An avenue of apple trees outside Gilroy Allotments.   Sign encouraging people to freely enjoy future apple harvests!   Gilroy Allotment site, a thriving community project.   Gilroy Nature Park, a few short steps from the allotments.   Click on the pictures to view them larger.      A new avenue of apple trees lines the narrow public footpath which leads from Gilroy Road in West Kirby, Wirral, and passes the Gilroy Road Community Allotments site and the entrance to Gilroy Nature Park.  The young trees are of mixed varieties, supported by stout wooden posts, and have been planted on both sides of the path.   There is a large sign, shaped like apple leaves, which declares:  "Incredible Edible!  When ripe feel free to pick some fruit!"  Another 'leaf' on the sign reads:  "The apple avenue is an invitation to consider where our food comes from and how we can reduce our food miles, encourage locally grown and and support independe

Emily and Poppi inspecting this morning's snow.     It was not my intention to photograph my dog's derriere, however this is the best of this morning's three quick snapshots.  Two seconds later, both dogs had sprinted back inside having already had quite enough of cold paws thank you very much.   I've been busy finishing off several projects, including an NVQ Level 3 in Customer Care which is now 98% complete.  It would have been finished entirely if my tutor hadn't resigned last week, which means I now have to wait for another to be employed by the college.  I'm not best pleased, as I'd like to have the course over and done with, but these things happen.  I've also been doing another job-related course, which is now two-thirds complete.   On the writing front, I'm currently working on a piece destined for Riverside Writers' forthcoming anthology of short stories and poetry set in a fictional apartment block in Liverpool city cen

If you're wondering why the ticket, pictured above, calls last night's event at Bebington Library "Valentine Stories" even though it's nearly a month late, it's because the original booking was delayed, apparently.  The event brought together members of four of Wirral's writing groups:  Riverside Writers , Wirral Writers , 3Ls and Ace of Scribes, (who don't seem to have a website). Once the good-sized audience had settled down with glasses of red or white wine, or orange juice, and a plate offering sliced Swiss roll and little sponge cakes had done the rounds, the readings began - and the next two hours were filled by a diverse and interesting collection of stories and poetry. Fellow members of Riverside Writers, Tim Hulme and Peter Hurd, both read stories.  Tim's also a member of the 3Ls, so he already knew many of the people there.  My contribution to the evening was Sally , a 1,000 word urban fantasy/comtemporary fiction piece which

On Thursday 7th (tomorrow), I'll be amongst a group of writers who'll be reading some of their work to an audience at Bebington Library, Wirral.  Two other members of Riverside Writers, Tim Hulme and Peter Hurd, will also be taking part but I have no further details about who else might be. If I'm not mistaken, the event has been organised by the 3Ls .  I think the event starts at 7.30pm, and I have no idea if there's an entry fee.  My apologies for the rather vague information, but it's all I have!

I filmed this on my Kodak EasyShare C340 camera on a grey and blustery but pleasant day earlier this week.  The place looks different again in summer, and with a different quality of light.  In the summer, when the beach is plastered with sun-worshippers, or when the marina is in use for various watersports, there's another atmosphere altogether.  But I like the place when it's nearly deserted...  Anyway, the video shows one of the locations from Rowan: An Artisan-Sorcerer Story, and it pans round to show Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre Island which feature in several of my stories.  I don't suppose it really matters if a reader can view real-life footage of a place used in fiction but it can be fun all the same.  And besides, I enjoy tinkering with my camera. Meet Alice!  She's the newest addition to my small collection of dolls.  She was made by Pedigree sometime in the 1950's, which means she's classed as vintage rather than as an antique.  Her litt

Stapledon Woods, West Kirby, Wirral  Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Wirral.      It's snowing.  It's winter, so that's not so unusual.  From the media fuss, however, a person might imagine that the wintry weather had come unexpectedly despite this being January, and despite January often being the coldest month of any year here in England.  It's not that cold really - the pond in Gilroy Nature Park isn't even frozen at the edges.   I've made a start on a new cross-stitch, using 24-count black Aida.  It's ages since I've done any cross-stitch!  I got thoroughly fed up with counted cross-stitch as it's tedious constantly having to count the coded squares on the chart then count the holes on the Aida to know where to stitch.  Fiddle to that!  Never again.  This time I wanted to create a cross-stitch peacock, so I bought some Aida off eBay, took a few photos of peacocks from Google Images, then used a loose running stitch in a con

