Fred's Blog
  • Fred's Blog
  • Writers Open House
    • Shane Joseph 2025-1
    • Ronald Mackay 2025-1
    • Jeremiah Gilbert 2025-1
    • Jeremiah Gilbert 2025-2
    • Malcolm Welshman 2025-1
    • Roger Knight 2025-1
    • Sue Wald 2025-1
  • Writers Open House Guidelines
  • Amazon Author Page
  • Info
  • 2024 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2024 Memoir Showcase
    • Elora Canne 2024-1 (M)
    • Sue Wald 2024-1 (M)
    • Patricia M Osborne 2024-1 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-1 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2024-2 (M)
    • Malcolm D Welshman - 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-2 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-3 (M)
    • Sue Wald 2024-2 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2024-2 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-4 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp 2024-3 (M)
    • Don Hughes 2024-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2024-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2024-2 (M)
    • Sue Wald 2024 -3 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2024-1 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2024-3 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2024-1 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2024-2 (M)
    • Jeremiah Gilbert 2024-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-5 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2024-1 (M)
  • 2024 Fiction Showcase
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2024-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2024-2 (F)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2024-1 (F)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2024-2 (F)
    • Sue Wald 2024-1 (F)
    • Shane Joseph 2024-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-1 (F)
    • Carly Standley 2024-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2024-3 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2024-2 (F)
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2024-1 (F)
  • 2023 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2023 Memoir Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2023-1 (M)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2023-1 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2023- 1 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2023-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-1 (M)
    • Kelly Reising 2023-1 (M)
    • Robyn Boswell 2023-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-1 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2023-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-2 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-1 (M)
    • Robyn Boswell 2023-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-3 (M)
    • Judy Middleton 2023-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2023-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-4 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-2 (M)
    • Valerie Poore 2023-1 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2023-1 (M)
    • Carrie Riseley 2023-1 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2023-3 (M)
    • Jacqui Martin 2023-1 (M)
    • Dvora Treisman 2023-1 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-2 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2023-2 (M)
    • Mitos Suson 2023-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-5 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2023-6 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-3 (M)
    • Jacqui Martin 2023-2 (M)
    • Martha Graham-Waldon 2023-1 (M)
  • 2023 Fiction Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2023-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-2 (F)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2023-1 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-3 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2023-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2023-2 (F)
    • Ronald Mackay 2023-4 (F)
  • 2023 Highlights
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-1 (H)
    • Tammy Horvath 2023-1 (H)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2023-1 (H)
    • Syd Blackwell 2023-2 (H)
  • 2022 Memoir Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-1 (M)
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (M)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (M)
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-2 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-2 (M)
    • John C. Rogers 2022-1 (M)
    • Thomas Laver 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-2 (M)
    • Lally Brown 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-4 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-4 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-2 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-5 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-3 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-1 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-2 (M)
    • Malcolm Welshman 2022-1 (M)
    • Nick Albert 2022-1 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-1 (M)
    • David McCabe 2022-1 (M)
    • Lizbeth Meredith 2022-1 (M)
    • Jill Dobbe 2022-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-5 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-1 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-2 (M)
    • Mitos Suson 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-3 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-3 (M)
    • Therese Marie Duncan 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-2 (M)
    • Kelly Reising 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-6 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-4 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-4 (M)
  • 2022 Fiction Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (F)
    • Keith Moreland 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (F)
