Monthly Archives: August 2018

Books – quite a lot of them! Oh and narrow roads and sheep

by thehistoryinterpreter

DSCF0613I am an inveterate reader. Despite an unavoidable serious cull when I drastically downsized, I still have 11 six foot high bookcases full of books in my bedrooms. I now have more than 1000 books in my living room as well. The only snag is that they are all the same one and I have read it numerous times! This week saw the arrival of THE novel. In an attempt to ensure that copies were ready for the 17 November launch, various contingencies were allowed for. Rather too many contingencies as it turns out. Now I have to find house room for 54 boxes for three months, before I can start selling. Obviously, I will be pleased to think that anyone might want to read it but I am really hoping that not all purchasers will go for digital copies or Amazon orders, as this will not deplete my stash. Currently, when I sit on the settee my knees are in the fireplace, as the boxes are piled behind said settee.

Delivery of the pallet load of books was a challenge. Would you think that a delivery company with a thirty foot lorry might have invested in one of those handy sat-navs that allows you to input the dimensions of your vehicle, to prevent you becoming inextricably stuck? It seems this is an unreasonable expectation. When the delivery driver first rang for directions (it seems he did not have any form of sat-nav or indeed a map but was relying on signposts) he was already a long way down the ‘I really wouldn’t go that way’ route. Despite this, he did eventually arrive in my not very wide road, via some even less wide roads. Book delivery is never straightforward as I do not have a drive but I borrowed the church path temporarily and 54 boxes later, the pallet was empty. Fortunately, I had enlisted the help of a pallet loving fisherman of my acquaintance. The conversation began, ‘Would you like a free pallet?’ I didn’t get to the ‘you have to move 54 boxes first,’ bit.

All I can say is, it is a good job I don’t live in East Portlemouth. We travelled to the south coast to recruit troops for the Siege of Salcombe this week. They were a lovely mixed age audience and it was wonderful to be able to perform to those from 5-85 years old. The journey was ‘interesting’ and yes we do have a sat-nav that takes account of our width. We are used to narrow roads. We are used to very narrow roads. These were debateably not roads at all. Coming in the opposite direction were the ‘I am in a hurry to get home from work’ brigade, who were clearly not expecting anyone to have the audacity to go the other way along the seven foot wide tracks. Then there were the sheep who were wandering along the road for some considerable way. Fortunately, I was not behind the wheel on this occasion, although give me that kind of driving over motorways anytime. I know how to find reverse!

#100daysofbfotc Day 3: Herbert Henry Asquith

by thehistoryinterpreter
H H Asquith Prime Minister via Wikipedia This work is from the George Grantham Bain collection at the Library of Congress.

Image from the George Grantham Bain collection at the Library of Congress, in the public domain.

The Asquith family were closely associated with Clovelly Court and the current owner of Clovelly is Asquith’s great-grandson. At the time of his appearance in Chapter 5 of Barefoot on the Cobbles, Herbert Henry Asquith was the Prime Minister. A staunch Liberal, he was a barrister by profession. He is hailed as the founder of the modern welfare state; a number of significant reforms were introduced under his leadership. He was however a noted adversary of the woman’s suffrage movement and it is in this context that he crosses the pages of Barefoot. His inclusion in the novel relates to a well-known local incident and almost all the words that he uses in the book are taken directly from newspaper reports.

‘Instead of closing his eyes in prayer, the Prime Minister was scanning the note. He looked towards the pew a couple of rows in front of him, where the three young women were seated and then to the side door of the church. His jaw-line, with its cleft chin, was set firm and hastily he put the scrap of paper into his pocket.’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author.

#100daysofbfotc Day 2: William

by thehistoryinterpreter

William BraundYou will meet William in the pages of the first chapter. William is a taciturn fisherman, who is content, providing there is a meal on the table and no-one disturbs his afternoon doze. He has lived all his life in the fishing hamlet of Bucks Mills, where he fished alongside his father and grandfather and now runs a small Bucks Ledge Boat with his two sons. By the time the story opens, he has lived in Rose Cottage at the top of the village for about three years. He was born in 1837 at the now ruined cottage The Bluff but grew up in King’s Cottage overlooking the sea. When he married, he moved to John’s Cottage and spent a few years at Mark’s, before settling at Rose Cottage, where he died in 1906.

‘Hobnails clashed and sparked on the cobbles outside and the menfolk filled the small room with their bulk and the scent of the sea.

‘Good catch?’ asked Mary.

‘Plenty enough,’ replied William. ‘Takey’s off to Bideford with a cart load. We were late in, so he was already pretty full and we’ve some left he wouldn’t have, so they’ll need salting down.’ ’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author.

#100daysofbfotc Day 1: Clovelly Cobbles

by thehistoryinterpreter

New InnMuch of Barefoot on the Cobbles is set in the unique village of Clovelly. Clovelly is a privately-owned fishing village on the rugged North Devon coast and many of the cottages that are lived in by the novel’s characters are 400 years old. The steep, cobbled street, that is reflected in Barefoot’s title, means that motorised transport is prohibited. Modern-day residents walk up and down the main street just as Polly, Albert, Daisy and other inhabitants of Barefoot would have done. Although, in the early twentieth century, donkeys, as well as sledges, were used to transport goods, nowadays the donkeys are merely there to recreate the atmosphere of the past. In Barefoot’s time, tourism was secondary to the fishing fleet, whose small boats sought herring, lobster, prawns and mackerel on the uncertain waves. Now, the fishing fleet has dwindled to a handful of boats and Clovelly is dedicated to catering for visitors.

‘Daisy was a child of the season, delighting in the heat and the chance to discard her boots in favour of skipping over the cobbles in her bare feet. She loved the feel of the hard stones as she curled her toes round each pebble, like a bird poised for flight.’ (Chapter 4)

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author.