I so L O V E beach huts. My bathroom is 'beach hut' themed with white towels that are embroidered with navy and red beach hugs, a Snug Rug mat with light blue beach huts on it and a variety of seaside ornament decorate the window sill including a mini row of beach huts. I even have mini beach huts and light house on sand around the base of a fuchsia bush in my garden. I have taken many photographs of places I have visited that have beach huts - favorites would be Holkham beach, Norfolk and Bournemouth.
Somewhere in my brain is a very distant memory of a beach hut on Looe beach, Cornwall. We used to go there as a family when I was a child. We would meet up with Aunty Olive, Uncle Bing and cousin John; my paternal grandparents and sometimes my father's cousin Roy and his family or his brother Jack and my cousins Christine and Ann. I have black and white photos of us eating ice creams on the beach. We would all sit in deckchairs in the same place each visit which was in front of a beach hut (who it belonged to I can't recall) where we children were sent to change into or out of our swimming costume although I do remember trying to do this with mother's help behind a large towel on the beach which was embarrassing and sandy. I guess my love of the shape of beach huts: the wood and the colours came from this early life experience.
Before the Pandemic of Covid-19 struck I attended a book event where someone criticized books with beach huts on the front cover and I was incensed by the comments. Not usually brave to reply, I found myself defending such books, speaking up and saying how some of us like these type of books. The critic's voice rankled for months afterwards so when I saw Veronica Henry's novel I gladly bought it knowing I would not be feasting my eyes on a beach or row of beach huts this year. The virus spreading has put paid to any holidays in 2020 as the message 'Stay Safe, Stay Home' rings out.
So I dip into fantasy land and on the pages of this book am instantly transported to a place that reminds me of Branksome Chine. This little book promises a big heart as I am soon introduced to Everdene Sands, North Devon and the owner of a beach hut that has been in the family for 50 years. It quickly became a torrid affair between a young innocent typist and an acclaimed author. Passion and innocence clashed and the author's manuscript and Jane disappears for 50 years
Soon I was reading about Harborne and Hagley - familiar places having been born in Birmingham. However the book progresses with different tales in different beach huts - an affair, a one-off fling, a marriage, two children, financial commitments and status, property and a beach hut.
I loved going to the nearby pub - The Ship Aground - and wondering if Jane would connect with her first love - the author. It captivated me to the end and it was hard to put down; the ending uplifted the soul.
I so enjoyed it and wanted to stay by the seaside a while longer so I purchased another by Veronica Henry -
5 star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
