The Grantchester Mysteries by James Runcie Review By Margaret Graham

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Margaret Graham

I feel a bit of a fraud saying that this is a review. It is really a ‘I could kiss your feet, James Runcie, I enjoy these so much.’ And I’m not really a devotee of feet.

Honestly, for a lilting evocation of a gentler time, the early 1960s,this is the series for you. Though there are murders, but somehow they’re rather charming too.

I stumbled across Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by accident, but from the first page, I loved it. It’s not just because I can picture James Norton in his television role of Sidney, or Robson Green as Inspector Keating, but it is the life it evokes, the mysteries, the profound insights into Sidney’s world as a man of God, at times a slightly doubting one (?). They are uproarously funny, or so I have found The Problem of Evil, but also moving. His love for his wife is touching, his confusion as a male living with a female, hilarious.

I find myself pondering them, wondering if the books are actually about friendship: he and Keating, he and his wife. Then there’s his feelings of compassion, at times sorely tried, his confusion at the behaviour of people,his beloved dog who dies… Arghh.

Do try them, enjoy them. They will remind you of good things, good people, and you will continue to picture Sidney and Keating playing their weekly backgammon, and sorting out the problems of the Cambridge area. I am reading them out of order, I’m sure, but it doesn’t matter. I still guess at who dun it, and each stands on its own. I think I prefer the series to coffee creams, and that’s saying something.

I now have The Perils of the Night, and The Forgiveness of Sins to read. I do hope there is another on the way, or I might sulk. It has been known.

James Runcie is the son of former Archbishop Runcie. He is novelist, documentary film-maker, television producer and playwright. He is Commissioning Editor for Arts on BBC Radio 4, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and visiting professor at Bath Spa University. (where my daughter went to university and loved every minute)

The Grantchester Mysteries published by Bloomsbury. Read them, I insist.

Pink Ribbon’s 3rd breast cancer forum

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Pink Ribbon’s 3rd breast cancer forum will be held on:
16-17 September 2016; in association with the Royal Society of Medicine. Venue: 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE.

Friday 16^thSeptember 9 – 5, with time for networking afterwards. The speakers will concentrate on cancer in the young, the pregnant and with family history. These sessions are primarily for GPs, breast specialists in oncology, pharmacology, surgery, plastic surgery, brow bone, radiology, screening, nursing and general health planning

Saturday 17^th September 10 – 4 is designed for patient and patient support groups. Frost’s medical correspondent, doctor and patient, Kathleen Thompson is amongst the speakers and will be talking at 11.15 on Reactions to diagnosis: getting the treatment you want. Kathleen’s award winning and hugely successful book From Both Ends of the Stethoscope, charts not just her own, often hilarious, journey through diagnosis to treatment, but also how to get the right treatment.

The force of nature behind Pink Ribbon is Gerard Dugdill who read medicine initially and then philosophy at Cambridge. He moved on to study journalism at Cardiff and worked as a journalist and publisher for a number of years. He owns two magazines, Credit Today and Pink Ribbon, and is one of those people who rolls up his sleeves and sets off in pursuit of his dream: in this case, to help eliminate breast cancer.

A very few tickets are still available – from: gd@pinkribbon.co.uk

www.pinkribbon.co.uk

The Cockney Sparrow By Dilly Court Review by Jan Speedie

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Margaret Graham

An enthralling and gritty saga which highlights the poverty and deprivation seen in London at the turn-of-the-century.

Clemency Skinner is gifted with a beautiful voice which will help her leave behind the appalling life she leads with her mother and crippled brother. Abandoned by her father the family exist in a damp hovel in Stew Street paid for by working on the streets. Each day Todd Hardiman, an evil, unscrupulous pimp, threatens their daily existence. Escape to a better life comes for Clemency when she joins Augustus Throop and his troupe of street buskers and through her singing is asked to join the cast at the Strand Theatre – stardom beckons. Life is looking up for Clemency and her family but then Jared Stone enters her life and everything changes but maybe not for the better…

Dilly Court is a well published author of 20 titles – her research into the setting of the story and the depth of her characters makes this an interesting and enjoyable read.

Dilly Court began her career writing commercial scripts for television. She grew up in North East London but now lives in Dorset with her husband and Archie, a large yellow Labrador. She has two grown up children and three grandchildren.

