Life as an expat is mixed. You have the excitement of sights that broaden your mind… challenge your faith… transfix… shame… and surprise. Upon arrival, we were embraced by the English speaking expat community and automatically included by dint of being there. It’s a community which includes, English, American, Australian and Dutch, all of whom… Continue reading…
We have been in Singapore for exactly three months now and have spent the last two in our new home. Our new home, a rented bungalow on the former RAF Camp at Seletar We took possession half an hour before the container turned up from the docks. Last time I saw this, it was on… Continue reading…
We have finally moved to Singapore after months of frantic activity and precious little activity on this blog. I feel bad about that, so to make amends here is a super sized blog with oodles of photos and a brief account of how we’ve ended up moving half way across the world. … Continue reading…
I’m almost half way through my autumn book talks, so I wanted to share what’s happened so far. There was a good turnout at Shoreham Library on 10th November. William Earl, the 102-year-old star of Blood and Bandages was there. He was on fine form despite having recently returned from a five day wedding in… Continue reading…
This is a seriously busy week. Besides Tom’s home-schooling and sorting out what to take to Singapore, I will be preparing two brilliant talks on my book, Blood and Bandages – fighting for life in the RAMC Field Ambulance 1940 -1946. These entertaining and informative talks will be about the book, its theme and how… Continue reading…
I’m delighted to say that since my last blog on Blood and Bandages, excellent reviews have continued to appear on Amazon Books. All About History has added its voice saying that, ‘Blood and Bandages is easy to read and a unique perspective of WWII,’ while Books Monthly described the book as a ‘Superb account of… Continue reading…
So there I was, paralysed with writer’s block with a deadline looming. Up until then, I thought you got writer’s block when you ran out of ideas. Not so. It’s when you feel an overwhelming sense of helplessness and a complete loss of confidence. You can only think of one thing, that you were a… Continue reading…
I felt upset and hurt, but it was a blessing in disguise. The book had taken over my life. If I wasn’t researching it, I was thinking about it. If I wasn’t thinking about it, I was writing it. If I wasn’t writing it, I was interviewing William and if I wasn’t doing that, I… Continue reading…
I fudged it. I couldn’t give up scriptwriting. I loved it too much but neither could I ignore my new found obligation. Pragmatism was required, so in my naviety I just added, ‘write Bill’s book,’ to my to-do list. I determined to give it 100% effort to match that given by those of whom… Continue reading…