Library Friends

It has been my privilege to work with two groups lately.  They are both 'Friends of' local libraries, in a trend that is set to continue as library budgets are squeezed.  Local libraries are hubs of activity and if the council cannot afford to run services from them, friends of the library step in.

On Saturday 14 June I was delighted to be the first guest speaker of the new Friends of Bitterne Library group in Southampton.  They seem to be a lively group, so I hope that things go well for them.

I was invited to speak about my book, Under the Queen's Colours and I showed images and read extracts from the book to bring the characters inside alive.  I was delighted when one of the audience was able to describe how he was 'persuaded' (i.e. tricked into going to a certain point on the ship and then bundled unceremoniously along thereafter) to join in the Crossing The Line ceremony, when King Nepture anoints the sea farer who has not crossed the equator before, in this gentleman's case with condensed milk that took days to wash out of his hair!

I like talking to small groups.  They are usually interested and eager and that is infectious.

I have been also been working with the Friends of Portswood Library, also in Southampton, and have given talks there recently.  I will shortly be speaking there again and, indeed, opening an exhibition for them, on 28 June, to mark Armed Forces Day.

Roll On 25 April 2013!

Roll on 25 April 2013!

I am really excited to be joining the team at Haunted Southampton Ltd, the city-based paranormal investigation company, for an interactive evening of ghost stories at the lovely and, of course haunted, Mercure Dolphin Hotel.

Haunted Southampton Ltd, the Dophin Hotel and I have teamed up to bring our audience an evening of unexplained events and hair-raising stories, and to invite members of the public to share their true spine-tingling tales.  Pete and Juliet Collins, the company directors, will be bringing along some of their equipment and explaining how it works when investigating the paranormal and I will be signing copies of my books, particularly the two publications that have their fill of ghostly tales: Folklore of Hampshire and Haunted Southampton.

The Mercure Dolphin Hotel is situated Below Bar and dates back over 500 years.  I seem to feature the hotel in most of my books as its history intertwines so intimately with that of the city I write about.  It also pops up in my about-to-be-published book A 1950s Southampton Childhood (written with James Marsh) but more about that in a later post.

If you fancy a fun, interactive ghostly evening, some tickets (£6) are still available on the Haunted Southampton Ltd website. See you there!

Penny Legg Out and About in Southampton

Yesterday I was delighted to be invited to two very different events in Southampton.

The first was to join the weekly coffee morning at Kinloss Court, Lordshill, to chat with the elderly residents there about aspects of my work.  I met some super people and the conversation was lively - moving on to cover everything from World War 2 through to the state of Britain today. Everyone had very definite views!  It was a real pleasure to meet everyone.  I have popped in and given talks there before for the Lordshill and Lordswood Historical Society, but this is the first time I have joined an informal coffee and chat session.  I look forward to the next visit and thank John Gurney for the invitation.

The second event was the launch of the latest book from my friend, author Mike Roussel.  Mike has produced a super, photo-packed account of the forgotten man behind the Spitfire,  Spitfire's Forgotten Designer - The career of Supermarine's Joe Smith   The launch, at Waterstones West Quay in the city last night, was a packed event featuring the Mayor of Southampton; members of Joe Smith's family; Solent Sky, which organisation supplied many of the photographs used in the book and former employees of Supermarine.

It was super to see Mike busy signing copies of the book as guests sipped wine and mingled. Mike has dropped into my group for writers Writing Buddies several times, so it was great to support him in a small way.

