Bamburgh and a Meeting with Judith O'Reilly

Tuesday dawned grey and damp, so we didn’t venture out until after 10.30 am, although I had taken Ruby for a walk round the block at about 7.30 am! We went down into Bamburgh and bought some sandwiches from a little delicatessen shop called the Pantry.

Talking to the lady who runs the shop we discovered that she came from Saltaire originally, and knew lots of places in Yorkshire as her father had been a policeman, stationed at Toller Lane during part of his duty. The shop stocks an amazing range of locally produced foods, and all are absolutely delicious. We decided to have turkey and cranberry sandwiches.

The house adjoining the pantry is the one where Grace Darling died, a few years after her heroic rescue of shipwrecked sailors on the Farne Islands

We then went to visit Judith O’Reilly the blogger who had invited me to join her for a cuppa whilst we were in the area.

I found the cottage where she lives without much difficulty, having made enquiries locally before we came up to Waren Mill. We were very warmly welcomed and met Judith, her husband Alastair, and her Mum Veronica, as well as little Sophie. The two boys were at school, but they eventually arrived and we were introduced to Gabriel and Raphael. A cuppa and a freshly cooked bun and we spent a great deal of time chatting about life in general. Alastair, Judith’s husband works for the Times (I think as their Education Correspondent) and commutes between the village they live in and London. Veronica, Judith’s Mum, comes from Leeds, and we spent some time reminiscing about the trams that used to run in Leeds, the markets and Arcades.

It was lovely to meet Judith “in the flesh” as I had followed her blog for a long time, and last year I had purchased her book, based on her blog. My last words to Dot before we left for our holidays were I must remember to take Judith’s book with me to get her to sign it. Guess what was forgotten………

During the course of the after noon Judith appeared with a copy of her book, and duly signed it for me. So I now have two copies. Anyone wanting to borrow the non signed copy – just ask for it, then when you have read it persuade all your friends to buy it! It’s called Wife in the North”, published by Penguin ISBN Number 13: 9780141033433

Here is just one of the 5* reviews she received:

Judith O'Reilly got her book deal as a result of a blog; but for anyone thinking of following in her footsteps, she also got it by being a superbly accomplished writer who is capable of making you laugh and cry on the same page. Judith has a truly rare gift with words, coining lyrical phrases that you read over again for their beauty and others that bring forward a welter of emotions in one short phrase. Nothing I have ever read sums up the desperation of a mother giving birth and longing for the pain to end, as the phrase. "Does the baby need shoulders?...I will buy it shoulders on e-Bay." Many will identify with Judith's situation of living somewhere they have no real desire to be, but few would have the bravery to be as honest as Judith about the difficulties - or describe the joys as lyrically. The best bit - when I finished Wife In The North I went onto the Net and read some more straight from the blog. How many books offer you that? Marvellous.