The Lost Gardens of Heligan

I just love the name of these gardens - what a creative title to spark inspiration!

I'm down in Cornwall to visit a friend and The Lost Gardens of Heligan beckoned to us. Here's a bit of the blurb:

The Tremayne Family have owned the 200-acre Heligan Estate for over 400 years. During the 18th and 19th centuries there was a thriving, almost self-sufficient community here. Heligan House was rented out after World War 1. In the 1970s it was converted to flats and sold off, separated from its surrounding Gardens and Estate. In 1990 this Sleeping Beauty was discovered and re-awakened, becoming Europe's largest garden restoration project.

And here are some pics of the treats in store:

Have you visited the Lost Gardens? Does the name inspire you, too?

Quest to Enhance Nature

Somebody has been on a quest to enhance nature in one of my local parks. This is a gorgeous work of art!

I shall have to investigate to see if I can spot any more!

Cheerful lights are now prettier!

Yes, the cheerful Christmas lights are still twinkling away in May! They're even prettier now that blossom is on the tree. 😊

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Let there be cheerful lights

A couple of houses near me continue to bring cheer to the local neighbourhood in these trying times. Yes, you're seeing right - they've still got their Christmas lights on in March!

Fair play to them, I say!

Do any of your neighbours have their Christmas lights on still?

WriteOnCon kidlit writing conference – 19th-21st February 2021

Once again, WriteOnCon are holding their online kidlit writing conference. There are a mix of blog posts, Q&A sessions, workshops, discussions and feedback sessions all geared towards kidlit writers (anyone can attend, though, as a lot of advice will be universal). There’s still time to register, and there are different tiers of attendance, depending on your requirements. 

The forums are up and running from today, and you can polish your Twitter pitches, queries and the first 500 words of your manuscript with the aid of fellow writers. There’s even a ‘Supers’ district where agents, editors and professional writers might drop by to give feedback.

Hope to 'see' you there!

How many books did I read in 2020?

Yes, once again it's time for my annual round-up! It's pretty much on par with the previous year, although I've got through more e-books this time around. I visited just one library last year (in February), but I borrowed a lot of Libraries West's e-books once lockdown started.

Here are my stats:

Borrowed from library: 1 physical book and 25 e-books.

My books: 16 physical books and 42 e-books.

Beta reads: 1 book.

Total: 17 physical books, 67 e-books and 1 beta read = 85 books. Not bad, eh?

How about you? How many books did you read in 2020?