Mike Roussel, launching his latest book, with a new reader

Under the Queen's Colours - National Servicemen

Time flies, doesn't it?  I am sure it has for the contributors of my latest book, Under the Queen's Colours out this week (The History Press).  They all served in the Armed Forces in the sixty years of Her Majesty the Queen's reign and their stories showcase the range of experience in this commemorative Diamond Jubilee publication.
   In the 1950s Britain still had conscription and so, when lads hit 18, they were shipped off all over the world, to serve their country.  As Dave Hart, Royal Hampshire Regiment, recalls,  


I didn’t feel too bad being called up.  We used to go to the Guildhall dances every week when we were that age.  Everyone in Southampton used to queue to get in there Saturday and Wednesday evening and everyone was going off to the Hampshire’s to do their bit.  I think it came as a bit of a shock when you actually got there because at 18 I hadn't done anything.  Not like my grandson, who was a man of the world at 18.  I hadn’t been further than Winchester (13 miles), where we did our ten weeks basic training.  Suddenly, I found myself 8,000 miles away, in a completely different place.  There was no mum there!  I thought, I’m in the army.  I’m with all these other people.  I’ve got to get on and do it.   We all buckled down and did it.  I was frightened more than anything else because I got shouted at a lot.  
 

In January, I went along to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, to take pictures for the book.  I was really pleased to see a memorial there for National Servicemen.  They are often overlooked and their experiences thought of little account.  I hope the National Servicemen's stories in Under the Queen's Colours go some way to redress this.

Book launch - Haunted Southampton

Haunted Southampton, my latest book, has been in the shops a short time and so it was time to give it an official launch party.  A small but perfectly formed group descended on The Station pub in Bitterne, featured in the book, for the launch.

Ghost stories were told, a toast drunk and books were signed.  In all, it was a fun event and the book is well and truly launched on its way!

My thanks to Chris and his staff at The Station and all who attended.

Haunted Southampton - a Number 1 Best Seller!

I am pleased to announce that since my latest book, Haunted Southampton, entered the Waterstones Above Bar best seller chart at number eleven, it has steadily climbed.  Last week it was at number six and now it is number one!  I am chuffed to bits and very grateful to Waterstones and all those who have bought the book to send it flying up the chart. And yes, it is outselling John Grisham's latest novel!

Ghosts coming to Waterstones, Above Bar, Southampton

An Evening of Ghosts Stories hosted by Penny Legg

WATERSTONE'S SOUTHAMPTON ABOVE

Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 7:00PM

Do you enjoy ghosts stories and horror tales told around a camp fire? Have you an interest in local history? Do you have a creepy story all your own to tell? Why not join Penny Legg, author of the fantastic Haunted Southampton, for an evening of ghost stories and creepy history at Waterstones, Above Bar branch Southampton.

Further details: 02380 633 130


I am really looking forward to this event. The evening starts at 7pm and is by ticket only (£3).  Everyone is welcome.

Penny Legg talking at the Northguild Lecture Theatre, Civic Centre, Southampton

Venue name:	Northguild Lecture Theatre
Venue address:	Civic Centre Southampton
Venue postcode:	SO14 7LW
Contact telephone:	023 8083 2205
Contact email:	david.hollingworth@southampton.gov.uk
Start date:	17/03/2011
End date:	17/03/2011
Additional details:	On Thursday 17th March 2011 at 7.00pm local author Penny Legg will be giving a talk in the Lecture Theatre. Penny had published a number of works on the history of Southampton and Hampshire including Southampton then and Now and Folklore of Hampshire. Her latest book, Haunted Southampton, will be published soon. Penny will be telling us how she researches her books, how she organsises and writes her books and how she set about getting them published. There will be time for questions at the end of the talk. The talk starts at 7.00pm. Entrance is free.

Penny Legg's Writing Buddies

At the last Writing Buddies meeting in Borders in Southampton, I was surprised to hear that the coffee and chat sessions have become a motivating force for the production of words. Writers are now being motivated to write because they know that a Writing Buddies meeting is coming up and they want to be able to tell the rest of the group about the writing they are currently working on. Writing Buddies are also getting fresh ideas from each other. I had not foreseen this when I started the group.

