Wish I Was Here....

'Reaching For The Stars' is the latest novel by the lovely Janice Horton. Following on from Bagpipes & Bullshot, Janice has written her latest book about a celebrity chef. (Very 'of the moment,' what with Professional Masterchef and The Great British Bake-Off being so popular on television).

In ‘Reaching for the Stars,’ the main character Chef Finn McDuff feels he's had enough of all the food campaigns, the TV cookery shows, the constant frenzy surrounding his private life and disappears into a self-imposed exile for a while. Hence the theme of Launch Day is 'Wish I Was Here...' Janice has invited fellow writers to tweet or blog a picture of a place where we'd love to be - 'Wish I Was Here...'

My favourite place is the Villa Cimbrone Gardens over-looking the turquoise Tyrrhenian sea in Italy. It's on the Amalfi Coast in the hillside town of Ravello. It's close to the idyllic villages of Amalfi and Positano, both of which cling to the cliffs like exquisite flowers. I've visited these jewels in Italy four times now, but each time I find something new to marvel at.

The gardens at Villa Cimbrone are steeped in history and famous artists, writers and actors have escaped to its peace and tranquility over the years. A few visitors who have stayed are D H Lawrence, Greta Garbo, E M Forster, Piaget, Winston Churchill, to name but a few.

These gardens and views are my favourite place and 'I Wish I Was Here...'

Skimming Stones

Surely only a handful of summers have passed,
Since I jumped the white chalked squares
On the shiny black slugs of melting tarmac?
Long halcyon days filled with playgrounds and parks,
In which hung a shimmering heat-haze
Which levitated above the hot grainy concrete.
Holidays of sipping iced-lemonade, my skin tinged pink
From the rays which danced in the palest of blues.
Surely only a small bouquet of nights have passed,
Each nocturnal hour filled with scents of blossom,
Since I read of the Famous Five by the landing’s pale glow.

And now my reflection is patterned with lines of middle age.
How did I sink like a painted pebble into these murky depths?
Did I skim that stone before it sank?
Polish it against my hip before hurling it
Seawards, to bounce and pirouette upon the surface?
And why does my mother’s face look back from the mirror?
Is it a trick of the light? Her tired eyes, her lips,
Puckered with a life of conversation.
A private prank played on me by shadows, as
The poised pencil which draws the circle of life,
Rises, tick by slow tock, to meet its starting point.

Yes I’ve skimmed the stone countless times,
And lived, and loved, and laughed.
I’ve born three babies and watched them grow
And skip the hopscotch squares themselves.
I’ve walked on Arabian sand, smiled at Amalfi’s coast,
I’ve prayed in Rome and sailed Californian seas.
Imagined friends lie inside the folios of my novel
Written in captured moments from the hullaballoo,
The hubbub and the topsy-turvy of life’s pages.
Yes, my lines of age tell of a life well-lived.
Happy in my skin, I’ve earned my stripes.

Angela Barton

My Versatile Blogger Award

I'd like to thank Carol Bevitt (Carol's Corner) for awarding me a Versatile Blogger Award. I hadn't had the best of days, so when I checked my computer for the last time before going to bed last night, I found a message from Carol. What a lovely end to the day! I believe I must tell you seven things about myself that you don't know, before passing on the award to seven other people. Here goes!

1. I'd love to write a novel set in the Victorian times. I'm starting some research with a visit to Southwell Workhouse in Nottingham this Friday.



2. I've worked in Riyadh Military Hospital, Saudi Arabia. I looked after tiny poorly babies in the Special Care Baby Unit.

3. I don't usually blow my own trumpet, but I'm a dab-hand at painting and wallpapering!

4. My favourite holiday destination is Amalfi and Ravello on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. It is a magical place which I've visited with my husband several times.



5. My sister, Jennifer, lives in Los Angeles, California. She moved there as a nanny, twenty five years ago. She has settled there with her family and sadly I only see her every 3-5 years. Happily though - I'm visiting her this September!

6. When I was 13, I ran away from home to find Marc Bolan!



7. I'm on the committee of Nottingham Writers' Club, a member of Nottingham Writers' Studio and a member of The Walk Book Club.



I award the Versatile Blogger Award to,

http://onthewhitepage.com

http://1lovelife.blogspot.com

http://firstdraftcafe.blogspot.com

http://bit.ly/iH1R9G (@MariamMKobras)

http://talesfromthevillage.com

http://bit.ly/cB1Ofj (@NettieWriter)

http://teatimewithaccargill.blogspot.com