I discovered something great today.
I’m an avid reader (yes, all escapist fiction) and I mostly read my novels in digital form on my Sony reader. I used to belong to fictionwise.com,which is a very comprehensive and good value American site, but when it was taken over by Barnes and Noble, suddenly found I couldn’t buy half the books I wanted because I live in the wrong area. Apparently there’s something like the DVD areas thing which means you can only watch videos (or read books) from your own area. Is that daft, or what? Anyway, when I started buying from Fictionwise it was fine, but once B&N had taken it over, most of the books I wanted were denied me. So I quit Fictionwise and started looking in the UK.
Waterstones is really the main UK distributor selling ebooks, but boy, are they expensive! Unlike Fictionwise, you pay almost as much for an ebook as for a hard copy.
I found that in America you can borrow ebooks from your local library, but no such luck over here – until today!
Today I discovered that Norwich library now loans ebooks for free.
How great is that? I’ve downloaded my first three books, which I get for 21 days before they expire. Presumably, if I read them quicker than that, I can borrow some more.
I think this is terrific. I’m in for a very happy Bank Holiday weekend, curled up in an armchair listening to the rain, but deep into escapism on my E-reader.
Nice to go away for a while, but isn’t it good to get home? Funny thing is, while I was working I couldn’t wait to get away and longed for more breaks. Now I’m not working and can go away whenever I want, I’m much less keen on going! Why is that?
Spent yesterday afternoon relaxing in the hammock in the garden in hot sunshine – perhaps that’s why I like home! The older I get, the more I appreciate my own bed and my own chair. Am I sounding really decrepit by now?
On a less decrepit note, I have just finished by second novel ( a sequel to “Heaven Spent”) and emailed the publishers. Hope they want it, otherwise you’ll never know what happens to Polly… and I shall be miserable. Not for long, though – I hope to be starting on the final novel of the trilogy soon. Keep watching – and reading!
Home now from our week’s break, we had a surprising day yesterday. The Brits are passionate about gardening, so we went to Barnsdale Gardens and expected just – well, gardens. Plenty of colour and lovely flowers, but nothing more. Were we surprised! We discovered Barnsdale Gardens were designed and built by Geoff Hamilton, who from there, presented a weekly gardening programme on television for around fifteen years.
They’re amazing. There are something like forty different gardens within the main garden, all separated from each other by box hedges or fences or lovely brick walls. Most of the gardens are quite small, so could be reproduced by anyone. There were cottage gardens, town gardens, scented gardens, tranquillity gardens, water gardens, a Japanese garden, etc. And plenty of strategically placed seats for the weary (which we were, since it was hot and steamy and we walked there!) Round every corner there was a lovely surprise.
A perfect ending to our holiday.
Here are some photos to whet your appetite…
Yesterday we popped into Leicestershire to follow one of the trails around Burrough Hill Fort. It’s an iron age fort so there are no signs of the actual fort now, but it commands a hill top presence with wonderful views of the surrounding countryside and some good walks. We had a picnic lunch there, then drove on to Melton Mowbray, the Midlands town famous for its pork pies.
We found Ye Olde Porke Pie Shoppe, but weren’t tempted, especially as it began to rain. A nearby coffee shop was more to our taste.
Today we played golf at Rutland Water golf club, and were amazed to discover the course is only three years old. It was quite challenging enough for us. We went round in a buggy which is a treat for me but essential for Ed, and although I felt much less tired than usual after playing, I still came back and fell asleep in front of the television.
Tomorrow I’m looking forward to gardens and bird watching, so hope the warmer weather remains and the rain keeps away. At least we’re not affected by the ash cloud from Iceland, down here on the ground. I feel for those hoping to holiday abroad but spending all their time waiting about in airports for the wind to change.
Ed and I are here at Rutland Water for a week.
Rutland is the smallest county in England, situated in the middle of the country and about two and a half hours’ drive from home. It’s quite hilly here in the Midlands, so that will test our walking prowess, since we’re only used to the flatlands of Norfolk, but gorgeous countryside to explore.
We’re staying in a lodge overlooking the lake – the largest man-made lake in England. It’s now a habitat for water birds, so we hope to go bird watching during the week.
We strolled along the shore today, avoiding the sheep and admiring the views, and made our way to Rutland Water golf course, where we’ve booked to play on Tuesday and Thursday, weather permitting (I’m a fine weather golfer. Don’t see much fun in struggling round in cold or wet weather).
Oh, and I’ve had a swim, too. This country club has a large indoor swimming pool with the usual jacuzzi and sauna, so I hope to make the most of it for a week. Today being Sunday, it was fairly inundated with families and children, so I beat a hasty retreat after half an hour or so and will return in the morning.
The prices in the restaurant are astronomical (for us, anyway), so we’re mostly planning to eat in, take picnics out or find tiny country pubs. But at least wifi broadband is free – hence the blog!
Not a bad life, is it?
