Fred Hageneder is in love… with trees. This is obvious from the passion emanating from his impeccably researched and illustrated book, The Living Wisdom of Trees (illustrations by  Lizzie Harper) 

Full of stimulating facts, thought-provoking symbolism and intriguing knowledge of the healing power of trees, it is a book that should be absorbed slowly. 

Run your hand over the sepia cover with its beautifully simple illustration of a monkey-puzzle tree. Open it and smell the innocence of childhood, to a time when libraries were magical places of silence and learning, and you will see that each tree — intricately but simply illustrated by Lizzie Harper, a talented natural history and botanical illustrator — is given its place.

From the humble apple tree with its quirky habit of regrowing thorns when left to its own devices, to the majestic willow tree; the bark of which is still used as an anti-inflammatory, then the giant redwood; believed to be capable of living for up to two thousand years, and the humble, thought-provoking yew. 

In the hollow trunk of the yew, a new ‘root’ develops, destined to take over the business of keeping the tree alive. Eventually the old trunk falls away, creating an apparently young tree. This, as you can imagine, makes the age estimation of yew trees very difficult.

In these days of uncertainty, when we are torn between instant profit and the long term future of our planet, take time to be transported on a reflective journey of times past, and allow yourself to be led into a world of hope for the future that is The Living Wisdom of Trees.

HB and Kindle available on Amazon.co.uk

Tapas? Yes, but so much more. La Bodega Restaurant in Chalfont St Peter has a well-established reputation as the place to go for delicious food, a warm, friendly atmosphere and rather special wines. From a casual lunch with friends, to a big celebration, it won’t disappoint. In fact, I’ll use any excuse to feed my addiction for their heavenly Berenjenas Al Horno (baked aubergines with tomatoes and cheese, to you and me).

But what’s the secret of their success? It’s simple. The owner, Juan Gil Rios (photographed with the desserts), has already created several successful Italian restaurants with his business partners in the Bucks/Berkshire area, including La Cantina in Marlow. So unsurprisingly, with his more recent venture he wanted folks to experience his native Spanish food. And how?

The large tapas menu includes specialities from his home region of Galicia, such as Pulpo A La Gallega – exquisite marinated octopus with potatoes, but also numerous meat, fish and vegetarian options from across Spain – some you’ll recognise, some you may not, but each guaranteed to make your mouth water. And don’t expect the tiny portions served at some tapas restaurants – these are all good sized plates – more like the Spanish raciones. All the food is cooked freshly to order, so if you get food envy, you can always order additional dishes.

Señor Gil Rios also understands the need for good wine to complement such delicious food. In fact he personally selects and imports superb wines at very acceptable prices – naturally there is are some fabulous riojas, but whatever your preferred source country, you’ll find some great choices.

The restaurant is in an attractive 17^th Century building, formerly The George Inn, however it’s been transformed internally into a light, spacious and welcoming venue, with a lovely outside area for those lazy summer days.

Most of the staff are Spanish-speaking and are patient and encouraging if you want to practise your holiday Spanish, but if that’s not for you, they all speak perfect English too.

So how to finish? Well with dessert of course. And despite your straining waist-band you’ll struggle to resist the sweet trolley – cheese cakes, chocolate cakes, crème brulée, profiteroles and even the traditional Galician Tarta de Santiago – all freshly made and begging to be eaten.

The restaurant has its own car-park and, in case the wine proves too irresistible, its own aparthotel next door, RiosHouse George-Inn,– book yourself a table, you deserve it.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

What if your future was in the past? Well, read – or listen to Outlander – and discover how complicated it can be.

1946,And Claire Randall goes to the Scottish Highlands with her husband Frank. iI’s a second honeymoon and a chance to re-establish their loving marriage.  One afternoon, however, Claire walks through a circle of standing stones and is transported into 1743 where the first person she meets is a British Army officer – her husband’s 6 times great-grandfather
Unfortunately, blackjack Randall is not the man his descendant is and while trying to escape him, Claire  falls into the hands of a gang of Scottish bad ‘uns and finds herself, as Sassenach an Outlander,  in danger from both Jacobite and red coat.

Marooned and in danger, e her only chance of safety lies in Jamie Fraser a gallant young Scots warrior. Lo and behold,  Claire finds herself torn between 2 very different men – husband or Scots warrior?
Committing the ultimate bookworm betrayal, I watched the TV series before I even approached the audio book, and became engrossed. I was intrigued to see what the series would be like, and I picked up a copy, the first in the series.

I was not disappointed, Gabaldon Is a beautiful storyteller I was immediately hooked. Prior to discovering Outlander, I knew little of Scotland’s history, including the Highland clearances.   Outlander not only brought   history to life, but I found it unputdownable.  There is something for everyone from time travel romance and adventure with some violence thrown into the mix.

With parts of the book being narrated from Claire’s pov we discover more about Claire’s character:  she’s funny amusing intelligent and has a great overview of life even with a potty mouth.

paperback, eBook and Audio available

1.Your latest book Little Friends is due for release next month (February 2020). Tell me a little about it and how it came to be.

