Take a look if you’re concerned about the state of Blake’s Cottage.

If you are concerned about the state of Blake’s Cottage from what you’ve seen of it from the outside, do please take a look at these pictures taken inside the cottage on Thursday the 1st February 2018, which is over four years ago.

NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THE COTTAGE EITHER BEFORE THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN OR SINCE.

Like you, I wish there were something quick and easy that could be done to start the repair. Like you, I think we should begin by meeting together and spreading the word about the problems that the village is facing as far and wide as we can. It will take an organisation to put this right and the organisation will have to start by making sure that Tim Heath is no longer the chair of the Blake Cottage Trust, which will be very, very difficult.

One item of news that may cheer us all up. For many years now TH has bragged that he ‘owned’ the two rooms in South Molton Street in London where the Blake’s lived. That was untrue. He didn’t ‘own’ anything in South Molton Street, he merely rented two rooms and now the owners of the place have refused to let them to him anymore, so that’s a start.

The Post Office in Felpham has been re-stocked with my Blake Booklet, if you haven’t seen it already do take a look and watch out for the posters that will follow it.

Keep in touch.

United we stand.

Books by the beach

It is now almost exactly a month until this local event, which doesn’t give us a lot of time in which to forewarn our local friends.

‘But the Campbells are coming hoorah, hoorah.’

I feel really must stir my stumps a little and tell you something about it.

So here is the poster made to promote the event, with pictures of the four participants, all very prettily displayed.

Peter Guttridge who writes novels set in Brighton where he lives, is going to chair and facilitate the event, so we are in good hands and there are three local writers who will be there to entertain you.

Juliet West, joint winner of the Kate Betts’ Memorial Prize, a MA from Chichester University and writer of ‘Before the Fall’ which is set in London’s East end and ‘The Faithful’ which is set in Aldwick at the time of Oswald Mosley’s ‘Blackshirts’ and the civil war in Spain.

Graham Minett, who taught in Felpham Comprehensive school at the same time as I did, has four novels that are thrillers about revenge and redemption, published by Bonnier Zaffre and is at the planning stage of book five. Stand back and prepare to be thrilled.

And then there’s me, I’m the third and I have to admit to you that I’m hideously old, but I haven’t started biting yet!

Tickets are FREE and available at Heygates Book shop in Bognor Station and The Regis Centre.

I hope to see you there.

Do you speak cat?

I only ask, because my latest book which will be on sale for FREE today, is written entirely in cat.

The model for it was insistent, that human language did not intrude, because he felt it entirely unnecessary. After all as he points out a cat can make his needs clear as daylight with one passionate miaow, all the human being needs to make is a certain amount of effort. Which compared to the effort that a cat has to make in order to catch and eat a pigeon or a mouse or some such delicacy, is minimal.

I hope that there will be a lot of you out there who will see my cat’s point of view and enjoy the story of his adventures, none of which quite work out in the way he intends.

Dixie wishes you to know that he quite approves of this new entrant into our lives. Not quite up to his splendiferous category, but close!

At the moment he is sleeping off the hunting excursions of last night. But if you wish to ask him any questions he is happy to answer providing you give him plenty of time for consideration.

Cats forever!

Get your FREE copy here.