    • Robert Fear 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-2 (F)
    • Janet Stobie 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (F)
    • Philippa Hawley 2022-1 (F)
    • Daisy Wood 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (F)
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2022-1 (F)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (F)
  • 2022 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2022 Guest Blogs
  • 2021 Authors Showcase
    • John L. Fear 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 2
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 3
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 2
    • Mitos Suson 2021 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2021 - 1
    • Donna O'Donnell Figurski 2021 - 1
    • Dolores Banerd 2021 - 1
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2021 - 1
    • Sverrir Sigurdsson 2021 - 1
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2021 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 1
    • Karen Telling 2021 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 1
    • Liesbet Collaert 2021 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 6
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2021 - 1
    • Jackie Lambert 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 2
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 3
    • Jennifer Rae 2021 - 1
    • Chris Calder 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 5
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 3
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 2
    • Joanne Guidoccio 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 4
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 3
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 2
    • Margaret South 2021 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 1
    • Adrian Sturrock 2021 - 1
    • Cherie Magnus 2021 - 1
  • 2021 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2021 Guest Blogs
  • 40 years ago today
  • 2020 Authors Showcase
    • Vernon Lacey 2020 - 1
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2020 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2020 - 1
    • Alison Alderton 2020 - 1
    • Lizzie Jewels 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 4
    • Lally Brown 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 2
    • Ronni Robinson 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 6
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 3
    • Val Poore 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 3
    • Neal Atherton 2020 - 1
    • Susan Joyce 2020 - 1
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 4
    • Patty Sisco 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 1
    • Frank Kusy 2020 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2020 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2020 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 4
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 3
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 3
    • Amy Bovaird 2020 - 1
    • Patricia Steele 2020- 1
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 2
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 1
    • Irene Pylypec 2020 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 1
    • Andrew Klein 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 1
  • 2020 Guest Blogs
  • 2020 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Authors Showcase
    • James Robertson 2019 - 6
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 6
    • Dawne Archer 2019 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 6
    • James Robertson 2019 - 5
    • Sarah Owens 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 5
    • Dolores Banerd 2019 - 1
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 4
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 5
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 4
    • James Robertson 2019 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 3
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 4
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 2
    • Jill Stoking 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 4
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 3
    • Cherie Magnus 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 3
    • Catherine Berry 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 3
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 2
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 2
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2019 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2019 - 1
    • Patty Sisco 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 2
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 1
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 2
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2019 - 1
    • Celia Dillow 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 1
    • Kelly Reising 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 1
  • 2019 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Guest Blogs
  • Competitions
  • 2018 Travel Highlights
  • 2018 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 5
    • Apple Gidley 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 5
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 3
    • Julie Watson 2018
    • Anisha Johnson 2018
    • Philip East 2018
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 5
    • Malcom Welshman 2018 - 2
    • Celia Dillow 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 5
    • Lee P. Ruddin 2018
    • Cat Jenkins 2018
    • Anierobi Maureen Ogechukwu 2018
    • Dede Montgomery 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018 - 2
    • Parishka Gupta 2018 - 2
    • Angie Clifford 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 4
    • Roger Knight 2018 - 2
    • Mark Boyter 2018 - 2
    • Laurel Casida 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 2
