Hello friends:
the time has come for me to get down to putting some things on air if not on paper. I have been putting it off for long enough.
As many of you will know we buried our dear Angela's body on November 24th. It had suffered enough in the preceding months and it was a relief that she felt able to let it go before having to suffer more of the ravages of cancer eating away at bones and tissues. She will be sorely missed here in physical form but not in spirit, and I feel her now urging me to pick up this blog again after such a long absence.
The book has now been on sale for a few months and has sold about 400 copies, which means that we are close to breaking even. I have had many complimentary comments coming in from readers of all ages, saying that they have been thoroughly enjoying reading the account, which is gratifying and makes me feel that it was worth the effort put into compiling it.
There have also been favourable reviews in the press, including one in Hello! magazine: https://dub125.mail.live.com/mail/#!/mail/ViewOfficePreview.aspx?messageid=49f34ded-7f60-11e3-896b-002264c202e2&folderid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&n=70148175.
Feel free to pass that on, and if you've read the book and enjoyed it, tell all your friends!!
I have been invited to give a talk/presentation about the walk and the book to staff at the British Library in Boston Spa in April and the National AGM of Servas in May, and would welcome any other similar opportunities to tell of our adventures, so if you are a member of a club or society which has guest speakers please let me know.
The further away our journey becomes in time, the more vivid the flashes of memory seem to be, and my dreams are full of glimpses of the wayside. I have also been reading a lot of travel books, notably The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane, which is brilliant, and researching into the possibility of making a solo walk around Wales, since the coastal path is now complete, although Angela's inclination was more towards a source-to-delta walk of the Loire or the Danube. Since I have recently discovered more about my family history on the Welsh side I am currently drawn more to walking in Wales this year, but need to first create some funds and make sure my feet are ready for it. In February, needing a break, I went to El Hierro, the most westerly of the Canary Islands, where I planned to cover most of the island on foot, but suffered from severe bruising and blistering under the big toenails as a result of having had to buy new boots just before leaving which turned out to be too small despite their stated size.
NB> Don't imagine that Millet's will give you a refund after you have worn your boots outdoors!
I have since tried my friend Dilwyn's recipe for stretching boots by inserting a potato and am awaiting a miracle. It does make sense, though.
All for now, will keep you updated more regularly!
Nick
