29th January 2023

 Friday’s International Holocaust Memorial Day was marked by the murder of 7 leaving a synagogue in E.Jerusalem. In Gaza, the murders were celebrated with fireworks and the handing out of sweets. What sort of people would do this? Unfortunately, all Arab nations bring up their children to hate and attack Jewish people, so perpetuating the longest racism in living history. If those living in Gaza stopped attacking Israel, there would be peace. If Israel stopped defending itself, it would be wiped out. A century ago, there was a thriving Jewish population in N. African countries, living harmoniously with their neighbours, but they were forcefully ejected. Today there are none. Why no global outcry? In 1948 Balfour guaranteed a two state solution, Israel and Jordan. No-one criticises Jordan's 'right to exist'.  Israel and its full capital Jerusalem existed 4,000 years ago, 2000 years before the birth of Islam.  There has never been a nation called Palestine - it is the name of the whole area from Jordan to the Mediterranean. The people currently living in Gaza largely migrated there from Jordan. Proper education for all is needed in Gaza urgently. It's about time the long-suffering Jewish people were left to live in peace in their tiny, historic land. It's long overdue.

22nd January 2023

A record 3 million+ copies of Spare have been sold. In the US and the UK, public opinion is divided over the causes of the rift between Meghan and the royal family. Many are convinced there’s a race element. For me, the fundamental problem is the clash between modern US culture and ancient, English traditions, as exemplified by the royal family. When Meghan hosted William and Kate in the UK, she reportedly greeted them wearing torn jeans and bare feet - perfectly acceptable/normal in the US - but not in the UK when hosting royalty! Last week I wrote about the different gun laws, but differences in everyday life between the two cultures are very evident. Even back in the 30s, American Wallis Simpson would never have integrated into the royal family, even if they’d let her marry the king. N’er the twain shall meet.  To find out more, you need to read An Englishwoman in America (mybook.to/Ed2anenglishwoman).

Hot news.  The wonderful SpellBound Books have sent me a 10 book contract! Yes, in addition to The Mandarin Seeds (out on 5 May 2023), over the next two years they will be publishing some new editions of my books plus some brand new ones. Very exciting. Here’s what to expect:

Adult Thrillers set in international locations:

3rd Degree Murder (A redbrick university in UK)

Dunoon Assassin (India and Scotland)

The Meleke Stone (France and Israel)

Lamplight (WWII Germany)

Vichyssoise (WWII France)

The Mazurek Express (WWII Poland)

Sci Fi Thriller

Project Kabala (England and Israel)

Thrillers for ages 9-14+, set in international locations

Ruby and The Ancient Temple of Petra (Jordan). 

Tina and The Colosseum of Rome (Italy)

Saffron and The Taj Mahal (India)

(Four more in the series to come)

15th January 2023

Yesterday, a seven year old girl was shot in London, caught in the cross fire from a passing car. When, a few weeks ago, we heard that a six year old Virginia boy shot his teacher at an elementary school, we all thought that couldn’t happen here. Gun crime in the UK’s a thing of the past, isn’t it? Statistics show we normally only have 0.4 such crimes per 100,000 people, compared to 4 in the US, so what’s going on?  When I wrote An Englishwoman in America, I included a chapter about gun laws in each country.  After the Pilgrim fathers landed and brought over some of Britain’s old practices,  we gradually modernised our gun laws, whilst the US essentially enshrined them in their ‘right to bear arms’ constitution. In the book I argue that men, consumed by testosterone, will always get inflamed by the many injustices in life. Therefore, it’s vital at such times that there must never be an accessible lethal weapon available, ever. A punch on the nose, however bloody, means that the victim gets up again to live another day. But for children to also be involved?  My message to every country in the world: ban the manufacture and sale of all guns immediately, and provide an anonymous depository for existing weapons.

8th January 2023

A new year. The news is still full of the ‘wrong’ people blackmailing the country, crying about how hard done by they are, ignoring the millions who say nothing at all: the disabled and those on less than the minimum wage. Meanwhile, the ‘wrong’ books, written by ghostwriters, get worldwide publicity at the expense of excellent real writers earning a pittance. So, turning away from all that, I’m focusing on trying to recover from my 2nd bout of Bell’s Palsy. It’s infuriating that no-one knows what causes it so I’m trying an experiment. In the sales I picked up a large glass liquidiser. Glass is best to take hot liquids. Each day, instead of cereal,  I blend whichever fresh fruits are available, e.g. banana, blueberries, kiwi, with  natural yogurt (avoid low fat substitutes), and drink as a smoothie. Dinner (always with added turmeric and garlic) is better for you if eaten in the middle of the day. Each evening I make soup. Carrots here are very cheap (45p for a large bag.) Boil the carrots, a potato and a litre of chicken or veg stock, for 30 mins. Cool. Whiz in liquidiser with a handful of coriander. Makes at least 4 bowls. Excess can be frozen. Don’t know if it will speed up my recovery/aid my resistance to nerve inflamation in the future, but it all tastes great and is not made by a ghost cook. Just me.

1st January 2023

Suggested NY resolutions for No. 10:

1. Housing. In 1968, our first semi cost me one year’s salary. Today, it would cost 10x the average salary! People can no longer afford a standard house.  In the post-war years, councils erected pre-fabs. Do the same now. Erect thousands of cheap, affordable modular homes, plus surrounding infrastructure, using narrow strips of land bordering parks (as they did in postwar Birmingham) and brownfield sites, but retaining green leisure spaces, to help desperate people onto that vital first rung of the housing ladder. First time buyers should be first in the queue.

2. Health. Introduce French-style NHS cards, embedded with each individual’s health history. Vital for first responders/pharmacists/hospitals, who’d simply insert them into an NHS machine to instantly read your med history. Save money on hospital food waste by getting consultants to not only prescribe medicines but  also prescribe a specific hospital menu according to your condition, as they do in France. Makes sense.

3. Illegal migrants. When we lived in France, the people waiting to cross from Calais to the UK were asked why they didn’t stay in France (or any of the other safe countries they had crossed to get there). They said the UK was the only European country without an ID card requirement; in other words they could simply disappear once on UK soil. Solution:  See (2) above.  A new NHS card system could easily also work as an id system, the card proving legitimacy and acting as a vital key for all kinds of help, thereby solving two problems at once.

It remains to be seen if the government will listen to my words of wisdom, but I hope so.

A very happy and healthy 2023 to all my readers!