Readers of this blog will know that I set up the group in response to a need I had perceived for writers to get together and talk about what matters to them in the world of writing. It gave them a forum for discussing problems with plotting, characterisation and such like, to talk about markets and book selling, trends, successes, even the demise of the semi-colon! Anything in fact that affected them as writers. Over time we have tried to advise one writer on the problems he has had with time lines in his novel and commiserated with him when he recently announced that, after 120,000 words, he had abandoned the project. We have talked about writing courses and pooled knowledge of the good and the bad. We have always talked about the ongoing projects that we are working on. As we have a goodly sprinkle of novelists, poets, non-fiction writers, short story writers, diarists and children's writers it is good to hear of the multitude of work that we undertake. That we are now sparking ideas and motivating each other to produce work, is great to hear.

The next meeting of Writing Buddies is on Friday 28th August at 2pm. If you fancy dropping in for a cuppa and a chat, you will be very welcome.

Happy New Year

Well, the festivities are all over and 2009 has arrived.  

I thought I would take a moment or two to reflect on the past year and when I did so I was quite startled by what I found!

I began 2008 by hearing that my application to join the Society of Women Writers and Journalists (SWWJ) had been successful and I was now a full member of this prestigious group. Leafing through the 'Centenary of The Society of Women Writers & Journalists 1894-1994' written and compiled by Joan Livermore and Jean Bowden, is fascinating and provides many points of interest.  Started in 1894 by newspaper proprietor, Joseph Snell Wood as the Society of Women Journalists, over the years the Society has listed as members Lady Sarah Wilson at Mafeking who was the first woman war reporter, the first woman MP, Lady Violet Astor, and Phyllis Deakin, the first woman staff reporter to be appointed to The Times and who was also the first woman journalist in Paris after it was re-taken in WWII.  Joyce Grenfell was the Society's President from 1957 until her death in 1979.  Being granted membership of a group which attracts such heavy weights in the writing world was wonderful and I am now thoroughly enjoying my membership.

In January too I was surprised, and very pleased, to be presented with an award for my 'Outstanding Contribution' to the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry for my work, as Editor, writer and photographer, on their bi-monthly publication, ACOCI Connection.

In April I travelled from Anguilla, my home until September, to be awarded an Honours Degree by the Open University.  My family and I went to the Barbican in London for the award ceremony and we had a wonderful meal later, with a little popping of champagne corks along the way.

I continued my fortnightly column, 'Thoughts of an Expat,' for The Anguillian newspaper until the last moment and it was with real sadness that I submitted my last piece in late August, just before I returned to Britain.  This column has left a real gap in my life.  I am actively looking for another opportunity to write regularly for a publication in the UK.  Building a rapport, both with my editor and my readers is something I really enjoy.  I miss it.

Over the year I reported on regattas and ships visits, art exhibitions and flower shows.  I met some wonderful people, who were good enough to find a little time for me and to answer my questions with patience.  So, cake making DJs, pie making stock brokers, up and coming pop stars, the masters of ships both military and civil, quilters and sailors, those doing their bit for their community, from the first locally engaged Deputy Governor of Anguilla, to the owners of a 1925 Alden Schooner, using it to raise money for local kids to sail for their country abroad, these and many others helped to make my job both interesting and enjoyable.   They provided articles for The Anguillian, and magazines in Anguilla, the wider Caribbean, the USA and the UK.

Her Majesty's prison on Anguilla had asked me to become the first editor of their publication, The Insider and this, after many and varied trials and tribulations, was published in August.  It represented much hard work by many people and I was proud to have been associated with it.

I interviewed the Master of the Queen Mary 2 on my way back to the UK in September and what a pleasant man he was!  This article is out now in Hampshire Life magazine.

I learnt that I had been Highly Commended for two articles I sent in for the Sir Harry Britain Scholarship Award, run by the SWWJ, in September.  This was happy news indeed!  To be well received by your peers is a real boost.  One of these articles is on my website for those interested in reading it - www.pennylegg.com 

Since I have been back in England I have been busy trying to establish myself again in my native land.  I had been away for almost 7 years and that is a long time. 

