Devon Maid

Hello, and welcome to my July Newsletter.  

Bryan and I are off to Cornwall for a couple of nights in the next day or two, and after the recent heatwave, we’re hoping for dry weather, but preferably not quite as hot as it has been! 

We’re taking this break to use up some Tesco vouchers which would expire at the beginning of August, so at least our bed and breakfast is free. I’m looking forward to our mini-break, as I love Cornwall, even though they get it so wrong with their scones! (Apologies to any Cornish readers, but I’m a Devon girl!) We’re hoping to visit a few National Trust properties.

My new garden is coming along nicely now, as you can see, though it will take some of the plants a little longer to get established. We had a visit from my great-great-niece, Odette, earlier in the week, and I enjoyed a cuddle. She’s four months old and absolutely gorgeous – though it makes me feel ancient to be a great-great-aunt!

Old Saying of the Month

To Show Your True Colours
Nowadays, this saying means to reveal one’s real character or intentions, especially when these are dishonourable or disreputable. Historically, warships would often fly a variety of flags to confuse their enemy. However, warfare rules dictated that before firing, a ship must show its actual flag, and this came to mean it must show its true colours.

July Poem

The Owl and the Pussy Cat
By Edward Lear

I’m sure most children learn this nonsense poem at school. I know I did, and I always enjoyed reciting it. Even now, it makes me smile, so I thought it was worth sharing in my newsletter.

The Owl and the Pussy Cat was first published in 1870 in an American magazine and then, a year later, in the poet’s own book of Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets. Lear wrote the poem for Janet Symonds, the three-year-old daughter of his friend and fellow poet, John Addington Symonds.

Here it is – I think the lyrics are wonderful – I hope you enjoy it.

The Owl and the Pussy Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!” 

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! Too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose. 

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

My Writing News

Book 8 – A Moment of Madness
I’m now about three-quarters of the way through writing my next book and making good progress. I struggled a bit when I first started writing it, but I think there were too many other things going through my head – things like moving house, having a new kitchen installed, and decorating – it’s difficult to focus with all that going on, not to mention being too tired. However, I’m confident now that, all being well, it will be published before the end of the year.

Hartland Book Fair
The Hartland Book Fair will be held in The Hartland Pavilion on Saturday, 18th July, from 10 am to 2 pm, and I will be there with my books. This is a new venue for me, but I’ve checked it out, and there are plenty of places to park. It’s always an enjoyable day, so if you are in the area, do call in and say hello – and have a piece of cake and a coffee!

The Coffee Pot Book Club
Over the last few months, I’ve been acting as a Blog Tour Host for The Coffee Pot Book Club: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/. Here is an interesting one  I hosted last month.

Queen of Shadows by Anna Belfrage

She should have stayed in the shadows, but Leonor de Guzmán yearned for the sun

This Month’s Bargains!

All of my books are free to read if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. However, if you want to grab a bargain, three of my books will be reduced to 99p on the following dates:

My Book of the Month

The Orphan Twins by Lesley Eames

About the Book
London, 1910. Lily is ten years old when she realises her grandmother, a washerwoman in the backstreets of London’s Bermondsey, is seriously ill. She’s determined to do what she can to help and keep her grandmother’s illness a secret – even from her beloved twin, Artie. But Gran isn’t getting any better, and there’s only so much Lily can do… When tragedy strikes and the twins are faced with the prospect of a workhouse or an orphanage, a benefactor offers to take Artie in and educate him. All Artie’s needs will be taken care of – but the gentleman has no use for a girl. The twins have lost everything they knew and loved, but they never thought they’d lose each other. As the orphan twins grow up and take different paths, their new lives are beyond anything they could have imagined. Will they ever find a way to be together again?

My Review

This book is set between 1910 and the end of the First World War – a time of deprivation for many. Lily and Artie, ten-year-old twins, are being brought up by their grandmother after the death of their parents.

So, that’s all for now. Thank you for listening to my ramblings, and until next time, I hope you keep safe and well.

Very best wishes,
Marcia