Woodland dolphins?     A section of Ashton Park in West Kirby, Wirral, has been developed as a pocket-sized woodland trail.  The height of the old trees readily lends itself to this theme, even though the smooth expanse of one of the bowling greens lies just beyond the bench in the photo above.  Taking pride of place along the trail are a number of fairly new carved sculptures made from stumps of felled trees.  While I'm not too sure of the dolphins, which in my opinion aren't sufficiently site specific to work well, the other sculptures are lovely.  You will have to click on the images to see them full-sized in order to enjoy their details.   Sculpted owl   A pair of nesting owls   Old Man of the Woods   Dangling from low branches around the trail were an assortment of wind-chimes and paper Xmas decorations - mostly snowmen and tree cut-outs - possibly created by one of the ranger-led activities for children.  I think it's important to enc

As I type this, the sun's shining.  When I took these photos this morning, it was raining steadily.  Still, I wanted to share this steep flight of steps cut into the rock which leads up to Mariner's Point.  The 60ft high sandstone column was put there in 1841 after the windmill which used to stand there blew down during a storm.  Sailors had used this as a point of navigation. If you climb the stairs - there's a bench at the top! - you can follow a rugged footpath into Stapleldon Woods.  The ground is pretty much a quagmire at the moment, and so I opted not to do this despite my two dogs straining at their leashes.  You have to watch your footing in places even when the ground is dry, as it's a tangle of gnarled roots and jutting rocks around slopes and dips.  When the ground is a mushy, sliding stew of deep mud and wet leaves it would be too easy to fall and injure yourself.  (And while this might amuse the Caldy fae, from my Artisan-Sorcerer series, I'd so

Azalea in flower in Stapledon Woods on Caldy Hill I've got into the habit of incorrectly referring to the woodland covering Caldy Hill as Caldy Woods, when it's actually called Stapledon Woods - named after the sci-fi writer William Olaf Stapledon.  I've only just learned this!  I knew he'd been born in Wallasey and lived in Wirral somewhere, but to find that the very woods where my fictional "last prince of the Caldy fae" AKA the Peacock King lives.  (How can he be a prince and a king at the same time?  It's a long story...) I find this bit of synchronicity really exciting.   It was Olaf's books which first introduced me to sci-fi when I was in my very early teens.  I read Odd John, and went on from there.  And here we are, with me placing some of my stories in the very woods named after him! See my photos of Stapledon Woods here .    

A yellow swallow-tailed moth rests on a leaf in our bathroom. The same plant - a variety of Rhipsalidopsis - in flower. One of the things I love about living here on the Wirral is the variety of wildlife.  As I type this, there's a gorgeous yellow swallow-tailed moth sitting on one of the plants upstairs, as seen in the photo above.  The photo doesn't quite catch the moth's colour which is a distinct pale lemon-yellow, whereas the photo has bleached out much of the colour, making it look more of a chalky white.  Its wing span measures 2".  The garden outside attracts a large variety of moths - which is as well, as the bats have to eat something!  It might look romantic to us, as we enjoy an evening cuppa while sitting on the patio (when it's not raining!!), but there are life-and-death battles unfolding overhead.  The moths are trying to eat pollen to live, and the bats are trying to eat moths so they can live.  Such is nature, red in fang and proboscis. Tomorr

The Faerie Pond on Caldy Hill In a recent blog post, Jennifer Rainey  included some photos of the Hocking Hills region in southeast Ohio, where she sets some of her fiction.  As most readers of my blog will already know, my fiction tends to be set locally to me, and one of the locations I use is Caldy Hill.  Why?  Well, it's a beautiful place, it's only a short walk from my home, it's peaceful and ancient, and the air is full of birdsong and the fragrances of heather and broom carried on salty breezes coming off the Dee estuary.  Jays, crows, wood pigeons, turtle doves, goldfinches, bullfinches and owls nest there.  There are rabbits, bats, foxes, lizards, adders and badgers.  There are benches perfect for meditating while gazing along the River Dee, over to Flintshire or out to sea. In my fiction, Caldy Hill is home to the notorious Caldy fae.  If you're expecting sugary-cute, tutu-wearing, small faeries probably clutching a sparkly wand, and who might offer you thr

