Kate Walker's Blog, page 3

ME Awareness

As well as being Mother’s Day, May 12th is also the anniversary of the birth of a famous and admirable woman – Florence Nightingale.  I’m sure you know the story of the way that she went out to help with nursing the wounded injured in the Crimean War.  In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London,  the world’s first School of Nursing.
Nightingale became chronically ill in her mid-thirties with a Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)-like illness. She was often bedridden for the last 50 years of her life. Despite suffering from a debilitating illness, she managed to found the world’s first School of Nursing.   Because of this, May 12th has been designated as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND) since 1992. The CIND illnesses include Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia (FM), Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
I don’t talk about this much – in fact, I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned it before, but ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is something I’ve lived with for years. I can recall almost exactly the time it started to affect my life.  I had glandular fever and I was really struggling.  You need to rest, the doctor said – lots of rest.  Inset hollow laughter here. I had  a two and a half year old son – active, intelligent – demanding.  A husband who was dealing with a new job, often working teaching evening classes, we’d just moved house  so my chances of ‘rest’ were limited.  I didn’t know then that this sort of situation was the perfect seeding ground for ME/CFS.
There was no such diagnosis possible back then.  ‘ME’ was not recognised – and of course was known as ‘Yuppie Flu’.   Some doctors refused to recognise it as an illness at all. I remember one doctor who told me that I either admitted I  ‘just’ had depression  - or he would refuse to see me again. Guess what, I left that practice and turned my back on him. I was depressed because I was ill. Not ‘pretending’ to be ill because I was depressed. The hardest thing in those days was the  seemingly endless shuttling  from one doctor to another, the tests  for this, that and the other in the hope that someone could tell me what was wrong. And being told it was all in my mind.
These days there is a blood test that shows problems that create ME/CFS   which is a great help. The condition can also  often lead to the added complication of fibromyalgia. Another illness that some people refuse to admit exists. I have acute fibromyalgia as well as the ME  and at times it can be very unpleasant indeed.
The main symptom of CFS/ME is feeling overwhelmingly tired and generally unwell. Symptoms vary from person to person, and the severity of symptoms can vary from day to day, or even within a day.  This fatigue  doesn't go away with rest or sleep. This can make it difficult to carry out everyday tasks and activities.
Other symptoms of CFS/ME include: sleep problems, such as insomnia, muscle or joint pain, headache, a sore throat or sore glands that aren't swollen , problems thinking, remembering or concentrating , flu-like symptoms, feeling dizzy or sick , fast or irregular heartbeats (heart palpitations)
But  - people say when I  tell them I have ME  - you write books, you teach, you travel. Yes I do, because I refuse to give in to this thing. I do things that matter to me – even though sometimes after a journey I’ve made, a course I’ve taught or  a book I’ve written, I need time out to recover.
Why mention this now? Well, really because I’ve seen the posters and the messages, how people are talking about International  ME Awareness Day and  I think it’s important to ‘come out’ – and acknowledge this problem. Because ME is an invisible disease. You can’t tell from someone’s appearance whether they have it. You can’t see if it’s a ‘good’ day or a day when the symptoms have spiked and someone is feeling very ill indeed.
 Personally, this last year has not been a good one.  So writing has not been good either. People have started to ask questions about the lack of new books from me – so I thought International Awareness Day seemed like a good day to talk about one of the reasons for that.
I know there are so many others who are dealing with this illness. They have good days and bad days.  Some end up in wheelchairs.  Some are housebound. I know I couldn’t do as much as I do without the loving support of my husband.
So I just thought I’d do my bit to raise awareness of this problem. It’s one that so many people live with as ‘normal’ but because  it’s an invisible disease so you might never be aware that someone has it.

Mother's Day

I've never been quite sure why the UK's Mother's Day is on a different date to - well, the rest of the world, it seems. But I want to wish a Happy Mothers' Day to everyone who is celebrating it today. (Well - to any mother anywhere!)

A  couple of years ago, Mother’s Day weekend had a special impact for me as it fell on the date when we would have celebrated my mother’s 100th birthday. We still celebrated it actually. My sisters and I met up to share a dinner and to raise a toast to her memory.  That way we could follow the advice she left us in her final message to us – a note she wrote to all of us in what she knew were her last days. ‘You have been my joy all your lives,’ she wrote.  ‘I love you. Love one another.’ 

