A series of odd firsts
A trip to Verona was a lovely treat
June was weird. The month not the friend. The first, odd first, was a strange email from the US asking me to speak at an annual women’s book event with an audience of over 200. And an appearance fee! I thought it was a scam but they exist. However, there is another Kay Wilson in the world who has survived a terrorist attack and speaks on the global circuit… I wrote back to say you might have the wrong Kay and to date I’ve had no reply.
My suspicions are the event organiser is doing a John Cleese/Basil Fawlty impression somewhere, hunched into a small ball. When she really should be dancing around that the Sunderland woman who did a bit of stand up isn’t going to turn up and talk about having a Greggs and how well the local football team is doing.
Second first was getting thrown off a bus in Florence, my formerly favourite city. My contactless hadn’t worked and I was removed and fined… wait for it… 43 euros, equivalent to £36. The ignominy was made worse by the fact it was the end of a boiling hot day and we had to walk for half an hour back to the flat.
Third first is going to a gig on my own and arriving there without getting lost as per usual. I really enjoyed Our Atlantic Roots, an Americana duo/married couple who had interesting stories to tell and gorgeous music. It was in St John’s Church in Hebburn, South Tyneside and had great atmosphere and acoustics.
Currently watching Glastonbury. I think it’s fantastic to see so many young female musicians as well as the more established bands.
I’ve been doing reviews for Northern Arts Review for a few months now and it gave me one of the most fantastic nights at the theatre earlier this month. Hamilton is touring and currently at the Sunderland Empire. I saw the London West End performance in 2018 and loved it but this cast were even better. If you’d like to know about my thoughts the link is here.
Writing, Reading and Watching
I’m wondering about promoting The Stand-Up Mam to celebrate its first year out there. There has been some lovely moments and a lot of hard work. I don’t regret self-publishing it but the selling thing is tricky to get my head round.
My second book, unofficially called Halloween Lanterns is now my big project as I’ve had line edits back from Stephanie Butland. They are a huge help, going into forensic detail of every word and plot point. It also creates a lot of brain ache so wish me luck.
I’ve just finished The Darkening Globe by Newcastle author Naomi Kelsey and loved the characters and its Elizabethan gothic tone. The writing is great and the twist was not something I saw coming. Very satisfying.
Last year I was lucky enough to visit Clarksdale in Mississippi so decided to watch the much-talked about Sinners film which is set there. Fourth first I’ve never watched a horror film. It wasn’t too bad scary-wise but I didn’t really enjoy it.
I jumped more at a trip today to Seaton Delaval Hall. The original Delaval family had 12 children and were famous for playing tricks on guests. To continue the tradition in one of the bedrooms they had a sudden loud sound of a goose honking as they used to put wildlife in people’s beds. I nearly had a heart attack.
So, I’ve subscribed to Disney + to watch the final season of The Bear. I loved the first two series, now need to watch series three and four. I hope it hits the spot as I can’t wait for the conclusions of the brilliant characters’ journeys.