On Ayckbourn at FADS, Amazon Fire TV, Framlingham Hour Community And Not So Super Mario

I've been banging on about my novel and my various book giveaways on here this week and my readership has dwindled a little bit so I get the message and I'll get back to the retirement for today although you will have to forgive me if I write another blog pushing Give Me Your Tomorrow before the free offer runs out on Monday.

We got back from Rochester on Tuesday night after looking after our darling granddaughter for a couple of days and we can't wait to see her again on Monday when we head down to Kent again for another childcare stint.

The good folk of Rochester will be very scared on Halloween. Our granddaughter's hand made costume arrived from family in America on Wednesday and I can guarantee that there won't be a better two-year-old dinosaur trick or treating anywhere in Rochester (or the UK for that matter) this time next week. 

Marion has been busy with the garden and has done a fantastic job in digging up the perennial plants that she wasn't happy with, digging in new compost and planting shrubs as replacements. Although our landscapers did a fabulous job in designing the garden last year the planting scheme was done for instant colour and Marion wants something more long term that looks good all year round. Boxes keep arriving from Crocus and David Austin Roses and the results are starting to look impressive. 

I kept getting emails from Amazon telling me that I wasn't getting the most out of Amazon Prime. I use Prime for quick free delivery but it now includes their film and TV streaming service. Trouble is, although our Samsung TV in the kitchen has the Amazon ap, the Panasonic in the lounge doesn't and Panasonic don't seem to be in any hurry to resolve this. I don't want to be streaming films via the laptop (too much hassle) so when I saw that Amazon were introducing their own gadget to make their service available on the Panasonic  (or any tv) I thought it was worth gambling £79 on the Amazon Fire TV and giving it a try. It's  a tiny device and works perfectly (so far). Whether or not we'll watch the free films being offered is another question but at least we now can if we want to.

I supported Liverpool for most of my life and had a season ticket on the Kop for the best part of forty years. I lost interest during the Dalgleish and Hodgson years although I kept going out of loyalty but when we moved to Framlingham I had to give up the season tickets. Suddenly they started to play attractive football and came within a whisker of winning the Premiership (just my luck) so, this season, I've started watching again on TV. It seems that I missed out on the one glory season of the last decade as the last couple of performances (QPR and Real Madrid) have been absolutely dire. Much centres around signing Mario Balotelli and I find myself thinking what Bill Shankly  (yes I am old enough to have been watching when he was the boss) would have done with such a player. He's obviously a highly talented individual and anyone who has friends who set off fireworks in his bathroom and wears a "Why Always Me" t-shirt is okay with me but I reckon Bill would have given short shrift to that ginger mohican for starters. After that he would have told him to look as if he was interested. I'll never forget seeing Liverpool about three down with five minutes to go and Emlyn Hughes running around like a madman encouraging the team to keep going - Balotelli looks as if it's all a bit boring before the game's even started. Although Emlyn's exhortations didn't bring a result at least he got the crowd on his side and if Balotelli can get the crowd on board maybe he can start to make the impact that he is capable of. The day that he signed the cameras showed him leaving his seat before the half time whistle - if you are passionate about your team you don't leave until it's all over.

Last night we headed to the college to see the latest performance from FADS our local amateur dramatics society (apologies to the Framlingham website for pinching their photo). They performed Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings. It was a very entertaining show although the society struggles with a shortage of young male actors. The men who performed did their very best but seemed, in a couple of instances, simply too old for the characters they were portraying.With just five males in the play this did affect its credibility. On the other hand, the female casting was very strong and the actors playing Belinda, Pattie and Rachel all put in memorable performances. The set was, as always, excellent and the audience loved it. They did their best with the cast available but I'd love to see some younger blood in future shows.

Today I've been doing my bit for The Framlingham Hour Community and taken an elderly woman shopping. It's only an hour but it makes a big difference - without this service she would be virtually housebound and have to rely on others to shop for her. The Hour Community gets her out of the house and half of the trip to the Co-Op is spent pausing for her to say hello to people she knows (she knows everyone in Framlingham). Having the shopping delivered to her house would deprive her of this important social interaction.

