A great interview with Mary Smith with Darlene Foster. Read at Source
Writer and Blogger, Mary Smith
12 Mar 2020 9 Comments
in Interviews Tags: Darlene Foster, Interview, Mary Smith, Review
The Bouverie Tap Folkestone: The perfect start and end to our holiday.
21 Sep 2018 37 Comments
in Review Tags: Review, The Bouverie Tap Folkestone, The perfect place, The perfect start and end to our holiday
On this day last week we were enjoying our last day of peace in Brittany before the long drive home.
Now I am jumping the gun so rewind to the Friday before. We left home, with a full car, most of which belonged to Ruby our Labrador.
We drove down to Folkestone where we were staying the night at a B&B before catching the early Eurotunnel train! Never done that before, infact though we have been to France many times this was the first time with Ruby!
Well we had looked for a dog Friendly pub near were we were staying. We found one that met the criteria and had booked a table for that evening.
It was called the The Bouverie Tap. This was such a lucky find and in the same road as our B&B.
We arrived at this quirky restaurant bar to a very warm welcome. The upstairs is not large but has 5/6 tables of varying sizes and an L shaped bar.
They have a larger Restaurant downstairs but we stayed upstairs as dogs are not allowed down there.
We were given a table at the end of the bar but our Ruby being quite a large dog was really in the way. We asked if we could sit at a larger table in the window that was out of the way. They could not if been more helpful and so we had a relaxing time and Ruby was comfy.
The meals were fantastic, the hubby had steak and I had a burger both our meals were fantastic.
The atmosphere was very lively and friendly and we chatted to other customers and staff.
When we left we booked the table in the window for the following week when we would be returning.
Our second visit was just a good, the staff remembered us and had our table ready, we both had the steak and it was excellent.
This is a fantastic venue with specialist, Gins, Beers, Ciders and Wines. The food is faultless and the staff are friendly and happy to see you.
Whether you are local or traveling through this is the place to visit.
A review of Apprenticed to My Mother.
23 Jun 2018 13 Comments
in Poems Tags: Apprenticed To My Mother, Geoff LePard, Review
I cannot pretend to be a reviewer but I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing this wonderful book from his Geoffelship aka Geoff Lepard found at TanGental
The official blurb.
The Blurb: When my father died in 2005, I assumed my mother would need more support and someone to help with decisions she previously shared with her husband. What I didn’t realise was the role she had in mind for me: a sort of Desmond 2.0. Over the five years until her death, I played the role of apprentice, learning more about her and her relationship with my father than I had gleaned in my previous 50 years. We laughed, we cried and, occasionally we disagreed, and throughout she manipulated me as, I learnt, she had my father. Neither of us minded much; we were both her so willing fools, for she was an extraordinary woman and we both knew we were in the presence of someone very special.
This is how Geoff describes his book “Apprenticed To My Mother describes the period after my father died when I thought I was to play the role of dutiful son, while Mum wanted a new, improved version of her husband – a sort of Desmond 2.0. We both had a lot to learn in those five years, with a lot of laughs and a few tears as we went.”
You can buy the book from
This is my review.
Apprenticed to My Mother: A beautiful tribute, lovingly written.
This charming book by Geoff Lepard is an account of how his relationship with his mother developed after his father’s death. It is a book that will have you laughing out loud at one moment and then bring you close to tears the next. It is a must read and is written with love and sensitivity. I greatly enjoyed it.
What I would like to add.
This book has something for everyone and you will find yourself saying to yourself that sounds like us or yes we did that! I can definitely recommend this book to everyone.
Geoff is a prolific writer hand here is a list of his books.
My Father and Other Liars is a thriller set in the near future and takes its heroes, Maurice and Lori-Ann on a helter-skelter chase across continents.
My Father and Other Liars is a thriller set in the near future and takes its heroes, Maurice and Lori-Ann on a helter-skelter chase across continents.
Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle is a coming of age story. Set in 1976 the hero Harry Spittle is home from university for the holidays. He has three goals: to keep away from his family, earn money and hopefully have sex. Inevitably his summer turns out to be very different to that anticipated.
Life in a Grain of Sand is a 30 story anthology covering many genres: fantasy, romance, humour, thriller, espionage, conspiracy theories, MG and indeed something for everyone. All the stories were written during Nano 2015
Salisbury Square is a dark thriller set in present day London where a homeless woman and a Polish man, escaping the police at home, form an unlikely alliance to save themselves.
Available here
Buster & Moo is about about two couples and the dog whose ownership passes from one to the other. When the couples meet, via the dog, the previously hidden cracks in their relationships surface and events begin to spiral out of control. If the relationships are to survive there is room for only one hero but who will that be?
Life in a Flash is a set of super short fiction, flash and micro fiction that should keep you engaged and amused for ages
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