Enjoying the peace and quiet at the Olive Farm
Dear Friends, It is the last day of April. I am at my desk looking out onto more blossoms than I have ever seen here before. It is a riot of colour and a joyous expression of nature’s determination to live and procreate. Our “confinement” will due to ease in twelve days from now. It…
Easter
Dear friends, I am waving a hello from the Olive Farm where we are in our fourth week of lockdown. In spite of the horrific virus that has led us all to be isolated from one another, there are positives to be found during these days of “confinement”. Michel and I count ourselves very lucky…
January 2020
This is worth your time. Do read through to the end https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe Here is an Oscar-nominated film about beekeeping: https://slate.com/culture/2020/01/oscars-2020-honeyland-international-documentary-north-macedonia.html
The Olive Farm
It is very dark here and silent. Very early morning. I am up and at my desk before dawn. The quietude here seems a long way away from the frenzy of Christmas and holidays and shopping. I love these silent hours when all I hear is the heartbeat of life, which is the dogs (and…
December 2019
This is a very unusual bumblebee. You might be interested n reading about it https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/bumblebees-of-the-world-bombus-kluanensis/#more-19259
Autumn creeping into Winter Newsletter
Hello dear friends, Apologies. I don’t seem to be very good at keeping to my schedules at present. There seems to be so much on, not least hammering away at a new novel. I am almost half way through – that’s of the rough draft so doesn’t quite count as half way through. Even so,…
Autumn Equinox
The Autumn Equinox is upon us already; the year seems to have reached this point too fast, don’t you agree? Yesterday morning, I stood on the terrace looking out to sea, inhaling that wonderful sense of tranquillity I feel when contemplating the water. Suddenly, I was aware that there was a very distinctive squeaking sound…
August in Greece and other matters
I am writing this from Kastellorizo, which is a small Greek island situated in the Eastern Mediterranean approximately two kilometres from Kas on the Lycian Coast of Turkey. We, Michel (husband) and I, are here attending a documentary film festival, Beyond Borders. Michel is the Director of International Development for the festival. This is our…
Bee Books
Hello friends,I have been asked to recommend some Bee Books, books that will help us to understand the problems we are facing and how we can contribute in this fight to save our planet. Also to be included, we need a couple of books to introduce us to our friends, the Bees … Here are…
Wine Tasting in the South of France
I am frequently asked about good wineries to visit as a day trip from our Olive Farm in the south of France. The fact is there are dozens to suggest. So I thought it would be fun this month during these very hots days – in French we call such a heatwave la canicule – to offer…
Newsletter, July 2019
I know that I am late writing this when I begin to receive emails from some of you asking why they have not received my Newsletter! My sincere apologies. I have two excuses: the publication on 16th May of The House on the Edge of the Cliff took me off on a fabulous book tour…
The Eiffel Tower celebrates 130 years
This year in France, our very own Iron Lady has reached her 130th birthday. Le Tour Eiffel. Receiving close to 7 million visitors a year, it is the most visited monument in the world, but like so many other artistic endeavours it was not an easy birth. The plan to build a 300 metre high,…
Along my book tour, a return to James Herriot Country
I am in the north of England promoting my new novel, THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF, which was published last week, 16th May. Yesterday, my stop was organised by the White Rose Book shop in Thirsk. The event was held at the Rural Arts Centre, which is a rather lovely location in…
A French Corner of Paradise
We are less than three weeks away from the publication of THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF. These days are always a little nerve-racking, because I am agitating about the book’s future success. Will it live up to expectations in the eyes of the publisher etc. It is a time of interviews, preparing…
April Newsletter
Hello, For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it is welcome to spring. Our winter has not been harsh but it has been unpredictable with, as is becoming the norm for many areas, extreme temperatures and erratic weather patterns. Dining outside for lunches on the terrace, wearing sunhats to protect against 22C in February…
Paris by the book
Paris in the spring is like no other time of year, no other place on earth. April in Paris. Grace, my young English heroine in THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF, who is trying to escape the scars of her violent upbringing, is in search of adventure and perhaps a romantic encounter. When…
Paris 68 and a world of today
Forgive the blatant self-promotion of this post, but I am very excited. Here is the front cover for my new novel to be published on 16th May. It has been described as “Carol Drinkwater’s epic story of enduring love and betrayal, from Paris in the sixties to the present day.” I am delighted that it…