A glimpse of sunshine... maybe!

A few more of my favorite things and trying to find my way back to writing again.

This year just hasn’t gotten off to the start that I envisaged. Right after New Years I was laid low by what I thought was a virus. Then it turned out that I had (and had probably had for a while) a nasty tooth infection that was probably stressing my body and had let in the virus(es). Finally that malicious molar had to come out.

We’ve now also had three weeks of living with a dog who is fine one day and then so sick that she’s being rushed to the vet the next day - more than once. Add to that I had to get some work finished for a customer, which took far longer than it could have done, and if I’m honest I should have completed back in December.

Oh yes, and then there’s the arctic temperatures confining us to the house and requiring one too many hours shoveling snow off the drive and path to the front door. As I write it’s bloody snowing again… there will be more delightful shoveling later!

Is it really any surprise that my mojo has up and left comes to writing? I don’t think I’ve posted a full length missive since November, or even maybe October. I haven’t written so little in the past couple of years as I have lately.

This post has been sat open on my computer for weeks. I write a few words. Give up. Go do something else. At least this post has survived. There are a bunch of others that I’ve started, gotten half way through writing, and then in a fit of peak deleted in their entirety. Not even saved as a draft.

Back in November Francis F and Cherry Coombe were kind enough to nominate me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Very nice of them both considering I’m definitely not particularly known for writing about sunny topics!

In an attempt to get myself moving again, and taking into account that it’s been a while since I introduced myself, I thought it might be a good time to answer some of the questions that Francis and Cherry posed as part of their nominations. Hopefully it will tell you a little more about me, other than the fact that I survived a major tussle with necrotizing fasciitis, aka some little flesh-eating bacterial bastards, back at the end of 2022 and start of 2023 and came way too close to meeting my maker. Anybody who watched THE PITT last week (season 2 episode 5) will know what I’m talking about.

Much as I’ve tried I haven’t been able to put my hand on Cherry’s note with her questions - sorry Cherry Coombe! But I did find Francis’ post so here goes with her questions.

As I’m now months behind the wave I won’t be nominating others for the award, but I have shared in previous posts some of the people I most admire and enjoy reading here on Substack.

So before I hit delete again let’s get this going:

Q1. If you could have a superpower for one day, what would it be?

I’m not sure if it counts as a superpower, but I would love to be able to time travel. Why? Because I’m fascinated by people - specifically in this case Granny G who was my Dads Mum and died a bit more than 25 years ago.

As a child I was told she had been left on church steps when she was just 2 years old as she was profoundly deaf - we guess as a result of her mother having rubella during her pregnancy. It was a story that fascinated me. But in reality we now know that she was legally removed from her (single) mother by a court when she was around 7 years old. You can just imagine how that went considering it was the early 1900’s.

Both my Dad and my Aunt have tried to trace her origins and family history, but it’s proved difficult. I’d be fascinated to have the opportunity to go back and ‘see’ her childhood, get to the truth of her story, and ask her (and her family) so many questions. And yes, of course I’d love to write all about it.

Q2. Which celebrity would you swap lives with for a week?

I don’t have a yearning to be famous or to be in the spotlight. Though I do love a bit of performing when I’m doing my day job running training workshops.

When it comes down to it I like my own life too much. So I don’t really want to swap it for anyone else’s even for a week.

However, I would love to get my book (Hold My Hand: A Journey Back to Life) out to a wider audience to help other people who have been through some sort of traumatic life event. If I absolutely had to swap lives then it would have to be with someone who had a platform and could help me do that.

I’m open to suggestions - who do you think it should be?

Q3. What book do you wish you could read again for the first time?

Without doubt it has to be Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I adore that book and have so much respect that she took on such a challenging topic.

This time though I wouldn’t read the final chapters on a plane and scare both the airline staff and surrounding passengers (while totally embarrassing myself) by ugly crying all the way from London Heathrow to Copenhagen. Thank goodness it’s only a 90 minute flight!

Q4. If you could have dinner with an author, who would it be?

I could probably pick ten different people, but the one that stuck in my mind when I really thought about this was Dr. Rachel Clarke. Not only is she a phenomenal non-fiction writer, and previously a current affairs journalist, but she is now a doctor specializing in palliative and end of life care.

You may have seen the TV adaptation of her book Breathtaking, based on her own experience caring for people during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Or perhaps you’ve come across her most recent book The Story of Heart: Two Families, One Heart, and a Medical Miracle that tells the very real story of two children. One who ends up sadly becoming a heart donor - Keira - and the second who becomes the recipient - Max.