And by the way, did I tell you, my book is free to download until Monday?



  

Another Giveaway

In the four and a half months since I published Give Me Your Tomorrow I've been encouraged by sales and extremely encouraged by feedback by way of reviews and comments from readers but, without the backing of a publisher's publicity machine there's not a great deal that an independent author can do to keep a book in the spotlight without breaking the bank. So I am trying a short promotion offered by Amazon Kindle to all who enrol in Amazon KDP Select. This allows me to offer the book for free download for a maximum of five days. This promotion begins tomorrow 23rd October and ends on Monday 27th.

Apologies to readers who have invested a couple of pounds in buying the Kindle Edition but I am sure that you will appreciate the competition I am up against and the benefits that a jump in circulation could bring. Obviously if hundreds download the novel and hate it (and say so by way of reviews) it's a giveaway that could backfire but I am reasonably confident that this won't be the case as the reviews already written are genuinely independent comments. 

So, please spare a moment to tell your friends or anyone you know with a Kindle or ebook reader and pass on this link. Remember, the promotion starts tomorrow and runs until Monday. I will let you know how the promotion goes.

In other news, our babysitting in Rochester continues. We're only looking after our little granddaughter for two days a week for the next week or two and we went on Monday and spent a very happy time with her. We enjoyed playgroup on Monday and Toddler Boogie on Tuesday and Marion spent the rest of the time playing with her with (amongst many other things) Duplo and a set of Peppa Pig figures which she absolutely loves. Catherine insisted that I take a photo - so here it is. I cooked a roast dinner on Monday and I must mention Hall Farm Butchers in Framlingham who provided the fabulous beef that made it such an enjoyable meal. 

I should also mention Camel Footwear. I bought a great pair of Camel Active boots last winter. The laces became worn and I couldn't find replacements anywhere (they are quite a distinctive colour which matches the stitching). I emailed Camel service in Germany and asked them to tell me the name of a stockist and, just a few days later, I received a pair of laces free of charge. In these days of tight profit margins I imagine that the cost of a pair of laces plus postage and packing to the UK would almost eliminate their original profit on the boots so thank you Camel Active for your excellent service.

Grandparenting In Rochester

We've spent another busy week in Rochester helping out with our granddaughter during a temporary childcare crisis. It wasn't as tiring this week as we stayed in Kent and the driving was limited to one early start on Monday (although torrential rain at around 6.15 a.m reducing visibility to next to nothing and flooding the A12 made it a pretty hair raising journey). We enjoyed looking after our special little two-year-old and we're off there again tomorrow for a couple of days. The town is going to be very much in the news for the next few weeks in the run up to the by-election and it becomes overrun by politicians. We've seen a number of TV News crews and photographers there but haven't spotted any big names as yet. 

I'm becoming quite an expert in toddler activities. We visited Little Stars playgroup, Toddler Boogie at Rochester Library, Toddler Shake And Boogie at Chatham Library and another playgroup run by King's School in Rochester. Men are conspicuous by their absence at all of these events and there has only been the odd dad amongst the mums and grans and no other granddads. It's a pity in these days of gender equality that more males don't participate. I'm sure that Paul, who often takes Catherine to these kids' clubs, would welcome a couple of blokes to talk to.

It must be confusing for the children attending these activities as each group has its own version of songs like The Wheels On The Bus and Row, Row Row Your Boat. I'm getting the hang of it (even the politically incorrect version with Mummies on the bus going "Chatter Chatter Chatter")

We got back to Framlingham in time to take an elderly woman on her regular Friday afternoon shopping trip as part of our participation in the Framlingham Hour Community. It's a great scheme as there are plenty of people living on their own (or with disabled partners) here and simple things like shopping can present them with tremendous worries. 

Yesterday we had a day to ourselves and enjoyed breakfast and the The Times Jumbo2 crossword at the Lemon Tree (didn't finish it this week as we didn't know a Belgian composer) before Marion went to the hairdressers and I had a couple of hours out with the detector.

I tipped this lot out of the bag when I got home - that's two trips worth as I didn't have time after the last trip. And no, the detector doesn't pick up golf balls, it was just lying on the surface of the field. Here are some of the better finds from the two trips.

