Author: susanjeaton

My house is old – very old. So old that we have to have planning permission to change the use of the cupboards. Well, perhaps it just feels like it because planning for the new extension took on biblical proportions

When I was younger – er young – I used to babysit for this family who lived in a really old house and you get seasick walking along the passage to the child’s bedroom upstairs. I always vowed I would live in a house with floorboards that had grown wonky with age.

Everything about my house is old and quirky which is how I like it. I love history and things that have a story behind them. I am fascinated by the fact that I am touching something that has been touched by someone who lived long ago and had a life, perhaps good, perhaps bad. I try to feel them through handling the object. (Don’t judge, we all have a thing, that’s mine.) I scour the flea markets for interesting items that I need and look good in my house. No IKEA here.

But …

Beware what you wish for.

Imagine facing this when you come up stairs in the dead of night.

I always imagine that one night I shall see feet in the gap beneath the door.

That I shall hear heavy breathing from whoever waits for me to get close enough …

That I will hear the click as the latch is pressed …

That the door will slowly swing open …

I have to admit to never, and I mean never, walk upstairs after dark with my eyes open.

I thought I was doing alright. Okay, I’m past my Biblical sell-by date and life’s a tad fraught at the moment but I passed a recent MOT at my doctor’s with only one advisory.

Having received a message about a dementia course run by the very same doctor’s surgery I considered it, decided I know who I am, that we now have a king not a queen, why I’m standing staring into the pantry (looking for jam) and what month it is.

Or do I?

I thought it was March, a spring month. On the strength of knowing it was March I sent my elder nephew a birthday card (2^nd) and have bought one for my eldest granddaughter (18^th). I have arranged to meet my son and his family for a Mothering Sunday brunch and have taken the summer curtains out of storage ready to put up in time for the change to British Summer Time.

However …

• I wake up to this.

• The local theatre sent me an email advertising the 2023 Christmas play and inviting me to book.

• My local supermarket has a shelfful of this!

If anyone knows who I am and what month it really is please let me know.

I like to watch odd things on the telly and last night I watched a programme about The Black Death. It seemed appropriate at the time.

We think Covid is bad – and it is but we had far worse things in the Good Old Days. As a child I experienced such things as measles, chicken pox, rubella and mumps along with the rest of my age group. But I’m not talking about my Good Old Days – I’m going way back to the Very Old Good Old Days when you had such things to look forward to as the Bloody Flux, Pestilence, Black Death and Buboes.

Imagine writing a note to your child’s teacher back in the 16^th century.

Dear Sire,

I am most verily afraid that Samuel will not attend your school this day as he has the bloody flux.

…etc

These names conjure up such horrors that make the state of the country today look pretty good.

You can actually still catch any one of them if you’re very unlucky. Fortunately we now know how to cure them, and I have my Plague Mask, just in case.   

You see that pair of little monsters?

All day I’ve been trying to write a witty blog about something interesting. Instead I have been up and down opening and shutting doors for these two.

The day even started by me being rudely awoken by having my left nipple squashed under a dog’s paw. A rude awaking but effective.

If you watch closely, you can actually see the rules of the game they play.

1. Neville the Devil paws at the back door and meows pitifully.
2. I get up to open the door and Neville slides under the table instead of going out.
3. Celyn shoots out of the door looking for Neville who pokes his nose out from under the table and laughs. (He can laugh, I assure you.)
4. Dog hurtles back in knocking me into next week and chasing Neville in a circle around the house until they are back at the door. (Which I have shut before returning to my laptop.)
5. Repeat previous 4 steps.

Born to be Naughty (Hanna the Guardian of Nature Book 1) by Hina Nauman

A delightful story for 7 to 12 year old children.

Hanna is really a kind-hearted little girl, but she is lonely and because she is lonely and has no one to play with she gets into all sorts of mischief.

Hanna is a strong-minded little girl who lives in Pakistan with her mother and father. She has an assortment of relatives and woe betide any relative she doesn’t care for. Her antics will make you laugh out loud.

Hanna shows her kind and caring side when she finds an injured bird. With her mother’s help she nurses it back to health. She needs to spend so much time looking after the bird that it seems her naughty days are over. That is until ….!

I won’t spoil the story. You must buy the book if you want to know what happens. I guarantee you will enjoy her antics.

A lively book where the culture shines through allowing me an insight into Hanna’s life.

There will be a new horror anthology by Corona Books in the autumn. The Fourth Corona Book of Horror Stories is out on October 1st and is full of exciting new stories by up and coming writers as well as those branching out into new territory. Check it out and be sure to be ahead of the queue.

http://www.coronabooks.com

facebook.com/CoronaBookofHorrors

Things seem to be getting back to some sort of normal in my little world. On Saturday I attended my first book sale since covid struck.

Covid has had a specific effect on the sale of my first novel due to the fact that it was published by a company called Corona Books. The name had been chosen long before the corona virus struck but it had connotations and life slowed considerably.

St Andrew’s church in Porthill, Stoke-on-Trent hosted and warm and friendly event. I sold a number of books, renewed an acquaintance (I hesitate to say ‘old’) and was able to chat with new ones. And to top it all there was tea and cake!

There will be more such events, it will be lovely to see you there.