A FEW DAYS IN DUBROVNIK
A FEW DAYS IN DUBROVNIK
When my lovely girlfriends asked if I'd like to join them on holiday, of course I said yes! We'd not seen each for years and this seemed a perfect excuse for a get-together.
We decided on Dubrovnik as none of us had been before. The added bonus was meeting up with my Ukrainian friend who had travelled with her friend and their daughters all the way from Kyiv. Dubrovnik is a lovely town and on the cruise ship itinerary so quite busy even in October. Despite the crowds, the ambience in the restaurants is super, the food is delicious and the weather was mostly favourable.
However, the storm on our penultimate day reminded me that we were in Illyria and it could have been the beginning of Twelfth Night! The other literary link is to Game of Thrones and we couldn't resist a trip to the island of Lokrum which was the setting for Kings Landing. I couldn't resist posing in the Iron Throne though I wish I'd dressed for the occasion - those sandals really don't cut it.
THE BARMOUTH WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
THE BARMOUTH WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
I was invited to give a talk on 'The Barmouth Affairs' in the town of its setting. It was a super opportunity so I immediately got my diary out and organised a date.
The lovely women of the group were really welcoming and keenly interested in the story. It's not often a book is based in your home town and they seemed chuffed about that!
One of them thought she could remember my mother as the District Nurse on her bike in 1973. Others recognised the houses and places I'd referenced.
Before the talk, we enjoyed a walk around the town and an overnight stay in the lovely Talbot Arms. I was quite pleased with my photography skills as I managed to capture the train coming across the estuary on a sunny day. What do you think?
A CULTURAL DAY IN LONDON
A CULTURAL DAY IN LONDON
A friend and I have an ambition to see all Shakespeare's plays while we are still able. It's quite difficult to find performances of the lesser-known plays so when I saw The Globe was putting on Troilus and Cressida, I quickly bought our tickets.
As ever, it was a great production which thoroughly engaged the audience. It has been described as a 'problem play' and I can see why. The love story between the eponymous characters plays second fiddle to the posturing between the Greeks and the Trojans. We left not knowing which of characters we liked and if we were supposed to like any of them.
Nonetheless, we both enjoyed the performance and had a great day in the big smoke, a definite change to our small market town in middle England!
GRAMMAR CORNER
Less or fewer?
Ever wondered about the difference between 'LESS' AND 'FEWER'?
It's all about countable and uncountable nouns. For items/things you can actually count, for example, elephants, use FEWER. For those you can't like liquids, use LESS.
There are FEWER elephants in South America than in Africa.
There is LESS milk in your tea than in mine.
Simples! If there is a grammar mistake which drives you potty, email me and I'll share it with other readers.