    • Alison Galilian 2018
    • Colleen MacMahon 2018
    • Zahra Makda 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 4
    • Susmitha Subramanya 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 4
    • Aleksandra Krysik 2018
    • Swarnabha Dutta 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018 - 2
    • Sourabha Rao 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018
    • Swatilekha Roy 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 4
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018
    • Parishka Gupta 2018
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 2
    • Madeline Sharples 2018
    • Joe Dodkins 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2018
    • Rob Johnson 2018
    • Anu Devi 2018
    • Lu Barnham 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018 - 2
    • Helen Bing 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 3
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 3
    • Alan Passey 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018 - 2
    • Alyson Hilbourne 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 3
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018 - 2
    • Martha Graham-Waldon 2018
    • Mark Boyter 2018
    • Kristen Caven 2018
    • Neyda Bettencourt 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 2
    • Logan Wood 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 2
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 2
    • Wenlin Tan 2018
    • Tom Czaban 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018 - 2
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 2
    • Dolores Banerd 2018
    • Piyumi Kapugeekiyana 2018
    • Stephanie Dagg 2018
    • Gabrielle Chastenet 2018
    • Bonnie Jean Warren 2018
    • Rasa Puzinaite 2018
    • Patricia Steele 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 2
    • Louise Groom 2018
    • Malcom Welshman 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018
    • Jesus Deytiquez 2018
    • Ria Chakraborty 2018
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018
    • Jules Clark 2018
    • Nancy McBride 2018
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018
    • David Greer 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018
    • Aditi Nair 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018
    • Frank Kusy 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018
    • Robert Fear 2018
  • 2018 Guest Blogs
  • 2017 Travel Highlights
  • 2017 Travel Stories
    • Matthew Dexter - 2
    • Sandra Walker
    • Rishita Dey
    • Lisa Baker
    • Patricia Steele - 2
    • Sue Clamp
    • Debbie Patterson
    • Jill Stoking - 2
    • Robyn Boswell - 2
    • Cherie Magnus
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • Rita M. Gardner
    • Alex Curylo
    • Graham Higson
    • Jill Dobbe - 2
    • Amy Bovaird - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • KC Peek
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Frank Kusy - 2
    • Yvonne Kilat - 3
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 5
    • Mather Schneider
    • Syd Blackwell - 5
    • Gundy Baty - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Heather Hackett
    • Bob Manning - 2
    • Mark Boyter
    • Jackie Parry
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Amy Bovaird - 2
    • Gundy Baty - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 4
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Syd Blackwell - 4
    • Yvonne Kilat - 2
    • Bob Manning
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Yvonne Kilat
    • Olivia-Petra Coman
    • Susan Mellsopp - 3
    • Gundy Baty
    • Syd Blackwell - 3
    • Paul Spadoni
    • Phil Canning
    • Jill Stoking
    • Robert Fear
    • Anna Coates
    • Kelly Reising
    • Syd Blackwell - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2
    • Sine Thieme - 2
    • Alison Ripley Cubitt
    • Angie Clifford
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Nancy McBride
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Amy Bovaird
    • Susan Mellsopp
    • Patricia Steele
    • Susan Joyce
    • Peggy Wolf
    • Sine Thieme
    • Syd Blackwell
    • Frank Kusy
  • 2016 Travel Highlights
  • 2016 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Elizabeth Moore - 5
    • Susan Joyce - 3
    • Bob Manning
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Lisa Fleetwood
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • John Rayburn - 5
    • Mark Boyter
    • John Rayburn - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore - 4
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Graham Higson
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Jill Stoking
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • John Rayburn - 3
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Richard Klein
    • John Rayburn - 2
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • John Rayburn
    • Jackie Parry
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Kelly Reising
    • Susan Joyce
    • Nancy McBride
    • Stewart Brennan
    • Frank Kusy
  • Behind the Scenes
  • 2015 Travel Highlights
  • 2015 Travel Stories
    • Val Vassay
    • Doug E. Jones
    • Matthew Dexter (2)
    • Beth Haslam
    • John Rayburn (4)
    • Susan Joyce (2)
    • Jackie Parry (2)
    • Lucinda E. Clarke (2)
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Francene Stanley
    • Richard Klein (2)
    • John Rayburn (3)
    • Julie Haigh
    • Frank Kusy (2)
    • Nancy McBride (2)
    • Anne Durrant
    • Lucinda E. Clarke
    • John Rayburn (2)
    • Nancy McBride
    • Sarah Jane Butfield
    • Jackie Parry
    • Kelly Reising
    • Gareth Nixon
    • John Rayburn
    • Jeremy Parris
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Susan Joyce
    • Richard Klein
    • Frank Kusy
    • Robert Fear
  • Daily Diary
    • February Archive
    • March Archive
    • April Archive
    • May Archive
    • June Archive
    • July Archive
  • Reviews