Published by Arrow on 8^th September 2016, £5.99

Young Voices

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Frost is delighted that Megan Cannell has agreed to be the editor of Young Voices. Megan is fifteen. She aspires to be a Forensic Scientist and loves reading and writing. After a holiday sailing off Greece, she has added that sport to her list of likes. Megan lives near London and hopes that more young writers will add their voices to Frost magazine’s new column. Just send to Frost@margaret-graham.com

For our first contribution we are excited to have Rowan’s story of his Chinnor six-a-side team’s success.

Perhaps this sport should make the Olympics? By Rowan Evans aged 12

Our manager thought it would be a good idea to put me in the top team for our annual Chinnor six-a-side football tournament. But was it?

We’d already played in the Risborough Tournament, and hadn’t been successful. In fact neither of the Chinnor teams made it past the group stages. What made it doubly disappointing was that we had won the Risborough Tournament for the past three years. All right, the weather hadn’t been good for training, but it had been much the same for everyone. So would we do any better this time?

As the six-a-side tournament was only a week away it was going to be tricky. The manager chose his team, and the coaches chose theirs. We had time for just one more training session. The day arrived. It was raining but by now we were used to it. We had to play four matches as there were five teams in our group. We won two, drew one, lost one, which brought us to second place.

We were so pleased as we were through to the quarter-finals. Now we had to play the group leaders from another group. The score at the end of the game was… 2-0 to us! We were in the semi-finals.

Our manager gave us a team talk, and told us to keep on doing what we were doing – so we did.

We played a Risborough side – and it was the side we could never beat. Believe it or not, Chinnor Six a Side Team were into the final. Another team talk, the same advice as last time – keep doing what you’re doing. So yet again – we did.

We played Chalfont. The weather was cloudy and a bit cold. The game was nerve wracking. We scored first but they equalised one minute before the final whistle. Arghhh. It was a draw, which meant we had to go into extra time. Extra time didn’t alter the score, so it would go down to penalties. But not before I was subbed off in favour of a good penalty taker with a rocket of a left foot.

But would this late substitution be enough?

Chalfont scored their first penalty, but we equalised. Chalfont took again… but our goalkeeper made a great fingertip save. If we scored with out next penalty kick we would win the tournament… Goal. Yes, yes. We’d done it.

The trophy was ours. We were soaked, muddy but the winners of the Chinnor Six-a-Side tournament 2016. We were sprayed with champagne as we celebrated – what could be better.

National Trust ‘opens’ the Danish, Portuguese and French London embassies to celebrate Heritage Open Days

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Friday 9th– Saturday 10th September 2016

Yesterday Frost Magazine’s Margaret Graham and Dr Kathleen Thompson had a treat– a look behind the scenes of the Portuguese Embassy in London, as part of the National Trust’s Europe & Us programme. I must declare a particular interest: my uncle and aunt, and their numerous children lived in Lisbon for much of their lives, (something to do with the trams) and some are still there. They love it, even those over here.

The Portuguese Ambassador’s home is situated in Belgrave Square, an area that was bomb damaged in the war. No 12 was no exception, but walking around, as you can all do tomorrow and Saturday, you would never guess. Entering through imposing double doors we were faced with an airy hall into which led graceful marble staircase and a ceiling imported from a church – just like that, as Tommy Cooper would have said. It was impressive, but not too large or ostentatious. What was particularly marked was the silence. Behind these doors the bustle of London was just a memory.

Margaret Graham in the Catherine Room
We were able to look around the Catherine of Braganza room. Catherine was married to Charles II; it is often said that their marriage would lead to Britain becoming the largest empire in history because, as part of Catherine’s dowry, Charles was given the seven islands in Bombay, which he would later rent to the East India Company.Even more importantly, dare I say, Catherine liked her cup of tea, and soon, so did the British. So when any of us next sit down to tea and buns, let’s give a heartfelt vote of thanks to Catherine .

There was to be no toddling up the wooden hill as they say in children’s books, but instead we swanned up the marble staircase, the walls of which were hung tapestries. How on earth were these physically worked? I mean, how did they get to the middle? Something to ask on your own tour.

In all the rooms interesting art hung, and my own love, ancient globes, were in evidence: I love to see how the world has changed.
The tour opened my eyes to the inner sanctums of diplomacy, just as the blurb said it would. The strictly limited openings, as part of Heritage Open days, will indeed allow you insights into how these important government buildings are used to allow envoys to entertain while promoting their countries’ interests to the ‘Court of St James’. Visitors will get to explore these fascinating buildings on guided tours and view the furniture and decorative art that reflects each nation.

