Blog

People in my books: John Manley, an expat in love in Cyprus.

John wanted nothing more than to tend his garden up there in the mountains.  He wanted to learn more about mountain plants, to have a small herb garden, to create cascades of colour that would last all year.  He wanted to spend the spring days weeding and digging, the summer days enjoying and the autumn […]

Posted 12 years ago

People in my books: Pia’s grandmother, Cyprus.

Pia’s grandmother had lived in Kelepetria all her life and had never had the slightest wish to even try living somewhere else.  Indeed, it had never occurred to her.  She had been born there in the village, been to school there – what little schooling she had – and had married there.  She was of […]

Posted 12 years ago

Sayings that I like, words of wisdom from wise people.

– teachers open the door. You enter by yourself – no matter how big and bad you are, when a small child hands you a toy phone, you answer it – I dream of a better world where more chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned – even duck tape can’t fix […]

Posted 12 years ago

People from my books: Debbie. Raising a difficult teen.

She was a skinny little thing.  Scrawny.  She never put on weight.  As she grew in to adolescence she remained basically lanky and thin.  She had miles of legs.  When she tried ballet, as all little girls do, she was already taller than most of the others in her class and, although she had a […]

Posted 12 years ago

Illustrations for my books: Chateau des Cypres. An English family in France.

Extract from “A Call from France” by Catherine Broughton   I was happier at Les Cypres. I was physically, if not mentally, considerably less isolated. It was only once we’d moved in that I realized just how much the distance between Tulips and everything else had added to my work load, just in sheer driving […]

Posted 12 years ago

Guest Blogger: Karen Laurence-Rowe, Wildlife Artist in Africa.

      Our guest blog today comes from Karen Laurence-Rowe, a famous – and one of the best! –  wildlife artist. Please share and help African wildlife.   “Harmattan King”  …. against the wind – like so much of our wildlife!   With the steady destruction of the worlds wildlife species I think the […]

Posted 12 years ago

People in my books: Manolo. Raising a difficult teen.

Manolo was of Italian extract, with smouldering good looks.  Unusually, his eyes were a startling blue.  He oozed a sexuality that women of all ages found attractive … and he knew it.  He also had a manner to him.  It was a reassuring, wholesome manner.  He created a feeling of confidence and honesty – till […]

Posted 12 years ago

French. The difficulties of language learning.

  Your ability to communicate in a foreign language does not simply depend on your prowess with the language.  It also depends on the ear of the listener.  Like giving directions – some people are good at giving them and others are not, but also some people are good at listening to and absorbing them, […]

Posted 12 years ago

People in my books: Euan. An English family in France.

First and foremost, and before anything – anything – Euan was a dad.  A husband and a father.  He was totally devoted to Catherine and the children and would have moved heaven and earth for them. He was an old-fashioned Englishman, born and raised in the south-east. He liked bread-and-butter pudding, custard, bangers and mash, […]

Posted 12 years ago

People in my books: Bubble-Gum Michel. Employing staff in France.

The children nick-named him Bubble-Gum.  It was a good name because there was something about him that made one think of bubble-gum.  He was fat (but immensely strong), not very tall, jovial, noisy, messy, talkative.  He was very familair with everybody, even his boss, and had he not been such a likeable fellow, it would […]

Posted 12 years ago

Books now available on Amazon:

A Call From France
French Sand
Kefani: An African Childhood
The Man With Green Fingers
Saying Nothing