VOTING NOW OPEN

15/11/2017

11 Comments

 
Picture
The 2017 Travel Highlights Competition is closed and the public vote is open until midnight UK on November 30th. 

You can vote for up to 5 highlights daily.

The Top 3 will win cash prizes of $75(£60) / $50(£40) / $25 (£20).​​
​

Read all of the 40 entries on our 2017 Travel Highlights page and support your favourites by voting for them each day during the next 2 weeks.

IMPORTANT: If you are voting on your phone, please scroll down to the bottom of the Blog page and click on Web view to activate the voting buttons.

11 Comments

THE MAGIC OF THE ISLES and THE MOST DANGEROUS WALK IN THE WORLD by Val Vassay

14/11/2017

0 Comments

 
With only a couple of hours to go until the closing deadline for this year's Travel Highlights Competition, it is fantastic to be able to feature two entries from Val Vassay. As Val puts it in her e-mail, "Better late than never, as they say".

THE MAGIC OF THE ISLES

Vast expanses of sky; white sandy beaches miles long; thousands of lochs; crystal clear, unpolluted seas. Where are we? Oh yes, of course, we’re in the Outer Hebrides – my spiritual home, the islands I’ve been in love with ever since my uncle came to work here 50 years ago. And, just to make the magical even more magical, on this visit I’m accompanied by my wonderful younger son, Luke. Surely this must be heaven on earth?

THE MOST DANGEROUS WALK IN THE WORLD

I was worried about walking El Caminito del Rey (the King’s Little Walkway), in the mountains about 60 kilometres inland from Malaga. Before being closed for renovations in 2000 it had been a very dangerous walk, as this narrow, concrete path stapled onto the cliffs above the Guadalhorce River had fallen into disrepair and was full of holes and had never had any safety measures! I needn’t have worried. Now it’s a beautiful wooden walkway, with glass safety walls all along it and nothing to fear – well, except for the chunks of cliff that fall off occasionally!

Val Vassay

​I have been writing for some years now – short stories, newspaper/magazine articles and interviews, my memoirs, and travel articles. I have had some success – have even received payment for my efforts occasionally - but, of course, would like to be more successful. I’m currently doing NaNoWriMo for the first time. I hope I’ll succeed in writing 50,000 words in November, even if it turns out to be nothing worthy of publication. I enjoy writing and, having retired some years ago, it is an invaluable way of keeping my old brain ticking over!

Picture
0 Comments

He Llegado by Patricia Steele

13/11/2017

2 Comments

 
A warm welcome back to Patricia Steele with her brand new travel highlight entry:
He Llegado - I have arrived. Thanks for getting involved Patricia and best of luck in the competition.

He Llegado - I have arrived
 
When I placed my foot onto Spanish soil in Madrid, I felt its magic.  Bliss.  Wispy clouds hung in a bright-blue sky as reality pushed my mind into overdrive.  My España Aventura (Spanish adventure) had begun.  When travelers moved like a gaggle of geese, I followed.  Several concourses, four escalators, two trains and moving walkways.  And then a shuttle across the tarmac to the waiting Iberia Express.  On the plane and breathless to get to Malaga, I smiled.  Airline attendants’ dresses were the color of the Spanish flag.  Excellent.  

Patricia Steele

Patricia says, I'm a west coast girl that moved to the east coast and back again.  Twice. My imagination has always been etched in music, color and rose-colored glasses.  I've had crazy characters and stories banging and fluttering around in my head, dying to get out, since I was old enough to hold a pen.  I'm a fan of historical fiction filled with adventure and romance.  And I’m addicted to genealogy! 
Picture
My sense of humor runs a little rampant at times, I'm no stranger to laughter, and I love a good anticipation scene.  I am proud to state that The Girl Immigrant, the first novel in my Spanish Pearls Series, is being whisked off my shelves.   The second book in the series, Silván Leaves, is now available.  My next project is a memoir titled, Fairydust to Daffodils about my daughter and her fight with Cystic Fibrosis.

There is a lot more to find out about Patricia, so please check her author page:
www.patriciabbsteele.com
​​
2 Comments

Pablo by Vernon Lacey

13/11/2017

1 Comment

 
It's always great to welcome a newcomer to our travel writing contests. It is therefore a real pleasure to feature this wonderful highlight from Vernon Lacey, with only a day left in this year's Travel Highlights Competition.

