Books For Christmas.

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Catherine Balavage

Endless Skies from Jane Cable is such a brilliant novel. I have read every single one of Jane’s books and she never disappoints.

The perfect Christmas novel from veteran saga writer Annie Clarke. Annie is in the top league of historical fiction writers.

A brilliant and humorous book.

A great puzzle book for medical professionals and the rest of us. Will spark both fun and debate.

A brilliant book that I will be using to improve my drawing. Really good and it works.

This is a great gift for cat people. Lots of fun.

Perfect for the literary person in your life. Which would be me, except I already have a copy. Beautifully illustrated and full of wanderlust.

Perfect for anyone expecting a baby. This follows baby for the first three years of life. It is full of prompts and ideas that you would never think of otherwise. A truly wonderful gift.
This book is a great idea. Perfect for geeks (like me) and nature lovers. Humorous and fun. There is a fair amount of wit in this superb book. Perfect for budding artists. This book has fantastic illustrations and gives excellent step-by-step instruction on how to draw (almost) everything. Highly recommended.

I am obsessed with the Flexible Family Cookbook from Jo Pratt. It has so many delicious recipes (75 to be exact), along with 200 variations for allergies, intolerances and dietary choices. My copy already has a few dog-eared pages. Just brilliant.

Books are available from waterstones.com, amazon.co.uk, https://dauntbooks.co.uk and independent book stores.

Christmas on the Home Front by Annie Clarke – Review

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Tracy Baines

October 1942: As Christmas approaches, the evacuees decide a pantomime is just what the village of Massingham needs.

Viola loves her new job away from the factory, and hopes that her romance with the handsome Ralph might have a happy ending. Meanwhile, married life is proving tough for Fran and Davey as they are forced apart by war work and an unexpected arrival on her doorstep turns her world upside down.

Following her husband’s shock confession, Beth finally feels as though she’s regaining control of her life, that is until he turns up . . .

A lot can happen on the home front, but Christmas is a time for family and friends, and the factory girls will do everything they can to ensure this year’s celebration is one to remember.

Do you need a big hug?

Well, Christmas on the Home Front will wrap its arms about you and make you feel loved and cosy as you turn the pages.

I feel like I’ve been waiting rather impatiently for the latest in the Home Front saga – and it was only July – but it’s been a loooong year. I have wondered what Frances, Sarah and Beth have been up to since we last met – that time it was Wedding Bells and this time it is most definitely about the children – because Christmas is about the children, isn’t it? But it’s about a whole lot of other things too. Especially in Massingham.

Our lovely girls are still working at the munitions factory and their mams are still making proggy rugs to sell to Briddlestones for extra cash. The evacuees are settled at Massingham Hall and the community does what it can to help – and oh, lord, little Eva, what a character, she made me laugh so much. There’s the hustle and bustle of everyday life and a panto to prepare for. And this is no ordinary pantomime I can tell you!

All life is here, in Christmas on the Home Front, it teems from the pages, and the love, hope and dreams of the tight community of Massingham shines from every line. The times are tough, the people more so and they all pull together to help each other. As always, with any Annie Clarke book there is warmth and compassion in bucketloads.

All of the Home Front books can be read without having read any of the other titles but why deprive yourself. You’ll miss out on so much. I was worrying about poor Ralph the whole way through. Would he be able to redeem himself, would his secret past be revealed. To find out this and so many other things get yourself a copy, a cuppa and a big fat slice of cake and snuggle up to discover for yourself.

I sat up until the wee hours reading and had to stop myself at 2am to save the last chapters for the following evening. I wanted to savour the richness of the ending and I was not disappointed. I closed the book feeling warm and satisfied, and with the feeling that there are good people in the world, you can find them everywhere. I know these are fictional characters but they reminded me of so many people I know and have known – and that’s the magic spell Annie Clarke casts.

I feel I could catch a train when all this is over and find my way along the streets of Massingham. I’d stay there a while, walk to the beck where so many happy memories were made, along to Massingham Hall which would surely be a five star hotel by now. Perhaps the landscape would have changed but the people would still have the strength and heartiness of the characters in this book. Don’t miss out on a hug!

Christmas on the Home Front

Published by Arrow £6.99

About Annie Clarke

Annie Clarke’s roots are dug deep into the North East. She draws inspiration from her mother, who was born in a County Durham pit village during the First World War, and went on to became a military nurse during World War Two. Annie and her husband now live a stone’s throw from the pit village where her mother was born. She has written frequently about the North East in novels which she hopes reflect her love and respect for the region’s lost mining communities. Annie has four adult children and four granddaughters, who fill her and her husband’s days with laughter, endlessly leading these two elders astray.

The books that have changed me by Margaret Graham (aka Milly Adams and Annie Clarke)

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Catherine Balavage

The books that changed me, or should I say perhaps, developed my understanding… Heavens, so many, but let me take a stab at it.

As a child I read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett in which an obnoxious orphan Mary Lennox arrives to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire. Archibald Craven locked the door leading to his wife’s beloved garden on her death. He also secreted his son, with crooked legs and back , in his own quarters for his own safety, and went about his business elsewhere, leaving the kindly servants to care for this disparate household.

