The duo in the velvet masks

I haven’t managed yet to get my recent novel extract down on paper, and my desk is still choc-a-bloc, despite getting rid of the end of month statements yesterday. The good news is that there have been more orders for A Bottle of Plonk and Tainted Tree, and royalties from Virtual Tales for the American e-book of A Bottle of Plonk – Have Wine will Travel. Coming up soon, my trip to Freiburg in the Black Forest, to give readings of those books, and a talk at the Guildford Institute on writing your life story, at which I will give readings from The Fruit of the Tree. To add to the fun, Irene is travelling with M and me, and will give readings of her own books at the Freiburg twinning festival. This is a coincidence – I have been invited the German/English society and she is being sent by the Guildford organisation.

A continuation in the curtains saga - since putting up the wretched things, we haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep. M, particularly, wakes at dawn – about 5 a.m., so I understand, and can’t get back to sleep. I contemplated getting the curtains lined, yet again. All our other curtains have millium lining – a metallic lining, and have had no problems with any of them. It just didn’t seem to be on offer this time. The lady at the curtain shop suggested that I either put up a roller blind or had a piece of lining attached to Velcro and velcroed the lining against the window each day. Not an ideal solution. Today, at a gathering of my Surrey graduate friends, I told them of my problem, and they suggested flight masks. What a brilliant idea. Tonight we will try that. It may even prevent a murder or divorce! The other thing that happened today was that some friends from the Reading Circle came back to my house, and we had a Q & A session about Tainted Tree. I probably talked for two hours. I enjoyed it – and they kept coming up with questions. And Guildford Waterstone’s are down to one copy of TT in each of their two shops – so thank you Guildford readers. Much appreciated.

Another view of Hotel Bon Sol, our holiday destination. Whilst ploughing through my holiday writing, I’ve found a blog, written early on, while we were there. Although I’ve already described the holiday, this is more immediate than my other description, so I’ve included it.

'After two days of rather dismal weather, the sun came out and temperatures rose to around 22 to 25 degrees C. – perfect Majorcan weather. M & I didn’t – don’t attempt to do anything adventurous. We have the same daily ritual – M gets up an hour earlier than I do and finds a good position in the sun. We meet up for breakfast in the restaurant by the sea – either in or out of doors. M heaps his plate with fruit, sometimes an egg and then French bread and toast; I eat cornflakes and two slices of toast and marmalade – my concession to being on hols. We don’t, as some guests do, indulge in a fry-up, or cold meats or sausages. Some people on half board, no doubt, store up food, so they don’t have to bother about lunch, but we enjoy the buffet lunches, as much for their visual appeal as for the food. Salads of red and greens – peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, peaches, apricots; desserts – gateaux, creams and chocolate – ice-creams; and of course the meats, fish, roasts and veggie delights. I try to be modest when selecting, but the range is a pleasure to behold.

In between breakfast and lunch, I pay a half hour visit to the gym and cycle, walk and row away between 100 and 200 calories. The afternoon is spent under a perfect blue sky, the sun diffused by the shade of an umbrella, and in the evening, after dinner, there is chat with other guests. For me, this holiday is meant to be only a recharging of batteries and an injection of sunshine – a tonic if we are to have a miserable English summer. It’s also an opportunity to do things I don’t necessarily do at home, because something else is in need of my attention.

The paper reads – A late bounce in British bookings for Spain and the Balearics – a reminder how the recession spreads its tentacles into holiday places such as this. But hopes too that confidence is beginning to return. It’s 1 ½ years since Northern Rock – also since the Market hit its high point and started to descend. The Stock Market anticipates events as well as reacting to them. I hope the current rise is a genuine forecast of improvement in jobs and businesses for the wider community.'