Pablo

Where was the stranger taking me? We were on a remote part of the Collserola hills. I glanced backwards. Barcelona below me in the dusk. A fantasy of twinkling lights. The vast arc of inky sea.

Ahead of me a lone figure. Pablo, leading. Arid grass crunching. On past prickly pears - cladodes the size of elephant ears.

‘Come and meet my family,’ he’d said, approaching me in the Sarrià neighbourhood where I lived.

I followed, trusting.

We arrived.

His gypsy home in the woods. Plastic sheets. Timber frame. His family. Half a dozen eyes.

Waiting.

Vernon Lacey

I grew up in the countryside in Cheshire, UK. I teach Philosophy, Drama, and English in Munich. Before moving to Germany I taught in Barcelona where I met my German wife. We have two children, Hannah and Myriam. 
​
DIY shops are toy shops. My guitar is my therapy. I cycle everywhere. After a bad accident and knee operation in April 2017 I learned to cycle with one leg. Glad to say I can now use both. I want to cycle the full 2860km of the Danube. Ten countries. One river. Border free. 
 
P.S The photo was taken at the Beatles Museum, Liverpool. I'm standing next to George Harrison's guitar. 
​
Picture
1 Comment

#34 Left Behind   #35The Sea, the Sea, the Glorious Sea   #36 Standing in the Sky by Robyn Boswell

11/11/2017

1 Comment

 
With the 2017 Travel Highlights Competition rapidly drawing to a close, it gives me great pleasure to feature 3 entries in one post from Robyn Boswell. What a treat!

Robyn told me, "I do like the restrictions of this genre - an interesting challenge! One day I might be brave enough to start writing a memoir".  I really think you should Robyn and am sure we would all enjoy reading it.

Left Behind 

Who could resist the warm, crocodile-free river after a day's hiking in the searing Northern Territory sun? We wallowed by a small weir, watching families picnic along the bank.
 
The short waterfall by the weir, smoothed by centuries of tumbling water was too tempting. Three of us went first, crashing together in a laughing tumble of arms and legs.
 
Dad followed. He didn't take the smoothest route and he hit the bottom minus the seat of his shorts.
 
His ignominious walk through the park to the car where we left our towels is a family legend to this day.

The Sea, the Sea, the Glorious Sea 

Four months living in Scotland, miles inland; suddenly we needed the sea. Despite it being mid-winter, we hitched a ride on a frosty morning. In a tiny fishing village on the coast, two women passed, reeking of fish, no doubt employed by the local fish factory. We came across a rocky, freezing beach. The fierce North Sea wind cut through us, howling out of a slate sky, grey waves tumbling on the shore. We were as far from our blue Pacific home as we could be. We stood there, inhaled the salt air and felt that we could breathe again.

Standing in the Sky 

June 2001. I fell in love with New York City.
 
We stood in the sky, looking down on rooftops of the concrete and glass canyons far below. A few minutes before they had towered over us.
​
Thousands of taxis, reduced to toy cars now, threaded the streets like endless yellow veins, carrying the lifeblood of the city.
 
My diary says ‘Amazing security to get into the tower.’
 
June 2002, nine months from the never to be forgotten day, back to the city that never sleeps.
 
There was no sky to stand in, only a deep, empty hole, devoid of life.

Robyn Boswell

I live in the beautiful far north of New Zealand surrounded by beaches and forests. My family have lived here since the earliest days of settlement in New Zealand.

I love travelling and have been lucky to have explored many fascinating parts of our wonderful world. I’ve visited America many times and stayed with wonderful friends I have made. I lived and worked in Scotland, the land of my ancestors, mostly clearing tables and washing dishes in a slightly questionable restaurant, a million miles from my job as a teacher in New Zealand. My greatest adventure was 3 months camping and 20,000kms around the Outback and Tropics of Australia. Nowadays it’s all about rediscovering my own beautiful country and discovering the joys of cruising. Travel has truly broadened my mind.
​
Picture
1 Comment

OPTIONAL TOURS by Syd Blackwell

11/11/2017

3 Comments

 
Our latest featured travel highlight is from our most supportive contributor this year, Syd Blackwell. Many thanks for all your support Syd and best of luck in the competition.

