A Broad Abroad: Moving House

I set up this blog back in December 2007. Many of my posts have been travel-related. Some of the earliest ones were a series called: Emails to the Big Chief, based on the messages I might have sent home (but didn't) to my mother while I was travelling in Russia.

It's About Time

After all the effort of getting ready for Christmas—an effort that we are encouraged by the shops to commence earlier each year—it’s sobering to think how quickly the holiday passed us by. I know time is supposed to speed up as one gets older, but I suspect for most people of any age, 25th December seems an age ago. 

The lights have come down, the trees are packed away or piled up at the allotments awaiting shredding. We’re half-way through January already! And, if the commentators are to be believed, 90% of us will already have broken—or will be on the way to breaking—our New Year’s resolutions. 

Elizabeth Chats With...Paul Toolan

One of the things I love about my adopted home in the South West of England is the large number of writers who live down here, and the level of networking and support that provides. This month, I'm chatting to Paul Toolan, another member of the new group, West of England Authors. Paul writes detective fiction.

SMART Self-Assessment

This time last year, I posted an article about SMART objectives, and listed those I was planning to achieve in the coming year. Getting ready to do a repeat performance this morning, I thought I’d better review last year’s list to see how I got on. So here goes:

A Broad Abroad: Christmas in Jordan

Early evening, I’m sitting in Amman airport.  It’s Ramadan and the daily fast is about to end.  All around me are women and children, still and silent as statues, apart from occasional surreptitious glances at watches.  Suddenly, with no obvious signal, everyone moves at once.  Bags are opened, sandwiches unwrapped, fruit peeled.  The silence is replaced by murmurs of pleasure as hunger is swiftly appeased.  My neighbour offers to share her bag of dates.  I’ve not fasted, but they are so delicious, I almost miss my husband walking out of Arrivals.  So begins our most unusual and wonderful Christmas ever.

Elizabeth Chats With...T A Williams

In the last few months, I have become part of a loose groups of writers called West of England Authors who are exploring ways of promoting ourselves and our books in the increasingly crowded literary world. One of the people I have met is Trevor Williams who writes romantic fiction under the pen name T A Williams.

Time For A Change?

As the year draws to a close, many of us reflect on what we have achieved during the past twelve months and start planning for the future, This morning, I'm thinking about my blog posts.