What a summer I have had. This time last week I was sitting on train going from Edinburgh to Glasgow. I was in Scotland for a long weekend. My Aunt who lived in the USA for many years passed away a few months ago and my Uncle and cousins came over from California to bury her ashes in the family grave in Port Glasgow cemetery. Other than the solemnity of the service I had a lovely time. I got to meet my cousins for the first time in 30 years. I stayed with my sister in Edinburgh and commuted by train to Glasgow when the occasion arose.


I had breakfast at The Elephant House, the same café where JK Rowling, Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall-Smith have frequented. I found Edinburgh to have a perfect writers atmosphere, very tempted to move there to write. They have a livecam in the cafe so you can see how busy it is and how long the que to get food is.
http://www.elephanthouse.biz/livecam.html

This mp3 track just keeps running all through my mind. It is Eric Satie's Gymnopidie 1 by a brilliant group called Amarcord Wien. It's available to download from Amazon. co.uk. 02%20-%20Gymnopedie%201.mp3 . Mum turn on the speakers and click on the link, it should play automatically.


While in the wonderful city of Edinburgh, I went with my sister to see my nephew Campbell.
Campbell recently started baking at Peter's Yard Artisinal Swedish Bakery in Edinburgh, bread that's inspired by Jan Hedh, Swedish Master Baker. He made two pizzas for us and they were delicious.

I have finally completed my three thousand word short story for a writing competition, it is due in November, the last for the year. I sometimes think if I had put this much effort into studying at school I might have been a teacher or maybe a politician when I grew up, yuck, glad things turned out as they did.

Just as well I have finished the short story as I have found an editor for the manuscript of my novel, so now I have to get busy with the last four chapters and the inevitable re-write of the manuscript before handing it over to be edited. Then it's time to find a literary agent, anyone interested in being my agent? Just email me if you are. I am also about to start on another book that needs to be complete for next September, so it looks like I will be getting callouses on the finger tips from typing instead of guitar playing.