actually and metaphorically, and my twentieth book was published yesterday. It's a fun Christians Cross one called 'Nature Strikes Back' and one of my heroes gets cursed with a gremlin infestation, which was enormous fun to write because I could explain so much about modern life by having little invisible creatures who feed on frustration. They love duvets and technology and... well, you'll have to read it won't you.
And, as always, a nice picture of my part of the world to end with. Don't come at the moment though because the beach is full of litter and people are doing daft things when it comes to parking. But when you read any of the Lavender House series, this is the view from the bottom of their gardens; and I can't imagine them ever getting tired of it.
I want to say a massive thanks to everyone who's read my books and encouraged me to fulfill a long held dream. It's not everyone who's lucky enough to have two dreams come true, but if I can do it then you can, so maybe today you can spent five minutes or so having a little dream and making a few little plans? Or maybe just sleeping. Sleeping would be good...
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