I had a trip down to Bristol to be on the lineup for Novel Night’s special Short Story evening – and everything should have gone smoothly EXCEPT that Easyjet’s plane was three hours late. I managed to scramble to the venue, catch the very end of Tania Hershman’s Q&A, and almost fell into the chair to read ‘Coral-Red‘ from On the Edges of Vision. Just a little chance after to talk with people who had come out. What a shame to miss so much of what looked like a wonderful night!
Luckily I had a few days to enjoy the city after that. Though comparable in size to Edinburgh, it’s a different world entirely. South-western climate, so warm and a little balmy, even this late into September. There’s the ravine above, a silty river. There are goats on the cliffs too, but they were all hiding. My friend G, who was putting me up, took me on a long walk through the town, by the pastel houses and the Avon where it runs wide and chocolate-coloured.
This was the last of the planned trips for bookish business for a while. I hope to go to London soonish, though nothing has been arranged yet. Places beyond might be trickier, since I rely on sofas to sleep on, and cheap, decent (or normally decent!) travel connections. I’m glad for the break – it’s hard to be away from D so often, and I relish the time to get back to writing the novel(la) and a new project of flash fictions based on tv and films. And reading. Up here, the Autumn is well under way. A time for spare time, for sitting and reading, looking out at the rain. Perhaps a time to reassess the year, but not quite yet. We’ll see what comes in the next few weeks before that.
Schietree 