The Observer published my tale of woe in their 'My Crap Holiday' spot in November.  I know I must have set readers chuckling as they read of the huge number of things that went wrong on our one and only package holiday to Spain a few years ago! - www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/nov/09/crap-holiday-letter-torremolinos

I have been working on my first edition of 'The Woman Writer,' the SWWJs magazine, which is one of the oldest publications in Britain.  I took over as Editor in November and my first edition will shortly be hitting the stands.  This has been a steep learning curve but I have had much assistance to guide me in the right direction from the out-going Editor, the Society's Chairman, Jean Morris.  

The big news in December was that I was offered a book contract by The History Press. The book, a local history on folklore, will be published in June 2010.  I am very happy indeed and look forward to working on it in 2009.  I am also working, with a friend, on a proposal for another book, on a completely different subject, but more about this in a later posting.

So, 2008 was a busy year as you can see.  

It was lovely to spend Christmas with family for the first time in years and to be here for my son's birthday.  He and his partner have recently presented us with a granddaughter.  Her name is Bluebell and she is a giant British Blue rabbit.  She is completely house trained and lollops about their house boat as if she owns it.  She joined the rest of the family and enjoyed the celebrations as much as we did.

I hope that 2009 brings you much success, peace and happiness.  Happy New Year!

Smashing...

...is the only word to describe the concert given by the Portsmouth Royal Marine Band at the Southampton Guildhall on Monday night.

The Concert, given in aid of Seafarers UK, the Royal Naval, Royal Marine, Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet charity, was a gorgeous riot of musical colour, encapsulating melodic genres from new takes on traditional Christmas Carols through the music from Lional Bart's 'Oliver!' and Klaus Badelt's 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' to Riverdance (fast, fun, fantastic) and just about everything in between!

Lieutenant Colonal C J Davis OBE, Commandant of the Royal Marine School of Music and Principal Director of Music for the Royal Marines, shortly to retire after more than thirty years in the Marines and giving his last public performance as both Conductor and Player, was clearly enjoying himself.  His conducting style, featuring as it did a bouncing rhythm which must surely keep him fit, was a joy to watch.  His clear enthusiasm was infectious and both the Band members and the audience were very soon carried off on a wave of sound and showmanship the like of which the Guildhall will be hard put to follow.

In all, a wonderful night.

Woolworths...

Further to my blog on 19th September, in which I was lamenting the loss of the Woolworths store in Southampton city centre, it was announced today that the company has gone into administration with debts reported by the BBC to be over £285 million.  With businesses falling at a rate of knots as the credit crunch becomes ever darker, it remains to be seen if the jobs of over 30,000 Woolworths' staff will be saved.  

A Final Farewell

Southampton said 'Farewell' in style last night to the QE2.  Thousands turned out in the bitter cold to wave, take photos and video as she backed up to Mayflower Park for a grand firework display and then steamed out of port for the last time.

A cacophony of sound surrounded her as hundreds of small craft, ferries and other merchant vessels all sounded their horns and milled around her as she left.  It was a memorable sight.  I could hear mothers explaining to their children, who were long past their bedtime, that they should watch, as this was history they were seeing.  Awed kids obediently stared, open mouthed as she started her final journey, lights ablaze.   

As she sailed down Southampton Water fire works saluted her from the shore and her horn sounded out a deep, 'Thank you and Farewell' as she passed.   

In all it was a momentous night.  The Queen Elizabeth 2 will be sadly missed here in Southampton. 

Farewell Queen Elizabeth 2

The QE2 was determined not to leave service quietly.  Coming in to her homeport of Southampton for the last time this morning, she hit a sandbank and grounded.  According to the BBC, witnesses speculated that the high winds, which caused the cancellation of her last port of call in Guernsey yesterday, were to blame for the grounding.  The winds, gusting up to 70 mph in some places along the South Coast, have been responsible for flooding and disruption, with Dover ferry services interrupted and the container port at Thamesport, Isle of Grain, closed. 

On the BBC website, Eric Flounders, Cunard spokesman said, 

"She touched a sandbank called Brambles but with the tide rising she was able to get away.  We are not aware at this stage of any damage to the vessel and everything is proceeding today as planned.  We don't know exactly what happened for the vessel to get stuck."