OPTIONAL TOURS

Our hotel in Torremolinos overlooks the beach. Tonight, most of our group opt for a tour to Mijas the “white village”, followed by seafood dinner along the beach. At 53 euros per person, we decline this opportunity and go shopping. Later we find an excellent Italian/Indian restaurant. Gundy eats Italian; I eat Indian. Both meals are delicious. The next day we decline the 57 euro optional excursion to Gibraltar. After breakfast, we catch a local bus to Mijas. We leisurely explore the twisting streets of the charming, delightful, white village, and return by local bus, for just 3 euros.
​
Picture

Syd Blackwell

I lived in British Columbia, Canada´s western province, for most of my life. I was a teacher, and a college employee (various roles - instruction, recruitment, promotion, counselling, research), before re-inventing myself as an innkeeper. I designed and had built my B&B inn in Revelstoke, which I operated for nine years. At age 60, my wife and I retired to Uruguay, where we have lived for more than a decade. 
Picture
Innside Stories is my first published book. I have extensive writing experience in Canada, and in Uruguay, I wrote 75 articles for a now defunct online magazine called Ola Uruguay. We live in Villa Argentina, a suburb of Atlántida, on the coast of Uruguay. We have five dogs.
​

3 Comments

THEY HAD WHISKY TASTING AT THE CASTLE TOO!! by Jill Stoking

10/11/2017

1 Comment

 
It is a real pleasure to welcome back Jill Stoking with her second highlight in this year's contest. Enjoy her latest contribution and best of luck in the competition Jill.

THEY HAD WHISKY TASTING AT THE CASTLE TOO!!
 
Devon to Edinburgh by coach with an overnight stop in Leeds. An impulsive decision and a coach that… let’s just say you could choose your own seat. The hotel, opposite a distillery, had once been a hostel for homeless men, now revamped but an indefinable aroma lingered on. Best night was single malt night. The coach driver presided. He knew his whisky disturbingly well. New friend Patricia and I sampled too many and decided a late night walk through the seedier part of Edinburgh was a great idea. Through an underpass where homeless men slept in their new abode.

Jill Stoking
Picture
Born 1949 - Not dead yet. Qualified as a teacher for children with severe learning disabilities and taught for a while in Surrey before moving to Devon in the early 1970s. Jill has had loads of different jobs since then, most of them in the care sector, either residential homes or in the community. Divorced and her son now living in New Zealand (the two events aren't connected) Jill moved back to the south east in 2010 and lives in a mobile home in Kent with her dog QT, surrounded by the fantastic scenery of the North Downs and a vast expanse of sky.
​"Joan's Descent into Alzheimer's" is the first book Jill has written, though she has had odd bits published in local and national newspapers. ​
1 Comment

The Ferry Ride by Angie Clifford

9/11/2017

2 Comments

 
Time is running out to get your travel highlight entered in this year's contest.

The 2017 Travel Highlights Competition will be closed to entries at midnight (UK time) next Tuesday 14th November. Public voting will then be open until November 30th by which time the Top 3 will have been selected, winning cash prizes of $75, $50 and $25.

Our thirty-first entry this year is from Angie Clifford and is called The Ferry Ride.

The Ferry Ride 

“Hurry up Jon,” I shouted, disaster as I slipped, uneven paving! Yellow high wedge sandals, meant a sprained ankle, ouch! Wearing only a chiffon skirt and top, a summer’s day shopping in Jersey awaited maybe street cafes.

Our boat, bobbing sedately by the quay, only a few more meters and I was onboard. I sat upfront port side, soon Jon was by my side, and we were off. Amused: I saw, passengers wearing rucksacks, hiking boots and carrying walking sticks.

We dropped anchor by the island, not a shop in sight; seagulls, swallows and puffins; wrong boat, wrong time, gutted.

