One August Night

 

I have awaited this sequel to The Island for a very long time - it's been 15 years!  Having supported the Leprosy Mission charity for 40 years, The Island gave me a visualisation of the colony on Spinalonga, off the greek island of Crete.  Victoria Hislop is a favourite author of both myself and my husband - he has read all the books in between The Island and this one, so, newly published I felt it an ideal Christmas present - we don't read many hardback books, preferring paperbacks and receiving this newly published edition was a temptation too far.  I secretly read it first handling it with great care.  Shhh don't tell him....

Anna, having gone into depression after the birth of her baby girl, Sofia, began to recover when her husband arranges the christening and asks his cousin to be the Godfather.  She puts on a red dress and her affair with her sister's fiance continues.  The reader suspects he, Manolis, may be the child's father.  Her sister, Maria, has been away on Spinalonga in the Leprosy colony.  News is increasing that there is now a cure and people are being sent home.  Anna fears for her relationship with Manolis, she doesn't want to lose her lover.

A tragedy befalls the family whereby Anna's husband is imprisoned and her lover flees to mainland Greece.  Maria marries her doctor and they take Sophia in, raising the child as their own.  Manolis and Maria then become the main characters and the story unfolds with thrilling and graphically told events.

It is so exquisitly written, plain and simple to understand and follow; it's gripping.  The intermingled, intriguing relationships leads the reader to rush to the end.  I think it's the best book I have read all year. 

Sometimes hubby reads the last page before he gets to the end. I KNOW! Sacriledge.  However, if anyone else has this habit it will NOT give you an idea of what goes on between the beginning and end.  The end, however, does leave you wanting more.  Will a grown up Sofia trace her roots?  Will Manolis marry?  Will he ever return to Crete or mainland Greece?  What becomes of Maria?

Perhaps readers will not have much knowledge of Leprosy and think it is assigned only to biblical times.  Or perhaps they have some recollection of Princess Diana visiting such patients in the 1990's.  A cure for this dreadful, disfiguring disease was found in 1957 but it is still contracted in third world countries today.  It has been around since early 1900's.  Imagine 50+ years of Covid19!!  How fortunate we are that a vaccine has been made against the world-wide disease.  It doesn't mean Covid19 will disappear and neither has Leprosy.  I hope one day both will be irradicated.

The island of Spinalonga would be a place to visit now as an historic site, much like the war museums and underground hospital on Jersey.  Perhaps I should visit it when we are out of this pandemic; when flights and holidaying become safe again.  I know that this precious book will grace our bookshelves and be a favourite of both mine and my husband's (I will tell him I have read it when the time is right!)  There are not many books we would both read and Victoria Hislop is the only author that has inspired us both.

 

Reflections of 2020

There are SPECIAL MOMENTS in every year and as this crazy/sad/awful/surprising year of 2020 comes to an end I reflect here on moments that stand out for me. 

However, firstly I acknowledge the fact that the Virus, Covid19, has dominated the news, destroyed businesses, lives (66,000+ in the UK to date), relationships etc. I truely hope it has also taught us all lessons in kindness, endurance, what really matters and globally, I hope the environment and our way of living will be changed for the better. It highlighted our mental health, our NHS and keyworkers, our need to wash hands frequently, wear face masks and keep social distance. Being in the 'vulnerable' category I have never 'stayed home' so much but totally thankful I have a nice one, a garden and places to walk to. I am thankful too that I have a laptop and i-phone, have had on-line shopping delivered and partaken in many a Zoom meeting, Facebook live events, FaceTime calls and other platforms to keep in touch with family, friends and people in the world of writing/publishing. The blues didn't hit me until this month of December when the dark, dank days leading up to an unusual Christmas drained me of energy, happy hormones and excitement about the end being in sight with a vaccine on the way. Thankfully it only lasted a weekend and I remembered my mantra of: THIS TOO WILL PASS .

So now for the good news, my special moments, in this year that will go down in history.  Before the word 'Pandemic' reached our ears I took a winter break back in February to the Highlands of Scotland where I was fortunate to see wild deer at the foothills of snowy mountains and, due to Storm Dennis I led a Writing Group in the hotel where we were kept inside for safety.  This tale was later printed in the People's Friend magazine and I felt so proud of my courage to step up and amuse residents on a dismal day.

