When I was a child, if you asked me what was important, I probably would have said: friends, books, pets. With cake as a close runner-up in fourth place...
Liz as a young child holding the kitten George, a striped ginger tabby…
To be fair, I wasn’t hard done by on any of these topic: I visited Hebden Bridge library most weeks and lugged home the maximum number of books. And we had pets, mostly cats, and then, when I was eight and had just recovered from being seriously ill, I finally got the dog of my dreams. And I had some brilliant friends, one of whom is now my sister-in-law!
So it does make me laugh to admit, now I’m quite grown-up, not much has changed at all. My purpose is still to fill my life with books and animals and friends and, yes, cake. I have had some wonderful cats and dogs and hens in my life, all with very distinct personalities. And when that wasn’t enough, I spent some time fostering kittens, so we could get to know even more beautiful animals.
Our border collie puppy with a funny listening-out ear…
Maybe this is my purpose with my writing too. I would be so happy if I could pass on to my readers my own childhood love of reading. I used to read so greedily, always hungry for more and more stories. I used to read and read and get completely lost in the story world, so I wouldn’t hear my name being called for tea - or even cake! I hope that I can fill my stories with characters you want to be friends with, and to celebrate the power of friendship. And I would love to nurture through my stories my deep love of animals and the natural world which still fills me with wonder on a daily basis.
When I was young, from quite an early age, maybe nine or ten, I was allowed to roam the hills around Hebden Bridge with my best friends and my dog. This is still one of my favourite things and it has been a real lifeline during the pandemic. Once or twice a week, I message one of my dear friends and arrange to walk with my dog, and theirs, if they have one, and we re-tread the paths that I have spent my life learning… I love walking here because the landscape changes quite fast, so in half an hour you can go from town, along the river, through wooded hills, up to moorland.
Where is your favourite place to walk? And who is your favourite person to walk and talk with?
Oh, and on the subject of cake, my eldest child made this one yesterday – Meera Sodha’s vegan apple cake – as we’ve been given lots of apples from my parents’ garden. It’s a fab recipe, very juicy and delicious. She made it gluten-free which also works really well.
If you have any favourite recipes, I’d love to hear what they are!
See you soon, take care meanwhile x