The children find the secret garden, and slowly as they work within it, and as the seasons roll on, the healing of both begins. This book introduced me to a love of gardening, to the relentless rhythm of the seasons which has given me solace and a sense of something ‘bigger’. It grounds me.

Then as a teenager I read I Never Promised you a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg. This is the story of a schizophrenic young woman, who spends some years receiving therapy ina residential centre. As the young woman recovers she is devastated to realise that the world is not perfect, that happiness is not a given. That there are ups and downs, and one must find a ‘centre’. But as the psychiatrist says: I helped you heal, but I never promised a rose garden, I promised you a life.

I found this profound, and it stabilized the angst of a teenager, and was a great guide as an adult.

As an adult I was struggling to write my first novel – to navigate my way through the muddle of my thoughts, . I read Cinderella to my children one evening, and realised that it is the clearest example of the common structural form. It enabled me to write my first novel, and create almost 30 other books. It also allowed me to teach aspiring authors, perhaps the most rewarding part of my writing life, apart from editing Frost Magazine.

Basically, there is one protagonist, Cinderella, she has helpers ( mentors) and enemies (antagonists). Cinderella is on a journey, which is the plot, in order to resolved the theme, which for me was her quest to find love. Fourth must be Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe novels. Erudite, immaculately structured with characters in complete balance, and scattered with laugh-aloud humour. They freed something in me, and made me brave enough to be myself, and allow the humour I inherited from my parents free rein.

Fourth are the Reginald Hill Dalziel and Pascoe novels, beautifully structured and written, with a superb balance of characters. Erudite, fascinating, and laugh-aloud funny. They gave me the courage to allow myself to use my own sense of humour, inherited from Mum and Dad.

Fifth and perhaps most importantly From Both Ends of the Stethoscope by award winning author Dr Kathleen Thompson

Dr Thompson is ‘the doctor who knows’ what it is to face the chilling cancer diagnosis, and then find your way through the maze of information and treatment. The book is set out in an extraordinarily accessible way for the patient, and also for those like me who have friends with this illness, it gives me a way of helping, of listening, of supporting. It is life enhancing, and invaluable.

If I can sneak in a sixth, The Variety Girls series by Tracy Baines made me realise I should have been on the stage, not stuck in a study writing. You see, I could have ‘hoofed’ with the best of them, and hugged the spotlight, and showed off, and my mum would have been shocked, then proud, as I received a standing ovation – just me, not the rest of the chorus, of course. Ah, well, I can dream.

In the Corridor of a College Lodgings. A Poem By Annie Clarke | Uplifting Stories

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Frostie

Who’s this?’ the lecturer asked my daughter.
She said, all bare midriff with tattoo peeping,
‘Only Mum. She’s carrying my plants,
helping to move me in.’
‘Hello, Mum,’ he said, not looking just brushing
the leaves as he passed.
It was a plant my daughter felt would make her room
look familiar, lived in. ‘Like you,’ she’d joked.
At her doorway I placed it in her arms,
but it was his bustling back I watched.
He turned this way and that
distributing greetings to other beasts of burden.
Not waiting for their replies, either.
I called, too loud perhaps. ‘My name is Margaret.
I usually wear stiletto shoes, and pink jackets,
when not camouflaged as a removal man.
I cycled off road across harsh terrain for charity. If you’d looked
You’d have seen highlights in my hair.
I belly dance and have a name.
My name, again, is Margaret.

‘Way to go, Mum,’ my daughter whooped
Up and down the corridor’s length and breadth
Plants and CD players were handed over.
Students were kissed with love. And left.
‘Yes, we have names,’ we all said.
As thoughts of achievements big and small
lent wings to trainers. ‘And places to go. And
lives to live.
Fashion statements to make, and parameters to break.

‘Goodbye, lecturer,’ we smiled, as we passed by.

Heroes On The Home Front By Annie Clarke Book Review

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Catherine Balavage

Heroes On The Home Front By Annie Clarke.

I love Annie Clarke. Not many people can do what she does. She writes with real heart and soul, transporting you straight into 1941. She writes of a time that should never be forgotten and brings her characters to life so beautifully. Heroes on The Home Front is the second in the series by this stunning writer. This is the perfect book for Autumn, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, put your feet up and enjoy the next few hours. I hope this series makes its way onto TV. It would make the perfect Sunday television show.

Yes, Annie Clarke does write for Frost, but she is a master at her craft. her novels are researched within an inch of their lives and have real heart and soul. Just perfect. I cannot wait for the next instalment.

December 1941, North East England: It takes courage to risk your life every day.

Despite the recent loss of her father, Sarah is settling well into her new role at the munitions factory. Her blossoming romance with pitman Stan is a welcome distraction from the dangerous working conditions. But a shocking revelation is about to put everything on the line.

Meanwhile Fran is desperately missing her sweetheart Davey, who has been conscripted to work at Bletchley Park. Beth is longing for someone too – and it’s not her husband on the front line…

As the factory girls face hardship on the home front, they will discover that the heroes they need are already by their side.

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