Commodore Warner, Commodore of the Cunard Fleet,when I interviewed him for Hampshire Life magazine (to be published January 2009) commented that the QE2, 'is ending up in Dubai on November 27th.  She is becoming a hotel and conference centre in the Palms.  I think the great thing about it is that nobody wants to see the ship leave the fleet.  She is an old favourite.  There is plenty of money to make sure she is very well looked after.  I am sure she will be spending another forty years down there."

The 70,000 tonnes QE2 came into service in 1967 and since that time she has been in to her home port 700 times, crossed the Atlantic 800 times and has carried more than 2.5 million passengers.

Southampton will be saying farewell to this grand old lady with a series of events throughout Tuesday, which I will endeavour to bring to readers later today.

Still here!

There is so much to tell you, Loyal Readers!

The first thing you will notice is the revamped blog.  I have taken the plunge and changed my image.  Comments are welcome please.  What do you think of the new site?  And the new photos? Now I have left my paradise island and am living by the sea in Southampton, I thought it was time the lady in the hat disappeared and the 'New Penny' arrived.  

Talking of the 'New Penny,' my thanks to Rob Innis who braved our chaotic home last week when he visited for the weekend. Rob took the photos for me.  Rob is a freelance writer living in Torrevieja, near Alicante, Spain.  His work, well worth a read, can be read on: http://robinespana.blogspot.com and www.spainrico.com

So, what have I been up to since the last blog, which I must say was written a long time ago?

The answer is that I have been very busy.  I wish I could say it was all writing work.  Some of it has been as I have been getting to grips with the Society of Women Writers and Journalists' (SWWJ) magazine, The Woman Writer, which I officially take over (as Editor) soon.

I joined the SWWJ's 'Day for Journalists' last Saturday at the New Cavendish Club, near Marble Arch in London.  This was an immensely enjoyable and very informative workshop led by the knowledgeable and hugely likable Wendy Hughes. (For a slightly out of date profile of Wendy try this link: www.cajunmoon.co.uk/wendbibl.htm) The day covered such topics as writing for Trade Journals and how to approach new editors and was aimed at those of us who have experience in the field as well as those just starting out.  I must say that such workshops are one unexpected benefit of my membership of the SWWJ (www.swwj.co.uk). 

BT turned on our telephone earlier this week and then we found that we could make calls but not hear when people called us!  This led to some fun as we tried to sort out the problem.  BT, now almost fully automated, allowed us to listen to hints and tips to fix it ourselves, read by a disembodied voice.  I know technology has advanced and the call was free, but I would much prefer to talk to someone, not be talked at by a robot.

Today our internet has gone on!  Hurrah!  I have been frequenting a certain coffee shop in the centre of Southampton and stretching an Americano as long as possible, while I try to keep up with the outside world.  Now I have unlimited access and life can begin again.  Isn't it funny, the World Wide Web as we know it has only been with us since Sir Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues invented it in 1989.  What did we do before that? 

Some of you might remember I was featured in Country Life magazine a short while ago, in an article on adult learners.  I am firmly convinced that I will still be studying when I'm 95!  I have started a creative writing course with the Open University.  A short while ago members of my group met at the University of Westminster for a day school.  This proved to be great fun for everyone.  My peers are not professional writers but several of them will, I think, make it. They are very talented.  So far this course has been interesting and highly user friendly - A215 if anyone is interested, which is part of the two year Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing. For more information see www.open.ac.uk 

In the meantime, Anguilla was hit by Hurricane Omar a short time ago.  It would seem we had a lucky escape!  Friends there tell me that there was not a huge amount of damage but several boats were blown up on the beach at Sandy Ground and Sammie's bar had to be dug out as it was buried in sand.  The island lost its power but it could have been much worse.  My thoughts are with everyone on the island.

OK all for now.  Now I have internet access in my office at home, I promise I will blog more often!