Their names are synonymous with organ donation as Max and Keira’s Law came into effect in 2020. It had changed organ donation in England into an ‘opt-out’ system such that people have to explicitly record that they do not want to be an organ donor if they die rather than the reverse. I’m happy to say that Denmark have also made the same change.

The book is both fascinating and heart-breaking all in one. Rachel has a gift when it comes to explaining medical information in a way that is easily understood by everyone while keeping the narrative moving so that you can’t resist but to turn to the next page.

What would I ask her at dinner? I would definitely be quizzing her about what she’s planning to write next…

Q5. Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with?

The whole idea of getting stuck in a lift gives me the horrors. I’m not mega claustrophobic but you’ll never find me crawling into small enclosed spaces by choice. Those people that climb deep into cave systems and start crawling through tiny spaces make my heart race and my palms sweat! Put me into the confined space of a MR scanner and my eyes are tight shut and I’m fighting to control my breathing.

So I’m going to cheat and say I’d like to be with a lift engineer who can fix the darn thing and get me out of there!

Q6. Who is your favourite author?

Oh wow - this one changes depending on my mood, where I am, the type of inspiration that I’m looking for, and often what book I’ve just read. It’s impossible for me to pick just one.

I sometimes say that when I read a book it goes in one eye and out the other. That’s commonly the case for many fiction books, but it’s more likely that a non-fiction book will stick in my mind long after I’ve read it.

In non-fiction I love Rachel Clarke as I already mentioned and people like Hanif Kureishi who broke my heart with Shattered, Michael Rosen who made me feel less alone after I got sick with Getting Better, Matt Haig who connected with my soul with Reasons to Stay Alive and Rob Beckett who had me howling with laughter and who inspired me to believe that I too could write a book with A Class Act. And as you’ve all probably gathered by now I’ve read or listened to more memoirs than you can shake a stick at and and far too many to list here.

Some authors like Matt Haig have also crossed onto my list of favorite fiction authors with books like The Midnight Library and The Life Impossible. He and Jojo Moyes, are definitely on my ‘buy every new book as soon as it comes out’ list.

When it comes to fiction I want to be entertained. To escape and get lost in a story. And it absolutely has to be a page-turner. It definitely shouldn’t be too descriptive - “get on with it” I’ll be saying in my head. Books I love will not generally be classed as literary or high brow - no offence intended to any of the authors that I’ve mentioned! I’m not looking to be challenged. Enjoyment is paramount. And I never read what other people would call ‘the classics’.

I love a bit of real life, ideally with some romance thrown in for good measure. To name just a few of the authors I enjoy most - Wendy Wax, Gill Sims, Mary Kay Andrews, David Nicholls, Adriana Trigiani, Santa Montefiore, Fern Britton, Karen White, Jane Fallon, Jodi Picoult, Shari Low, Lucy Dillon, Colleen Hoover, Nick Alexander, Lucy Score, Sophie Kinsella, Nicholas Sparks, Elin Hilderbrand, Lucy Diamond, and Rebecca Yarros. And before you ask - yes - I get through a LOT of books.

And if I’m in the mood then my other genre has to be crime. Also top of my list of all time favorite authors is Michael Connolly - I have read every book as soon as it’s been published over the past 25 years. And I am fascinated by his new ‘Killer in the Code’ podcast about the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders. But also add to the list - John Grisham, Robert Crais, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, and my latest favorite Robert Galbraith - the Strike books are absolutely brilliant and I can’t wait to see the upcoming TV adaptation of The Running Grave.

OK, that answer is now stupidly long so I think I’d better move on and stop prattling.

Q7. If you could steal anything without ever getting caught, what would it be?

It would have to be a bank vault full of gold and diamonds, but of course nothing anyone would miss or that would hurt anyone else by going missing.

(I’m making up for the previous answer by keeping this one extra short!!!)

Q8. If you could escape and live in the world of any book, which one would you choose?

The one that jumped into my mind first was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Probably not an obvious choice. I’ve read all his books. And seen all of the movie adaptations. But this is the only one I’ve read more than once. And that is an especially rare beast for me. I can count on one hand the number of books that I’ve read more than once. Actually, thinking about it, it might be more like one finger!

It’s not particularly the place I want to live in, but more the feeling of warmth, love, and devotion to another person, that he evokes. And yes, I am a total romantic softie at heart.

