On Reading and Research

I'm looking forward to delving into the to-be-read pile on my bedside table.

There are three magazines. Writing Magazine, Grow Your Own and Woman's Weekly.

There are excellent articles and competitions in Writing Magazine, plus information about magazines and publishers writers can submit to, and readers' new plus much more.

Grow Your Own is informative and usually comes with some packets of sees. This months are purple brussel sprouts and white and red alpine strawberries.

I enjoy reading Woman's Weekly, which I buy it to study the short stories and serials with a view to submitting fiction to the magazine one day.

At the moment I'm half way through Barbara Bradford Taylor Bradford's Heirs of Ravenscar in which begins in 1918. She has based the novel on Edward III his family and other personalities of the era by re-creating them as nineteenth century characters. I'm enjoying the book.

There are another four books in my to be read pile which I picked up from the library, three novels and one non fiction book. The White Russian by Vanora Bennet, Dear Thing by Julie Cohen and The Downstairs Maid by Rosie Clarke, each of which I'm looking forward to reading.

The fourth book is the long awaited Edward II The Unconventional King by Kathryn Warner. I am particularly interested in this because I am revising my novel set in Edward II's reign. I have my own theory about his relationship with his favourites and the question of whether or not he was murdered.

Home Grown Organic Salad for Lunch

Delicious lunch today. The only two things on my plate which were not home grown were an avocado and some Port Salut Cheese, even the salad dressing was homemade with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt  and home grown herbs.

Menu.

Drink. Apple Juice made with apples from the garden

First Course

Lollo rosso lettuce mixed with a small grated courgette and shredded dandelion leaves.

Mixture of runner beans, carrots and the last of my new potatoes with chopped chives in home made mayonnaise

Cherry tomatoes.

Cucumber with a little celery salt.

Avocado with a dash of vegetarian Worcester sauce.

Dessert.

Plain Yoghurt with summer fruit jelly made last year.

Yummy, yummy for the tummy, as my young grandchildren say.

Mind you, I couldn't do so much organic gardening without a gardener who comes once a fortnight and does all the heavy work.