I used to think that I could live on a desert island. There’ve been times in the past when I’ve wanted to run away. Last March, I even appeared as a guest about it on A Little Book Problem and had fun choosing my books to take with me.

(my photosof Pangani beach, Tanzania)

BUT… we went to a wedding on New Year’s Eve, our youngest daughter’s wedding. And our coming-away-present was, unfortunately, testing positive for Covid-19.  Fortunately, my symptoms were very mild indeed (I am fully vaccinated and boosted). My husband was asymptomatic.

For the last ten days, we have been isolating. Tomorrow is when we are allowed out. Boy, have I missed being in the fresh air and walking along the sea near our Sussex home. But it’s people I have missed most. Phone calls and Zoom meetings are not the same.

We talk about writing being a solitary business and I suppose it is, when we are pouring out our ideas at our desks, inventing characters and settings in our head. Why we write would need a few more pages than here, but one of the aspects that I enjoy most is engaging with my readers. A few months ago, I received an e mail from an elderly lady who lives in Canada now. But when she was a child she was brought up in an Italian orphanage that I used in my first book, The Tuscan Secret

It was near Parma, in Emilia Romagna, and during World War Two, British POWs were locked up here, before the Armistice of 1943.

Here are some of her words: “I was an orphan at a very early age of one & as the years went by it was more difficult for my mom to look after me. My brother was already in an orphanage & he was 7 years older than me. I googled about my orphanage & it turned out to be the camp where these people were hiding from the Germans & that was built around the era of Mussolini. That brought me back to my childhood where the orphanage was run by nuns & they made me the person that I am today.”

She went on to say that she wanted to write her own story now: “ I always wanted to do a biography of my life so that my grown-up children & my grandchildren would know & realize some of the sacrifices that my mom made & the reality of the post war life that I went through as a child & for them to appreciate what they have & not take things for granted. Just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the book, because I was able to relate to them & the people in the village where they lived. Brought me back lots of memories of my past. I want to thank you.”

I encouraged her to just start writing and I was thrilled to hear from her yesterday to learn that she is already well into her writing: “ I already wrote 8 chapters and 73 pages. How about that? I think I will reach 10 chapters and maybe 100 pages. Not a very big book. Thought to give you an update on my progress.”

How wonderful is that?

People will always need people.

To please
To tease
To put you at ease,
People will always need people.
To make life appealing
And give life some meaning,

An extract from a poem by Benjamin Zephaniah

People need people and stories, so I will not be escaping to a desert island for the moment. Tomorrow we are heading for the Sussex Downs with a picnic and flask and I won’t stop walking all day.