National Trust Creative Director Ivo Dawnay comments, In this year when our relationship with Europe has been front and centre of our thoughts, the National Trust is running a programme, dubbed ‘Europe & Us’, that seeks to gain insights into our long relationship with the continent.

Hurry. Make sure you visit one of these Embassies. It really is fascinating. To be honest, I could live in the Portuguese Embassy: it managed to be a home, as well as a showpiece. Sadly, this is unlikely but so glad I managed to get behind the double doors.
For security reasons applicants will be asked to apply with their full names, addresses and contact details and will be admitted only with photo ID.

Tickets are available by application at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/embassy-openings.

The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe Review by Margaret Graham

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Does anyone out there enjoy the plethora of Scandinavian noir on the television? Or is enjoy the wrong word? After all, noir is not an idle threat. If you do, or even if you don’t, you should try this novel.

Grebe has been compared with Jo Nesbo – you know the thing ‘if you like Jo Nesbo you’ll love this’. Well, I think that Swedish Camilla Grebe stands alone.

With The Ice Beneath Her, we have a craftswoman at work. Camilla Grebe’s clarity of language reminds me of my friend Nikki Gemmell’s writing, who reworks, and reworks to present a vivid empathy that is almost too inclusive, because all that happens to her characters, happens to the reader. I use her regularly as an example of an author for those aspiring to write. I think I will now add Grebe.

Now, I’m not comparing Grebe with Nikki but I am saying that I felt her writing to be as finely tuned as Nikki’s. Perhaps while waxing lyrical I should include Elizabeth Clark Wessel, who translated the novel from Swedish to English, and in so doing, faithfully stayed as close as anyone could, to the author’s vision.

So, what is this vision? What is this novel about, the one that is already making waves with film rights sold to Warner Brothers’ New Line Cinema, and international rights that have already sold in 20 territories?

A thriller, or perhaps crime novel, that introduces us to Emma, a mousey sales assistant who is swept off her feet by a charismatic CEO and whose life is opened up to love. But life ceases to be peachy after her lover runs off (perhaps). It is then that the mouse transforms into a welter of furies. A murder is then lobbed into the mix, the detectives use a brilliant criminal profiler who is in the early stages of dementia. Soon Emma, the transformed mouse and the detectives are on the heels of the mystery man and it is clear their paths will cross.

I know, I know, I’m not making this easy to follow, but it isn’t. It’s complex, and as you read it, it is hard to even guess at what’s going on under the surface. This isn’t a weakness, it’s just a puzzle, and the power of the writing. plotting and general structure is such that you more than stick with it, sure the writer is leading you somewhere. It was disturbing, and exercises the grey matter, but was unputdownable. I didn’t read it before I needed to go to sleep. BEcause I would be tossing, turning, and fretting.

A must read book about obsession, betrayal and of course, love. Highly recommended.

Published on 8th September by Zaffre at £12.99 E-book available.

Next week, Camilla Grebe will be telling us of A Day in her Life. Make a date to be with us.

Best Foot Forward: Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Jane Cable

BEST ENDEAVOURS

Jane Cable’s blog about what happens once that digital publishing deal is in the bag continues.

BEST FOOT FORWARD

Editing involves a great deal of sitting down. Far more than my slightly dodgy back can manage at the moment anyway. So after being glued to my office chair for a few hours I balanced my laptop on a box file on the ironing board and tried that (standing at your desk being all the rage). It helped, but not a great deal as I found it slightly awkward to type.

What does work is going for a walk in the middle of the day and I am hugely blessed to live in a small village tucked under the South Downs so peace and quiet and country air are only ever a few steps outside my front door. And while tramping around the lanes is freeing up my back muscles it does exactly the same for my mind.

Agent Felicity has cleverly crafted my elevator pitch as a writer as “love with a ghostly element in a beautiful setting” and I’ll go with that. Completely. And beautiful settings inevitably require walking.

The Seahorse Summer is set in Studland Bay in Dorset and opens on the sixtieth anniversary of a rehearsal for D-Day which went horribly wrong. I visited the village exactly ten years later and on my walk up to the cliffs made special note of the wonderful countryside around me; the daffodils dying back on the banks, slowly being replaced by primroses; the tractor rumbling across the fields; tiny birds swarming the hawthorn hedges; enticing glimpses of the sea below. Minute observation helps me to create a credible world for my characters to inhabit.

