When I look at this 'News' page, it's a horrible reminder of how fast time passes. The last entry is dated August, and it's now three months later. True, we were overseas for almost two months of that time, and both the Irish and the German weeks were splendid. Totally different! Ireland was mainly a bus tour, hosted by the well-known Celtic singer from Melbourne, Maria Forde, whose passion for Irish music and the homeland of her forefathers made this trip a real delight. Our most articulate bus driver, Oliver, proved a mine of information on Irish history and proved to be a raconteur par excellence! The combination of unbelievably spectacular scenery, good weather, and many nights of music making in warm and friendly Irish pubs made for a very happy trip. (And yes, I did write a 'poem a day' - and have come back from this tour too with a swag of memories captured in verse.)
The German weeks were equally good in a very different way. Travel by train the length and breadth of Germany was quite an experience in itself ... you try manipulating heavy cases up the steep narrow steps of German regional trains! But the warmth of welcome and wonderful hospitality of our friends and relatives in towns all over the country made this time also a very happy experience. Perhaps the best moment for me was sitting in the warm golden light of a small chocolate/cake cafe in the main street of Oberammergau while outside in the grey afternoon snowflakes fell lightly. Magic!
Then it was home and back into work! Straight on with preparation of the Bystanders book for release next May, while meanwhile I found myself part of the very innovative Ginninderra Press series of publications: little Pocket Poet books, each one featuring twenty pages of poetry chosen by writers who have published books with this small boutique publishing house. I found that I had many poems written over the years about flowers and their power to evoke memories - so was born my book in the series, called Flowers & Forebears, released this week. Most of them poems which recollect my grandparents, parents, significant others, memories conjured up by the flowers of the title. Samples and more about this book will be featured elsewhere in this website in the next few days. And yes, you will be able to order copies from the last page, as usual.
So it's been a very busy time, and the influx of Christmas house guests is almost on me. I love it.
And how rapidly it's going! Suddenly it's more than half way through August, and getting very close to our trip to Ireland and Germany. We do seem to be totally unprepared for departure, but then I usually feel like this at this stage. So maybe all will be well.
So much of this last month has gone on double-barrelled work: lots more book promotion of Passion Play - more guest speaking, which is always fun, and audiences have been so receptive that it's worth the psyching up ahead. But at the same time I've been getting organised for next year's book. Once the contract with Wakefield Press was signed, a great flood of relief swept over me, especially as all the readers ahead had given it such a positive reception and written great letters of endorsement for it. Also relieved that Wakefield want to publish it next year instead of 2014 - this suits me admirably and leaves me free to go away with a clear conscience and time to do the needed revisions and fine-tuning when I get back.
So Bystanders (another book that's been simmering in my mind for many decades) will see the light of day in the second half of 2015.
Meanwhile I've had the fun of getting back the copies of A Poem a Day, based on the 33 poems I wrote, one a day, as we travelled round Spain last year. David put it together using Photoclub, a business that's worth a strong recommendation, and each day has a double page, a colour photo on the left and the poem for that day on the right hand side. I'm delighted with the way it's turned out, and we've produced a few copies for family members. I'm now thinking I might try to record our time travelling in Ireland in the same way. Journals and photo books are a great reminder, and we'll always do these, but the 'poem a day' book captures memories in such a special way. The power of verse, perhaps?
Yet another month has disappeared ... all very well for T.S.Eliot to talk about measuring out life with coffee spoons - I measure mine out the occasional web page entries! And this one is such good news. Yesterday Wakefield Press confirmed that they will publish my new book, Bystanders, next year - a great relief to have this established, as it's a book I really want to see finally in print. Someone asked me how long it had taken to write. I answered, honestly, all my life. True, because the genesis of this book is some writing I did back in 1958, and that's over fifty years ago. A VERY long gestation period. So middle of next year, once again my life comes full circle.
Meanwhile, other things this month have been surprising. Like the sudden unexpected decision to travel overseas later this year. That started with a trip David was very keen to do - a tour of Ireland, which he loves and where I've never been, to be followed by four weeks in Germany, travelling north to south, east to west, by a series of train trips - to see all the friends and relatives we have who are scattered all over this beautiful country. So, having said this 2014 was a stay-at-home year, we've decided to listen to the niggling sense of memento mori and go. But it's been a monumental jigsaw puzzle effort, working out an itinerary that, at this late stage of planning, fits in with everyone else's travel plans so that we can can catch up with all the old friends we want to see. Worth the work, and we'll be covering a lot of territory.