A Medieval Silver Penny Heavily Clipped

A Medieval Silver Farthing - Damaged

Another Medieval Penny

A Charles I Rose Farthing

Unidentified Probably A 17th Century Trade Token

There were not very many artefacts but I have found seven early hammered coins in four short visits to this very small field so I look forward to trying it out again when the crop which covers ninety per cent of it is harvested (I have been searching a set-aside strip).

I am pleased that the novel is still selling and I now have ten reviews in total on Amazon and Amazon.com. I spent over £118 posting twenty free copies to the winners of my Goodreads giveaway last week but have not heard from any of the recipients as yet and hope that the copies arrived safely. It would be great if all twenty read the book and leave constructive feedback. If I hear nothing it will be a disappointment. 

Busy Days

It's been a hectic week with little time for blogging. We've been helping the Rochester branch of the family with babysitting duties due to the temporary absence of the regular carer. It's wonderful to be able to see so much of our two-year old granddaughter - she's a little angel and has been great company. On the negative side, the five a.m starts are not ideal.

On the plus side we get to see sunrises like this.

But on the negative side there's a huge traffic build up at the Dartford crossing as early as seven o'clock. We arrive in Rochester way too early but if we left Framlingham any later we would be way too late - it's amazing what a difference a fifteen minute delay in leaving can make. We're off there again on Friday and next week we're staying all week so we will avoid the early starts and long drives. 


Being with a two year old can be a lot of fun. We told her parents that we would look at some new shoes for her. "Something plain and sensible" were our instructions. 

These were her idea of something plain and sensible! Suffice to say she ended up with a very nice dark blue pair. 

While we've been back in Framlingham we've been keeping very busy. We've taken up spinning classes at Fram Leisure up at the college. We've got Becky, who is a great instructor, to keep us going and the classes provide forty five minutes of intensive exercise. Spinning apart, Marion's redesigning the garden planting and has bought two trees and lots of shrubs and climbing plants which she's managed to find time to plant . She's got plans for another few dozen plants but they may have to be delayed until spring.

We even managed to get to Cineworld in Ipswich to see Boyhood which we missed first time around. It's a unique piece of cinema being filmed over twelve years. We experience the life of  Mason (Ellar Coltrane) as he grows from five to eighteen. It is a warm and fascinating piece. With each of the cast ageing as the film progresses it removes the need for unconvincing make up or different actors and I imagine that the script was a work in progress throughout the twelve years as the director Richard Linklater (whose daughter Lorelei who plays Mason's sister Samantha and also grows up on screen) could never be certain how his cast's circumstances would change over more than a decade. There are some wonderful and very real performances especially from Ethan Hawke who starred in Linklater's "Before" series of films. Not a great deal happens but it is an extremely likeable and real depiction of a modern multi-parent family life - a must for any cinema lover.

I also found time to get out with the detector at the weekend. Although this group of finds doesn't look particularly exciting they include a medieval silver penny and a medieval silver farthing plus one particularly fascinating coin.

This is a Danish silver Skilling of Christian IV dated 1620. It's in very good condition and it's intriguing to find a Danish coin from this period here in Suffolk. I did a bit of research and local dignitary Sir Robert Hitcham, who was around in the 1600s was Attorney General to Queen Anne of Denmark. Could this coin be linked to that connection? We'll never know for sure but I doubt that many Danes were visiting here in the 17th century.

I'll leave you today with a final reminder of my Goodreads book giveaway which finishes on Friday.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Give Me Your Tomorrow

by John Brassey

Giveaway ends October 10, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Win A Paperback Copy Of My Novel On GoodReads

I am discovering that the years spent writing a novel, getting it professionally edited, having a super cover designed and self-publishing it on Amazon are simply the very beginning of being able to think of myself as a published author. Without a publicity machine to support my efforts I realize that my novel is likely to sink as deep as some of the Greek sponge fishermen who feature in it.

But initial response to the book has been very favourable and, as I write, it has five reviews on Amazon.co.uk and one on Amazon.com. Not a huge number I know but I have seen some well established authors’ novels published around the same time with less than ten reviews to date.

