It always makes me feel a bit sad when we get to September as that means the grandchildren are back to school, my daughter back to work and the shops are full of winter clothes making the summer feel like it has gone already. It all goes so quickly with us all not doing half the things we wanted to fit in this year. The flowers are fading after their blaze of colour. The nights are drawing in, getting darker and colder. Goodbye summer until next year.

I am afraid I can think of nothing good about the winter.

My writing group has a lot going on so I will be busy coordinating events from home. Folkestone has a Living Advent Calendar during the month of December, this is where shops, businesses, restaurants, cafes, art places in fact anywhere that has a door or area for an event to be shown, can participate. We will be doing a show of some kind from The Chambers coffee shop. Maybe a story written by all the members or poems but whatever we decide it will be something to do with writing by our group.

In November we have the Folkestone Book Festival, that is the best ten days for me as I love it. This year my writing group will be putting on a fringe event at The Chambers. We are having about twenty authors who will be set up with their own table to display their books. Visitors can then buy signed books and talk to their favourite authors. This will be held on Thursday 21st November from 2pm until 6pm. I am sure this will be a superb event for Folkestone and the very best bit is that it is free! So put that date in your diaries now.

On the 26th September, we have Marnie Summerfield from Whitstable coming to talk to us about memoir writing and ghostwriting. I feel this will be a really interesting talk for many people. I have written a memoir so I will be picking up any advice I can. This is on from 6.30pm and again it is a free event for anyone to attend.

I will be going for lunch with my friends next week plus having a few days down in Brighton. I am really looking forward to that as I love The Lanes and the shops also the beachfront bars. I really hope we have some late sunshine so we can sit and do a bit of people watching, reading and writing.

The other main event is again organised by my writing group, this will be a joint event with Terlingham Vineyard up in Hawkinge, Folkestone on the 19th September from 6.30

You do need to book this to make sure you get a place!  I will arrange some transport from Folkestone Central that will be free so we keep the cost down as much as we can. We will have a brief talk about the venue and wine, then taste a wine. You will then write about whatever you taste, see, hear (maybe bubbles) or whatever it inspires in you.  They will then tell us about the grape used for that wine and we can share our work if you would like to, there is no pressure and I feel sure this will be a fun event.

There will be cheese and biscuits during the tasting of three wines. I love cheese and wine and I am sure, there will be some that will come just for that and listen to our efforts.

Afterwards, there will be coffee and cake and you will then have the opportunity to buy some of the wines if you would like to.

Wine tasting, writing workshop

So there we have September which is filling up quickly. I have about ten books to read and review so that will keep me relaxed indoors. I will dream about an Indian summer and hope that I will be sitting in the garden reading.

Have a great September