In March, just before things became worse, I was in Bournemouth having won tickets to the Russian Ballet.  It was a fabulous show and although tense about attending such a large gathering as the news was stepping up a pace, I enjoyed the time away from home in a B&B, eating meals out and taking a taxi to the pavillion and being engrossed in the ballet.  

Also in March I visited Chesterfiled to see a friend and saw this famous spiral spired church.

So then we were all into LOCKDOWN LAND and I spent time in the garden, planting and growing vegetables, creating window displays for cheering passersby and neighbours, celebrating VE day on the driveway and Thursday nights clapping the the staff of the NHS.  So proud of my nephew:

Wasn't May and the summer wonderful?  Sunshine, actual FRESH air (no pollution), appreciation of nature and a little respite before lockdown restrictions/tiers came into force again.  Hubby and I did manage a weekend away in the remote Derbyshire village of Castleton where we had some lovely country walks and an outside coffee stop.

As the year drew on I felt I was adapting well.  I took pleasure in the garden far more than ever and grew vegetables for the first time in over 30 years.  The cherry tomato plants produced so much; peas, potatoes, lettuce, raddishes and herbs were experiemental too.  The flowers bloomed giving colour and joy as well.

Bird watching was another joy - we had a regular robin visiting and numerous other varieties, but what an absolute treat that a pair of great tits used the bird box on my cabin to nest and raise their young which we anxiously awaited to see how many fledged.  There were five in all but sadly the last one didn't make it onto the nearby fence and perished overnight.

My biggest special moment was when one baby tit flew into the open door of my cabin and allowed me to rescue him, hold him in my hands for a short while before freeing him to fly again.  Not sure I've ever had that priveledge in my life before.  

Another special moment was my great-niece's first birthday.  Thankfully we were able to have a small family gathering to celebrate but no hugs were shared (something I've missed dreadfully). 

There have been many special moments of meeting friends outdoors, walking, chatting, finding a bench and sitting apart with a flask and cake.  Being outdoors and walking has helped keep me positive and this tree hug was for all the people I love.  Tyson the Bengal cat came to stay to keep us company for a few weeks and he wanted to be part of my window display!  Doorstep visits have been appreciated but so unnatural not to ask people in, especially our lovely daughter.

We made the big decision to put our home of nearly 30 years on the market but to date we have been disappointed with very little response.  However, we are in no hurry so I guess the timing is not right just yet.  Another highlight of this year was that I, at last, received my pension and bus pass.  I join the Senior Citizens rank not feeling as though this is real, but having waited six years for my pension it is very welcome.  

My other passtimes have been card crafting, knitting, reading novels and writing. Those who follow me on Twitter (@tweetsue13) or Facebook (Sue Flint, Author) will know that as I write this blog my manuscript is out for appraisal and novel 2 has been harder to be disciplined about.  However many zooms have been extremely helpful and hopefully I will spring back into writing action again very soon.  Here's my knitted snowmen - I managed a small amount of the 1,000+ that the local church wanted to spread cheer in the Parish of Wigginton; and just a few of all the Christmas cards I made.   

 

Sadly we lost the son of our dear friends, to that other dreadful disease - Cancer.  John was such a big hearted young man, aged 41, who was an inspiration to all who knew him.  Funerals this year have been so different from the 'norm' and John had made arrangements for his own way of people 'saying goodbye' which was close family celebrating his life on a nearby beach.  We paid our own respects by

planting trees through the woodlandstrust.org.uk in his memory.

And now as the year comes to an end we have news of the first vaccinations against Covid19 being administered here in the UK giving us all hope that next year will see the relief of Lockdowns, Tiers and closed venues of enjoyment.  I guess it will take us all sometime to feel 'safe' again but this at least is a step in the right direction.

Special moments are there in every day, every month, every year if we but notice them.  I hope you have many stored in your memory bank and that you draw on them whenever life throws a curve ball.  Thank you for reading my blog, comments can be made below or on Twitter @tweetsue13 or email: sueflint13@hotmail.com. 

May your Christmas and New Year celebrations be safe and wishing you all the best for 2021.