So I am not giving up and am starting a publicity drive over the next month. Locally I am advertising in About Fram a weekly e-newsletter that goes out to hundreds of people in our neighbourhood. More importantly, nationally and internationally I am offering a giveaway of twenty paperback copies of the book on Goodreads.Com. Register an interest via the following link.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Give Me Your Tomorrow

by John Brassey

Giveaway ends October 10, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

As for those reviews, here is a selection of comments -

“A sweet love story. Also some thought provoking life issues....”  5 Stars

“Nostalgia, sun and a cracking good love story! As a lover of Greece, too, John was able to evoke that special warmth and light that only those islands can truly portray.” 5 Stars

“A really beautifully written story, perfect to read on holiday in the sun!” 5 Stars

“Thoroughly enjoyed the book, once I started reading I couldn't put it down” 5 Stars

“Really enjoyed this book. At the end of each chapter l was eager to find out what would happen next. Found the characters believable and l cared what would happen to them. Can definitely recommend this one” 4 Stars

“A lovely story - believable and engaging. Well written. Would definitely look for another by the same author.” 5 Stars

A Week In St Andrews

It hardly seems like five minutes but we've been here at the caravan in St Andrews for over a week now and before we know it we will be getting ready to hit the road again for the return journey to Framlingham. The sun finally peeped out from behind its grey covering today after a dull, wet and cloudy week.

Although it's always sunny when we see these two. Melody will be one at the end of this week and she's growing up extremely quickly. Rose has had a year to get used to her sister sharing the limelight and the two are beginning to become good friends and playing together.

Sarah was doing some yoga training in Edinburgh at the weekend so we drove into the capital to see Duncan and the girls.

Rose loved a little playground we found tucked away in a back street.

 And I was fascinated to see the trams finally running after years of traffic disruption. The trams themselves are very modern and look very comfortable.

I spoke to my favourite Scottish farmer and asked if there were any fields available for me to try with the detector. He told me that one of my favourite fields (on which I have found some very nice ancient artefacts over the last year or two) was available.

But when I saw the height of the stubble I wasn't exactly excited at the prospect of searching the field - I had to hold the detector about six inches off the ground.

So it wasn't surprising that I didn't find a great deal.

Although I do feel that the only decent find (this ornamental buckle) has a lot of age to it and may well be of the Viking period. I have asked the museum in Edinburgh and will see what they say. 

We've been watching the X Factor again (gluttons for punishment I know). I wonder if this little lady will be entering thirteen years on from now.

Opera's Greatest Hits

Yesterday afternoon we headed down the road to the lovely ancient moated house Crow's Hall near Debenham. The owner Caroline Spurrier organises an annual Charity Opera evening in the adjacent barn.

The weather was kind and a good crowd enjoyed Pimms and strawberries in the glorious gardens before the event.

It was good to have the opportunity to get dressed up for something for the first time in a couple years.

The music and singing was provided by London Festival Opera who performed an abridged but fully costumed version of Cosi Fan Tutte in the first half of the programme. There then followed an interval where we enjoyed canapés and fizz before a raffle and auction to raise funds for the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent. The highlight of the evening for me was the second half in which the ensemble presented a sort of Opera's Greatest Hits. Some of the most famous and beautiful arias were performed exceptionally well and Mary Plaza's rendition of Un Bel Di from Madame Butterfly reduced Marion to tears. It was a fitting finale to a lovely evening. The programme overran so we didn't enjoy our super picnic from Leo's Deli in the garden as originally planned but ate it at home in front of the comparatively lowbrow (but still enjoyable) Britain's Got Talent.

In other news I finally got around to publishing my novel on Amazon. It's been a long haul getting to this point and the next job is to try and get it noticed. Thanks to those friends and family who have bought a copy I have a few sales and when I get back from France I hope to do a little promotion to try and raise its profile. It's a romance set on a beautiful Greek island in 1969 and was described by an established author as romantic, funny and touching. You can see a little more about it by clicking this link. If you are enrolled on Amazon Prime you can read it for free using their library service.