My greatest delight and my greatest sadness came together on the day that I received the letter (there wasn’t ‘the call’ back then!) to say that Mills & Boon were accepting my first novel, The Chalk Line, which was the same day as she was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer.   We had hoped that she would live long enough to read my first novel in print – she refused to read the typescript because she was holding on in order to be able to  hold the book in her hands. Sadly, she didn’t quite manage it, but the doctors said that she lived much longer than they had ever anticipated. I like to think the thought of seeing my book was one of the things that kept her going.


My mother taught me to read. She instilled in me a love of books and reading. Because of her there were always books available at home to feed the reading hunger she created. She also dreamed of being a writer herself and had several poems published in her early twenties. I have one hazy memory of her sitting at a writing desk we had in our Yorkshire home, writing away on what I thought were letters, but later, discovered that in fact she was working on some children’s stories. I don’t know what happened to those tales – which is such a pity as I think she would have been a magical story teller herself.
She also read aloud to us – often by a real coal fire so that we could curl up beside her,  close our eyes, and see the pictures in the story inside our heads… Listening to those stories, concentrating solely  on what I was  hearing, focusing on the way characters behaved, the dialogue they spoke was the best possible training ground for learning how a novel worked on an instinctive and gut level. 

I have no doubt that listening to those stories and then drifting off to sleep with them in my head, I took the first steps on the road to becoming the writer I am today, with a storytelling skill learned, literally, at my mother’s knee! I made up stories to myself, finished off the tales she hadn’t yet  brought to an end, imagined how the characters she had created or read about would have behaved. And I learned the basics of simple, straightforward story-telling , building up excitement, using dialogue as a result.

Happy  Mother's Day to all mothers  today.  I hope it is a lovely day for you.

Spring Hedgehogs 2

So when you have put out the right food for any wandering hedgehogs who might visit your garden - how do you know that they have called in during the night and eaten the cat biscuits you left for them?
They politely turn the bowl over to show they've had enough! Or at least that's what our family of hedgehogs do - it's their way of saying thank you.

I'm taking a small break - so I just wanted to wish everyone who celebrates it a very happy Easter - and if Easter's not your thing- then happy Spring Weekend to you all. (Though it's more like summer here right now.) I hope you can relax and enjoy.

Spring's arrival means the hedgehogs come out of hibernation.

I've been encouraging hedgehogs into my garden ever since we moved here 30 years ago!! Luckily they keep coming. It's important to feed them the right diet to keep them healthy and strong as well as appeasing their hunger. so I wanted to share this with you
NB - that second bowl should read 'Mealworms' not mealwoms!! New Milton Hedgehog Rescue

April 16 at 7:34 PM · IMPORTANT REMINDER about MEALWORMSPlease spread the word to everyone you know who feeds their visiting hedgehogs not to put out large amounts of dried MEALWORMS for them.
There are increasing reports and findings, not just in our area but all over the country of the crippling effects that giving a hedgehog a bad diet is having on them. Mealworms especially but also sunflower hearts & peanuts are very high in Phosphorous and very low in Calcium and this is being linked to be the possible cause of Bone Disease in hedgehogs. All of us feed them because we care so let's at least give them a good diet.For more information regarding this issue please read this great article published by Lynda Britchford of Oxton Hedgehog Rescue.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/oxton-wild-hedgehog-rehab/what-can-i-feed-visiting-wild-hedgehogs-that-is-good-for-them/769239736585477/

Busy days

It's been a busy time here lately - specially for the Babe Magnet.

He was at Huddersfield Lit Festival ten days ago  - today he's giving a talk at Doncaster Library . . .

and at the same time he's in discussion about another TV appearance on a programme about one of the cases that has most fascinated him over his crime writing career. 

This one focusses on a Leeds murder from the past. More when I can reveal details.



At least maybe today I'll get a chance to be at my own desk.

Happy St David's Day

Happy St David's Day to everyone but specially to so many wonderful friends from Wales who have been part of my life for years.
 Way back when, childhood family holidays were spent in Trearddur Bay in Anglesey where my Irish aunt came across on the ferry to Holyhead to join us.
 Then I spent five years in Aberystwyth at the University of Wales. Most importantly, I met my husband there. And although we moved away to live in Lincolnshire, our connections with Wales have stayed strong. We have friends and writing connections with this beautiful country that have grown and developed over years of attending and teaching at  Writers Holidays. (I've just finished teaching at the latest Fishguard Weekend and can't wait to go back for the next one.) 
And today, appropriately, one of my first ever Fishguard students who has moved on to being a multi-published author, Rachael Thomas is celebrating the publication of her latest book today. (She also has a special spring giveaway so why not check out her Facebook page for a chance to win.) So it's no wonder that Wales and the Welsh have a very special place in my heart. Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus to you all.

