Not quite to plan

Hey there! I hope you are doing well. I am still in the UK, dodging the rain, still in awe of the green scenery after a three-year dry spell.

I have been quiet this week. I injured my foot a few days ago. It has forced me to stay home for a few days, but not to worry, I've been busy drinking tea, having long chats with my family, and preparing for the new Graham release. The time has been very relaxing.

Down by the river . . .

After I mentioned the River Ouse and my home town last week, lots of you asked me where I live in the UK. Some thought it was York because there is a River Ouse that flows through the city.

There are several rivers so named in the UK, and if I had been exact I would have called the one where I live the Great Ouse as that is its correct name. Locally, we just call it “the Ouse” or simply “the river.”

From Wikipedia: The River Great Ouse (/uːz/) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called “Ouse”. From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn.

I live in Bedford and some of my earliest memories are being taken for a walk by the river as the above photos show, sometimes followed by an ice cream or a drink at the cafe across the road or at the Lyons tea room in town. (I am showing my age.) Apart from a few modern tweaks, promenading down by the river hasn't changed in a century or two!

Right, I'm off to read the new Graham for the final time before it goes off to my beta readers. Still planning on a November release date. (Might be Thanksgiving Day for my American readers.)

Don't forget to bring yourself up to date if you are not already. Please check out the Inspector Graham books. Click on “Books” in the top menu.

Happy reading!