Postcard from Wellingtonia Avenue

No Christmas tree could be as impressive as these. Tucked away in an otherwise unremarkable corner of Berkshire, Wellingtonia Avenue is a great example of British eccentricity. The 100 giant redwood trees were planted in 1869 to commemorate the death of the Duke of Wellington. The road they line leads nowhere very interesting – but the journey's the thing. Driving down this avenue feels special.

One side of the road is on National Trust land, forming the border of a wood, which could be lovely; if only today's irresponsible Brits could refrain from fly-tipping. On the other site of the road, the trees are in private front gardens. I know I'd feel pretty lucky to have one. But then, I do own the National Trust ones don't I? Lucky me.

My picture doesn't do it justice. There's a better photo here: http://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/finchampstead.htm

Christmas Card 2008

Only ten days to go until Christmas so I'm showcasing the Christmas decorations on Birmingham's Selfridges slug. Anyone who hasn't visited the city in recent years is probably thinking, 'What the...?' It's a building I'm fond of though – iconic and fun, especially with its Christmas decorations up.

I've just been to the Post Office with a stack of actual cards and parcels. And yes, I had to stand in a ridiculously long queue for the privilege of posting them. My own fault for not doing it sooner, I know! So the ability to post a 'card' here, from the comfort of home, with a cup of tea by my side, is a wonderful thing.

I hope you have a good Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2009.
K

Postcard from Troon

It was a perfect winter's day. Cold enough to make your cheeks tingle but bright and dry enough that you don't care. I love sunsets as much as I love postcards, and a seaside sunset is the best kind.

Driving into the low sun is a pain of course – the combination of the glare below the visor and the salt-splattered windscreen made visibility awkward. Troon was well worth the trip though. The seafront walk is bracing and beautiful, there was a Christmas craft fair on in the tiny concert hall and we found the perfect café.

With home baking and frothy coffees the Beach Café is a trip back to the 1950s – including the décor, but even that is appealing. The lady in charge bustles about taking care of her customers and adding to the feel that you're visiting her living room. This kind of place couldn't survive in a busier town. Troon doesn't know how lucky it is.

Postcard from Birmingham's German Market

Birmingham's twin city is Frankfurt, which I guess explains why the largest German Christmas Market outside Germany sets up in Birmingham every year. Stalls selling stollen, gluhwein, wooden toys and other German flavoured products set up along New Street and Christmas shopping gets underway – much easier when you have a glass of warm wine in hand!

Unsurprisingly, the stalls selling alcohol and frankfurters do the best business. Makes you wonder what Birmingham exports to Frankfurt in exchange – a pub selling pints of mild and faggots?

The crowds at the market this evening would make you wonder 'what recession?' Seems where Christmas and alcohol are concerned we still have money to spend.

Postcard from a writer's room

I’ve been hiding out for five days at a wonderful writer’s retreat in Devon. My second novel (working title ‘Park Life’) grew faster than I'd hoped it could, while my every need was looked after by Deborah and her family. They made Sue (the other writer staying for the week) and I so welcome and comfortable we couldn’t fail to be inspired to get on with our writing.

The house is wonderful - each writer has a comfortable room equipped with desk and kettle (what more does a writer need?) and in the evenings a log fire tempted me to scribble in the sitting room in front of the flames. Meals are delicious, there are riverside walks on hand for vital ’fresh air’ breaks, and the family are great company when sitting at the PC screen feels a bit too isolated.

Deborah’s a professional writer who was happy to help me with writing queries and I hope Sue got as much out of our chats about writing as I did. It was great to immerse myself in the book for an extended period and to discuss characters, plots and techniques with people who were interested.

Definitely recommended to any writers who want to invest some time in their writing and Deborah can offer writing exercises and feedback for anyone who doesn’t just want to get their head down and crank it out as I did! Check it out at: http://www.deborahdooleyjournalist.co.uk/retreat.html

As well as writing a lot more of Park Life, I've noted some revisions I want to make to Map Reading and written two thirds of a short story - it was an intense few days!

If any authonomy members see this and want to know more - message me online, I'm KR.

Postcard from the first frost

Autumn's arrived and it feels more like winter. We had snow in April then snow in October. The summer never seemed to start.

This recently planted passion flower might have been hoping it would grow up to a life of sun-kissed bliss. Instead it's been put to work disguising a new fence panel and, within its first few weeks in the job, got chilled to the core. It's surviving though, clinging on and only shivering slightly.

Things have warmed up a little now with wet weather from the West instead of ice from the North. Sorry for the delay in posting this, guess I can't even pass the blame to the Post Office this time…

Postcard from Greenwich Park

When I was at school in Greenwich, we spent an occasional cold, damp, muddy sports lesson cross-country running in Greenwich Park. I was usually the one walking at the back. Hideous though that experience was, it was a chance to admire the Park and I often return now (without the trainers!).

The residents of Greenwich are lucky to have this beautiful, varied, historic open space on their doorstep and the huge numbers of tourists who join them to walk, run, play and picnic there just back up the value of the Park for the local area. Can it really be a sensible location to consider for the 2012 Olympic Equestrian events?

The Park would be closed to the public for months in the lead up to and during the games. There is the potential that the historical and ecological character of the Park could be damaged by the construction of the facilities required. I think Greenwich Park is too important to take the risk. This photo is taken from a point just to the side of the Prime Meridian line that dissects the world through the highest point of Greenwich Park. It's a view tourists cross the world to visit.

As Kerry, the main character in my novel 'Map Reading' (see 'Postcard from the internet' below) puts it: ' It's the start of time, that's all. East and West, it all starts here.'

A couple of weeks of Olympics events and it might never be the same again. For more information see http://www.nogoe2012.com/