A rugged path leads to the summit of Caldy Hill. This morning promised a glorious spring day, and so I went for a walk over Caldy Hill.  My two dogs kept me company, of course, as the likelihood of any human member of this household being able to head out for a walk without taking Emily and Ygraine along too is pretty slim.  Not unless you'd want to endure hours of grumpy yapping and sad-eyed sulking, that is.  The light wasn't too good for photography, really - Wales, on the opposite bank of the River Dee,  was totally obscured by haze - but the golden-yellow gorse is looking too lovely for me not to attempt a few shots.  It's a pity readers of this blog can't share the gorse's perfume...  Think of warm honey, with a dash of sharp lemon and you'll have a reasonable idea of the fragrance hanging on every slight breeze.   Most of the trees here are deciduous and it's still too early in the season for leaves, but every branch is covered in buds.  Daffodil

Penny, Felicity and Joyce enjoying the spring sunshine. Last night I discovered a flavour which I hate even more than aniseed, and that is cardamom.  Big pods of the stuff were in the curry which I had been really looking forward to, as I love a good curry.  Then I was attacked by what surely has to rank as being amongst the most vile flavours on earth.  People like this stuff?!!   Wikipedia describes it as having a "strong, unique taste".  I agree.  It's also revolting; spectacularly so, even. Each to our own, of course.  This body of mine has always had a strange relationship with some foods, which seems to run contrary to average reactions.  For example, peppermint tea, which is supposed to settle upset stomachs, actually makes me feel nauseous.  Salad, beloved by millions, gives me excruciating indigestion, as do certain dark green foods.  Echinacea, which is supposed to boost the immune system, gives me splitting headaches.  I could go on, but I'd only bore

The mid-afternoon sun was streaming through newly-revealed branches, keeping the top layer of fallen leaves crisp.  These mounds of leaves are apparently enthralling, at least to my dogs who seem compelled to inspect in detail each undulating heap.   Puddles command similar attention, which means that a walk which should take under an hour actually took closer to one and a half.  But it was a lovely autumn day; there was no reason to rush. The bulrushes have shed their fluffy wigs now.  Ygraine once savaged some poor bloke's prize pampas after it made the mistake of waving in a breeze.  And as much as she loves a good swim, trying to fish a dog out of a deep pond whose banks are slathered with greasy black mud is not my idea of a fun diversion during an otherwise pleasant stroll.  Therefore Ygraine has to be restrained around anything tall and wobbly like bulrushes. As the late afternoon sun cast amber-gold over the tree tops, we headed into the little woodland then out amo

Wirral's annual Bookfest began today, with a chick-lit event at Bromborough Civic Centre with authors Lesley Pearse and Judy Astley.  Tuesday sees Professor Stephen Hawking at Birkenhead Central Library, talking about a replica Viking longship named Draken Harald Fairhair, which will sail to Wirral from Norway next year.  Wednesday brings Sir Andrew Motion, a former Poet Laureate, to Bromborough Civic Centre.  There are two events on Thursday 13th.  Elizabeth Williams, of the Gaskell Society, will give a talk at Bebington Central Library about the role of love in Jane Austen's and Charlotte Bronte's fiction.  The history of Birkenhead will be the subject of a talk by Elizabeth Davey at Upton Library. The event which interests me the most will be held at Wallasey Central Library on Friday, when Gavin Chapell will give a talk about the infamous Wirral privateer called Fortunatas Wright.  Personally, I suspect Wright might just be a pseudonym used by Spanish Jones....  F

Pirates, selkies and witches battle to survive in this dramatic short fantasy tale. When Charlie Porter makes a deal with Spanish Jones, he ensnares the Porter family in a vicious centuries-long feud. Can Charlie's descendent stop the violence? Set on the ruggedly beautiful Hilbre Island in the Dee Estuary, history and folklore blend to create a magically atmospheric tale. Spanish Jones - a new ebook short by Adele Cosgrove-Bray, out October 1st, 2011. Available from:  Here