I also adored the movie adaptation with James Garner. I ‘met’ him (aka he walked close enough to me for me to shove my autograph book at him) at a celebrity golf tournament when I was fifteen - on the 26th September 1982 to be exact, at Moor Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth, Herts (UK).

I still have his autograph in my little yellow Snoopy book, along with the likes of Telly Savales (without the lollipop!), Howard Keel, Neris Hughes, Ronnie Corbett, Greg Norman, Henry Cooper, Bobby Charlton, and Daley Thompson, carefully stored away in my treasured memory box.

I know that many of those names will mean nothing to those who didn’t grow up in the UK in the 1980’s. But it makes me smile to think about a few of you out there who will remember them just like me.

Mum adores James Garner (who is sadly departed now) and who can forget him in the Rockford Files - I can still sing the theme tune! And no, you definitely don’t want to here me do that. If you’d like a bit of nostalgia then you can listen to a much better version via this YouTube link: Rockford Files theme tune.

Q9. Do you have any regrets?

I had to chew a bit on this one. I used to regret a lot. Things used to get stuck in my head and go round and round for weeks, if not months. But I don’t allow that to happen these days. As I found out - life is too bloody short. Now I take on board I could have done better and move on. Well, most of the time - I’m human after all.

I believe that when it comes down to it every decision I’ve made (right or wrong) has led me to who I am and where I am now. And I wouldn’t want to change that for anything. I’m living in lovely (most of the time) Denmark. With a husband that I love to the moon and back. And enjoy a very comfortable life that many people would envy.

So do I have any regrets that haunt me? Most definitely not.

Q10. Do you believe in karma?

Hmmmm … I do and I don’t. On one hand I really want to believe in it - what goes around comes around. That’s the way it should be in my mind.

My all time favorite movie is Serendipity starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Not a well known one by any means. I have yet to find anyone else who has watched it. If you haven’t seen it then you can check out the trailer here on YouTube: Serendipity Trailer and I’m sure you can find the movie itself on one of the streamers.

It wasn’t a big splashy hit back in 2001. I tripped over it on a plane and watched it on one of those awful miniature seat-back screens. And yes I did ugly cry on that plane too! At least it was an overnight transatlantic flight from the US back to the UK so nobody noticed in the dark cabin. Phew!

I guess it shows that in my book I want to believe in karma in the way that things will work themselves out for the best even if it takes a while.

On the other hand I’ve lived in this world too long, seen a lot of things I wish I hadn’t, and worked in both healthy and toxic corporate environments. As a result I’ve seen one too many people get promoted who most definitely didn’t deserve it or put in roles that they were clearly weren’t suitable for. And karma certainly doesn’t seem to have stumped up and bitten them on their proverbial butts. Shame!

So I guess my jaded self has given up on karma in real life. But it likes to dream occasionally when I’m watching a movie.

Q11. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

That’s an easy one - I would tell her to stop over-thinking and say “fuck off to fear”!!! (Sorry Mum I know you hate the ‘f’ word, but I’m 58 so I think at this point I’ll say it if I want!)

I’m well aware that fear has stopped me doing a lot of things. I don’t regret it, but I do recognize that it’s a fact. I’ve often played things safe. Probably too safe. I’ve let fear change my decision. I’ve made the most of my patience and endurance but never really pushed myself. I’ve lived in my safe zone in so many ways. I’ve been very risk averse. And I have often consciously not pushed boundaries - mine or other peoples.

I’m lucky that I’ve ended up in a good place, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I’d been braver much earlier. Imagine all those sliding door moments…

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And that’s all for today folks. I hate to think how many days this post has taken me to write. Far too many. But thanks again to Francis F for the nomination and for the questions that have helped me get back to at least writing something again.

Now I’m hitting publish before the delete button starts calling again!

Have a wonderful day.

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If you liked this post then I’d love it if you would click on the heart and add a comment about what resonated for you – it means a lot to me to hear from each of you.

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In case you missed it, I published my book - Hold My Hand: A Journey Back to Life - here on Substack last year. If you’d like to read it then you can find each chapter by clicking HERE and it will take you directly to the webpage dedicated to the book where you can read or listen.

If you would also be kind enough to share it I would be eternally grateful as it will help more people learn about these deadly infections. Maybe one day that knowledge will save a life.

Thank you!

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Image caption: Ringkøbing Marina (Denmark) at sunrise, 17 August 2025.