Angie Clifford
Picture

Angie, I was born 1951 in Mayday Hospital Croydon, and in 1970 I married Jon. Forty six years later we are retired and living in Spain. We have produced four lovely children, and have five grandchildren...so far! We consider ourselves blessed, we have had exciting and fruitful lives doing this and that, nothing ‘fame worthy’ just two ordinary people, enjoying life. I have finally finished writing my memoir, and hope to be published next year.
​
2 Comments

A Lancaster Sunday by Mark Boyter

8/11/2017

2 Comments

 
It's great to be able to feature Mark Boyter's fourth travel highlight this year. If you missed any of his other entries catch up with them on the 2017 Travel Highlights page.  This is another really enjoyable read and is entitled A Lancaster Sunday.  

 A Lancaster Sunday 

Lancaster. Sunday morning. Damp under a weak autumn sun.

It rained last night.

My backpack feels heavy and cold.

The Priory Church pipe organ bleeds through heavy wooden doors. I stop. Belongers and believers in hats and warm coats and polished shoes arrive, and I hesitate closer. A woman in brown wool smiles me a welcome. “There’s space in the back pew.”

I sit. We stand. We sing mountains green. We amen, and a man in gentle grey tweed approaches. “If you want,” and I hesitate, “a photo, that’s the best spot,” and he nods and smiles and turns away.  

Mark Boyter
Picture
​Mark is a traveller who writes, a writer who runs, a runner who drinks, and a drinker who loves movies. On rare occasions, he is all five.
From Vancouver, Canada and a teacher by training, he's lived and taught in his native Canada, Japan and the UAE.
His first book, Crescent Moon Over Laos, was published in 2014. He is working on other ideas that may or may not evolve into a second book, as well as a collection of short stories.
He lives in Vancouver with his long time partner and their three cats.​
2 Comments

ISLA DEL SOL by Syd Blackwell

6/11/2017

2 Comments

 
A very warm welcome back to our most supportive contributor in this year's travel competitions,, Syd Blackwell. His fourth travel highlight is another classic and brightened up my day. Thank you for entering ISLA DEL SOL and best of luck in the competition with all of your entries Syd. 

Have you got a travel highlight of 50-100 words? If so, there is only one week left to get involved in this year's contest. Find out more on the Competitions page.

ISLA DEL SOL

We stop for lunch at a small restaurant. Our boat and bags depart. We will walk after lunch. It is sunny; the lake and sky incredible blues. The snow-capped Andes glisten. We are the only diners. The resident Aymara family has prepared a traditional meal.
 
Before we finish, a Titicaca reed boat appears, in full sail. From another direction, a speed boat also approaches the dock below the restaurant. They meet and the tourist passengers transfer from the reed boat to the motor launch and leave. The reed boat, sails now furled, heads back, using an unseen, non-traditional motor.
​
Picture

Syd Blackwell

I lived in British Columbia, Canada´s western province, for most of my life. I was a teacher, and a college employee (various roles - instruction, recruitment, promotion, counselling, research), before re-inventing myself as an innkeeper. I designed and had built my B&B inn in Revelstoke, which I operated for nine years. At age 60, my wife and I retired to Uruguay, where we have lived for more than a decade. 
Picture
Innside Stories is my first published book. I have extensive writing experience in Canada, and in Uruguay, I wrote 75 articles for a now defunct online magazine called Ola Uruguay. We live in Villa Argentina, a suburb of Atlántida, on the coast of Uruguay. We have five dogs.​
2 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture
    Writers Open House Guidelines

    2025 NEW RELEASE

    Picture
    mybook.to/25TM

    5* RECOMMENDED READ

    Summer of '77
    Beaches, bars and
    ​boogie nights in Ibiza

    by Robert Fear​

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Available in Paperback
    and on Kindle
    ​(including Kindle Unlimited)

    getbook.at/Summerof77

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    December 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

​Copyright © 2025
Proudly powered by Weebly