Little Friends is a story about friendship and its risks; three very different families come together as the mother of one offers dyslexia teaching for children like hers with this problem. The children make friends and the adults do too; over the course of a long hot summer they share barbecues and dinner parties, a holiday in Greece. An affair starts, resentments smoulder but the three woman become close. They watch each other but forget to watch their kids who begin to play dangerous little games. Without realising it, the adults have let evil creep into their safe little world which begins to turn upside down.

How did it come to be?

It was a response to John Updike the American novelist whose book Couples intrigues me as a teenager; adulterous couples in a small American town got together using their children as an excuse; the reader quickly lost sight of those children who were banished to the further reaches of the garden while the adults played their games. We never found out what those children got up to or even their names, but I felt in my bones they were up to no good as unsupervised children so often are. Another noval William Goldings Lord of the Flies influenced me, it seemed to me to be a honest portrayal of childhood for the dangerous jungle it often is, where survival of the fittest determines who will win.

2. How do you go about developing the settings for “little friends”

We bought up three of our children in West Dulwich, a long time ago now. It was near the pretty and privileged little village of Dulwich but like so many areas of London, it you turn a corner you can find yourself somewhere completely different; tremendous wealth can co-exist with its opposite. In a place where different groups live close by, the potential for ne friendships as well as conflict can arise

I travelled to the Mani in Greece to research another story; the Mani in southern Peloponnese is an unspoilt area of rugged beauty; we stayed in an old tower house which was surrounded by olive trees and I realised this would provide another place to take my characters and see how they behaved. I also think it’s refreshing for the reader to be taken somewhere else different from the default setting – a bit like going on holiday. It is also true that beautiful places as settings for terrible things can work well.

3. In little Friends who are the main characters and what makes them tick?

The three couples and the six children they have between them

Eve is a woman born to wealth, an earth mother in an enormous house, careless and generous by nature. she studies how to teach children with dyslexia in order to help her own daughter, and advertises for pupils on Facebook. Her husband is Eric who was her father gardener. Melissa a workaholic interior designer is married to Paul; an architect they have a dyslexic daughter; this little family is highly complex. Finally Grace, a Zimbabwean immigrant and her husband Martin, a once famous writer, have two children between them, they struggle with poverty and live in a high rise flat in the outskirts of the village.

4.Out of all your books, which character was the most difficult to create and why?

The heroine of my third novel How Far We Fall, she is called Beth. The novel was a modern Macbeth tale, built around the lives of competitive neurosurgeons, at the cutting edge of their craft. Beth is the lady Macbeth character; in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is driven by ambition for her husband to encourage him to commit murder; I felt a modern woman would be compelled by her own agenda. Crafting a believable modern story as well as a complex character with whom the reader could identify was challenging but also rewarding

5 Who are your favourite authors to read

So many,here are a few in no particular order;

Ann Patchett.

Annie Tyler

Colm Toibin

Hilary Mantel

Marianne Robinson.

Elisabeth Strout.

Andrew Miler

Margaret Atwood.

Jane Smiley

Coetzee.

Deborah Levy

Sally Rooney

Tessa Hadley

7.What is your writing process like?

I write from home which is peaceful now the children have left; a first draft takes six months at least, working anything from 4 to 6 hours a day; once edits come back and deadlines are set’ then I can be working from 12 to 18 hours a day, re -writing and editing.

I work on a large table using my laptop though the first stages when I’m trying out ideas and possible story threads I tend to use pen and paper and often make diagrams and graphs until I have the shape of my story.

8. You have five children; how do you balance your family life with your writing?

My children are grown up now and have all left home. Having said that if they come home or discussions are needed then they always come first. I don’t think I could have written when they were little; I was working as a GP then and when I came home I left that identity and any problems behind. It’s not so easy to do when you are writing, the story stays in your head all the time; I also need stretches of unbroken time as the story takes its final shape.

9. What is the worst writing advice anyone has ever given you?

No one has given bad advice; you take what you need; advice that isn’t for me may be right for another writer but I’m glad no one told me the truth, quite what hard work it is and how much resilience you need!

10.What your writing kryptonite?

If you mean what makes the writing work well, it’s positive feedback. In this industry you get a lot of edits, many of them about things that need to be changed which of course is essential; what really powers you on though is knowing what you have done right, something is working well. When readers get back to me with their thoughts it’s like gold dust. Sometimes my words have made a difference to their lives and there is nothing better than that.

11.If you could tell your younger self anything what would it be?

You have made the right decision, train as a doctor if you want to, you’ll come back to you first love in the end.

12. What would you choose as your spirit animal

An elephant: I love the sense of the matriarch at the head of the tribe; wisdom and patience and strength are good watchwords for a writer.

13. If you could invite anyone living or dead to a dinner party who would you invite and why

Shakespeare: ask him how he did it.

Freya Stark the explorer- where did her courage and determination come from? What things did she learn?

My mother who died a while ago now, so much to tell her, so much to ask.

Available from Amazon.co.uk 

Jane Shemilt Little Friends