Well, the audition for the Lancashire WI must have gone all right, because I am now on their approved list of speakers; but since they seem to book speakers up to a year in advance it may be some time before I get any definite invitations.

 The talks in Sheffield and Ilkely were both a bit disappointing in different ways. In Sheffield I shared a platform with Tim Lynch, who writes non-fiction and was talking about the misconceptions that have been perpetuated about WWl by the writers of the period. His thesis was that most of the soldiers were patriots who were willing to serve their country and their morale was much higher than is generally portrayed. He also had statistics to suggest that the number of casualties in certain major battles was exaggerated. There was quite a good number of people at the talk, but sadly they seemed more interested in his book and memorabilia about the war than in my novels, so I did not sell many copies. Ilkely was the opposite in many ways. The director of the Playhouse is trying to establish an audience for regular literary events but I was only the second person he had invited and only five people attended. They were all most enthusiastic and asked lots of good questions and bought books – I just wish there had been more of them, for the director’s sake as well as mine.

 However, the two engagements did provide the framework for a very pleasant few days away from home. We stayed for four nights in the Peak District and went to visit Chatsworth House and then visited friends near York. Plenty of stimulation for the historical imagination in both places!

I am currently engaged in trying to drum up support for the History Reading Month which is being organised by the Historical Writers Association. The idea is to hold events in libraries and bookshops to encourage people to read both fiction and non-fiction history books. The response varies from area to area but I am interested in the North West, so if any of you out there live in my area and know of any libraries or other organisations who would like to have a panel of writers to visit them, please let me know. If you are out of the area you can find details on the HWA’s website.

 My next speaking engagement is with the Mid-Wirral WI in Thornton Hough on May 28^th.

 The audio edition of OPERATION KINGFISHER, read by myself, is now available. So if you want to know what I sound like and how I interpret my characters, this is your chance!

 Meanwhile, it’s back to the Empress Matilda.

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It seems to have been a short month, perhaps because we were away for the first few days. Since then I have been very busy, one way and another. For one thing, the garden requires a good deal of attention at this time of year. We were lucky to escape the worst of the rain over the winter and it had been a joy to see the crocuses and daffodils coming into bloom. Now the magnolia is coming out and we have a huge bush of pink camellias by the house. The downside of the mild winter is that the weeds have not died off and it has taken a lot of time and effort to get them under control.

I am just back from an interesting couple of days recording the audio version of OPERATION KINGFISHER. All my books are on audio but this is the first time I’ve volunteered to read one myself. I was a bit nervous about it as this work is usually done by professional actors but I must say it all went very smoothly. We were scheduled to spend three days on it and completed it in two. The producer kept asking me ‘Are you sure you’ve never done this before?’ So I guess all those lectures in radio technique at Rose Bruford must have stuck in my mind. I had to go to Whitley Bay to do it, which is where Soundings, the company which produces the audio books, is based. They are very nice people and they provide a cosy flat for their readers to stay in. Only one snag. It’s b… cold up there in the North East. We shared the flat with two actors who were there to do other books and any Archers fans may be interested to know that one of them plays the part of Adam, Jennifer’s illegitimate son.

We had a real treat last night. We went to see Adam Levy, an ex-pupil of mine, playing Orsino in Twelfth Night, the opening production at the refurbished Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. It is a superb production, full of wit and energy and the whole cast is excellent. We were able to meet Adam before the performance and it was great to catch up with his news. It is a great pleasure to see someone whose early talent I helped to nurture making a successful career in such a difficult and demanding profession.
It is a remarkable fact that Adam was one year behind Daniel Craig when I taught them both at Hilbre School. It really was a vintage couple of years!

I did my audition for the Lancashire WI yesterday. They had a number of potential speakers all lined up to do a 20 minute spot, but I couldn’t stay to listen to the others. It’s a 40 mile drive to Leyland, where their HQ is, from here and I had to get back in time to get to Liverpool for the play. My talk seemed to go all right, so I hope I’ll be accepted. Now I have to prepare for a talk at Sheffield library next Tuesday and Ilkely Playhouse the following Sunday.

All this doesn’t leave much time for writing. I keep thinking I can get on with the Matilda book but there is always something else that needs to take priority. I hope I shall get a chance to have a good run at it soon.