Old and new

Before I start, the offer is on till the end of the weekend:

a free copy here of PLOTTING FOR GROWN-UPS.

Tell everyone!

Phew, now I can get back to a quiet font…

The scrap man came and took my car on Wednesday and I was sad.

…and surprised at being sad. Dave kept saying “It’s only a car,” and I kept replying, “I know. But I am sad. Please just try to pretend you understand.”

The car was 18 years old. The central locking had gone; the window seals leaked, so the boot smelled as if twenty tom cats had been trapped in there for a fortnight, and worse, the whole car steamed up horribly on cold days; the aerial was broken so I couldn’t listen to the radio; my big sister said it was too scruffy for me – an author trying to publicise her latest book – to drive;  the repairs on it have cost a fortune; but I liked the car. I still don’t understand why I was so sad, though. Was it because:

1/ I bought it from my sister (my other sister)

2/ I bought it with some money my mother left me

3/ It was my private space (like my study) where I could listen to my sax music and no-one would complain

4/ I could listen to Fun playing We are young REALLY REALLY LOUD, and pretend I was Sally in Plotting for Grown-ups, driving along with Kit

5/ I could run away whenever I wanted, even if Dave was out with his/the family car

6/ Although it needed money spending on it to fix it, it wasn’t rusty. It seemed like a huge waste to scrap it.

But there we are. It is gone. And for the moment (and maybe forever) I shall be sharing the beige (ugh!) car with Dave.

On a different tack, a couple of weeks ago on this blog, Marmee commented that one of her favourite books was The Fountain Overflows. So I ordered it, and yesterday it arrived, and I am loving it.

I also think the cover is beautiful. Thank you, Marmee.