Writing Courses

Did you decide that as your new year resolution, that this is the year you are determined to write your romantic novel?

 Would you like some help with that - a weekend learning about writing, discussing writing, making friends - in a welcoming atmosphere with lots of laughter - and perhaps a little wine?

 I've just finalised my teaching timetable for 2019 and the weekend courses start in February - at Fishguard Bay Hotel. Friday 15th February – Sunday 17th February 2019
For the first time in a long time - well, since I set up this special Advance Romance Writing Course - I still have places on the February course so if you're interested, contact me - or Gerald Hobbs at   Writers'  Holiday.net  who organises the whole Writing Weekend for details. I'm so looking forward to seeing so many familiar faces - and I'd be happy to make new friends this year. Other courses are coming up but I'll post the details of them later.   They will  be with Relax  and Write if you want to check out their web site.

Happy New Year

Happy new year to all my friends and readers, old and new. I hope that the coming year is as peaceful, happy and loving as you wish for. 
And I wish you success - in whatever form you most dream it to be - even if it's just getting through the days! I hope that 2019 brings you days that grow into happy memories shared with loved ones at the end of these 'new' days.
 But then I truly believe that every day is a 'new' one - and a chance to start again - so never give up - whatever you're aiming for. Happy 2019 !

A happy anniversary

I've sort of lost track of things and Christmas planning / organising seems difficult rather than joyful - but at least today has a happy memory attached to it. Five years ago, I visited the local Cats' Protection rescue centre and was adopted by a tiny bundle of black and white fur. 
Ruby has been a delightful part of our family ever since - less than half the size of her big brother Charlie but with a personality and a purr to make up for what she lacks in size. She runs to welcome us as soon as we walk through the door and her joyful presence is a delight that brightens some difficult days. She has the Babe Magnet wrapped round her paws and knows exactly how to work on him to get the maximum number of treats out of him. So glad you chose us to live with Ruby! It's true what they say - nothing makes a house into a home so much as the presence of one small cat.

Advent Calenda6

Do you have an Advent Calendar in your home? One that you hang on the wall and open a numbered door each day marking off the dates from the 1st of December  up to the 24th – and Christmas Eve – to countdown the  days until Christmas?I always loved to choose one of these when my son was small and it really helped him wait more patiently for the big day to arrive. At  least he knew when it was getting nearer and that there were -  twenty – fifteen – ten days left before he could put out his stocking and  leave a mince pie for Father Christmas, together with a carrot for Rudolph the reindeer to eat when they visited.  (There was always just a few crumbs left on the mince pie plate and the end of the carrot – nibbled by strangely human shaped teeth!) Opening the day’s door on the calendar became a special little ceremony  just before he went off to bed  - to dream of Santa’s sleigh and the sound of reindeer hooves.So in the past I have tried to plan a book Advent Calendar to share  with friends and readers who visit my web site, my blog page, my Facebook page.  I   had planned to do this again this year but  several things got in the way. It has been a difficult week with sad news reminding me that not everyone will be celebrating a happy and joyful occasion just because it’s Christmas.

As a result, my planned posting of the Advent Calendar giveaway got shortened into a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway instead. And I’ll be hoping to post the 12 Days giveaway  for each day (or at least every couple of days) from now on.  But  because I’m well aware of the fact that not everyone is enjoying the  lead up to Christmas  and for some it is a very difficult and even sad time, I want my first 12 Days of Christmas post to be a traditional one that I’ve posted in the past and been able to bring just a little bit of brightness into someone’s life.   So this is what I’m going to do today.
What happens is this – you can nominate someone you know and care about who needs a little treat to bring some light into their days right now. Let me know who you would like to send an extra little gift to – a giveaway of a book that I’ll donate in your name. And I’ll include an extra little Christmas gift in the parcel to hopefully bring some lightness into their day as well.

So – in the comments-  post the name of someone you’d like to treat – and add the reasons why you have chosen this person – and I will get Charlie the Maine Coon (who has his own Advent Calendar to open with treats in the pockets)– to pick out a winner  or two to send them a book from you – and from me.