Every day, as I walk, I do the same thing. It’s a great discipline for a writer. I always say that to write good dialogue you need to remember you have two ears and one mouth. To write great descriptions you need all five senses.

Yesterday the earliest touches of autumn were making themselves felt. Cow parsley dying back to reveal blackberries – some fruits ripe and squashy between my fingers, others in tight green fists. The tiniest hint of chill on the breeze which carried the pheasants’ calls and the wood smoke from a distant bonfire across the valley. The strict definition of meteorological autumn starting on 1^st September becoming a reality before my eyes.

Time is, indeed, marching on. But I have finished the character edits for all but Marie and next I need to review each paragraph, making sure it is essential to the story. The book has changed so much since its first iteration I need to remove the distracting loose ends – and in the process make sure that every scene is adding something for the reader.

Jane Cable is the author of two independently published romantic suspense novels, The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree, and a sporadic contributor to Frost. The Seahorse Summer tells the tale of how two American soldiers born sixty years apart help forty-something Marie Johnson to rebuild her shattered confidence and find new love. Discover more at www.janecable.com.

MumsThread On The Motherhood Penalty: Can Only Men Have it All?

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Catherine Balavage

There has been a lot in the media about the Motherhood Penalty so I felt I had to give my opinion on it. The truth is, it exists. As for the next question in the title: can only men have it all? Mostly. Yes, I know. It isn’t fair and it certainly is sexist, but having a child affects a women’s career much more than a man’s. Now there are exceptions to the rule, and the number of stay-at-home dads is growing, but childcare is still widely seen as a women’s issue. And that’s wrong. Women get the motherhood penalty but men get the daddy bonus.

It is not that women can’t have it all. You can, but it’s really hard. Mostly it is just that they can’t have it all at the same time. Parenthood requires sacrifice. The sacrifice comes from both genders, but weighs heavier on the female. Since my husband and I had our son his career has gone from strength-to-strength, he gets to go out occasionally and even gets invited to award ceremonies because he has a permanent unpaid babysitter at home. In contrast, my life now resembles almost nothing of its predecessor because I don’t. I have given up numerous opportunities because I could not juggle them with my child. Somedays I get no work done at all. Other days I just stare at my son while he plays thinking about how the hell I can be a good mother to him, run a business and be an author and freelance writer. Because, and it pains me to say this, sometimes I can’t. Something has got to give, and usually it is my hobbies, social life, and career. My husband still has the bones of his old life. Only his evenings and weekends are different, my old life on the other hand was obliterated. My son is worth it of course, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes miss the person I used to be and the life I used to have. I wrote about this subject before I had my son and while I still think women can do whatever they want with their lives, it is harder for them.

I could put my child into a nursery of course. But let’s not kid ourselves, that is not having it all either. There is nothing wrong with it. I have female friends who ended their maternity leave early because they said they could not take being at home with a baby all day. Being at home with a baby all day is hard and I don’t judge. Good for her, not for me. There is also the cost of childcare, which is extortionate. The nursery next to us cost £93 a day. A DAY! Who can afford that?

I read in the Metro that 2 out of every 3 women with pre-school children are locked out of work. I was fired twice when I was pregnant, and many other promises amounted to nothing when my pregnancy became public knowledge. It upset me then and it upsets me now. There are generations of women who had so much to offer the world, but maternity discrimination put paid to that. It is no surprise that the “mumpreneur” industry is so huge. And you only have to look at what mumpreneurs are doing to know that there are not the ones missing out, the people who forced them out of work are. I recently saw the amazing Diane Keaton film Baby Boom. It was made in 1987 but is just as relevant today. It is on netflix.com so do watch it. In the beginning Diane Keaton’s boss tells her that only men get to have it all, but in the end she starts her own business and becomes a mother. She really does get to have it all.

I know many of friends who aren’t even thinking of having children but are married and “of an age” so are discriminated against. I think maternity leave should apply to both sexes. Then women cannot be the only ones discriminated against. It is a thought. I might not work, but something has to be done. Whether by women who start their own business, by making sure that men are not discriminated against for wanting to stay at home, or by a change in the law, we need to keep doing whatever we can. Not just for ourselves, but for our daughters and sons too.