House-sitting available this winter on Symi
Before I witter on this morning, I want to let you know that there’s a house-sitting job available on Symi for about three months of this coming winter. The house is in Nimborio. I don’t know exact dates and details but, if you are interested, send me an email and I will send it straight on to the person who is looking for the house sitter. They will then get back to you. Simple!
Feeling a bit jawsy a’day
It was so hot on Sunday night that sleep was difficult. I was up well before the dawn and went out for a stroll in the cooler air. I thought I might take some shots of the harbour at dawn, and I did, but they are not as spectacular as shots of Pedi or the valley. That’s because the sun comes up behind main-road-hill and doesn’t shine onto the harbour until a little later in the morning, and I wasn’t waiting around that long. Back home and to the desk by 6.30 with the fan on me and the laptop to keep us both cool.
The story I am working on now, as I’ve said before, is the follow-up to The Saddling. (Link is over there on the right.) That book is proving to be my most popular so far, even though it’s only been out a few months, so that’s excellent news. To get the most out of ‘The Witching’, the follow-up, you will have had to read the first one. You’ll still be able to enjoy part two if you haven’t, but some things might leave you wondering ‘What was that referring to?’ I’m bashing on with the first draft and am already up to 31,000 words, about a third of the way through. One of the things I use for these stories is a book called ‘A Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect and Provincialisms’, and, as there is a copy on my desk, I thought I’d treat you to some Kentish dialect words at random.
Here’s an inappropriate one. Inappropriate because of the time of year the new book is set (summer) and the fact that we are in a bit of a heatwave over here. Heavenshard [hevnz-haa*d in pronunciation]. You can read that one two ways, but when you know what it means, you can see where it comes from. ‘It rains heavenshard.’
I hope you are not disabil today, like I am. [Dis*ubil] ‘I’m all in a disabil.’ Which actually means, in a state of untidy dress.
There is a fair amount of horse in this book. Horsebuckle (cowslip), Horse emmets (large ants), To horse (to tie the upper branches of the hop-plant to a pole), Horsesnails (tadpoles), and Horse-lock (a padlock).
Some of my favourites include Jawsy (talkative), Dodger (a nightcap), Buffle-headed (stupid) and Crank (merry or cheerful). It’s an endless source of fun for me, this book, but then I’m like that. Hopefully, the new novel will be a source of enjoyment for you. I only need to write at least another 60,000 words so I can then edit and improve, send it through several drafts and have it laid out, designed, covered and published. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed passing this time with me. I ’ope you’re feeling crank a’day and not dicky, and if it does rain heavenshard where you be, that you don’t get squatted when a-walking the poachy lope-way.
By the way, both The Saddling and The Witchling come with a glossary.
