Chris James's Blog, page 11

Some vacation shots

This is more a post for family and friends, as not everyone I know is on social media. Me, Mrs James and the James daughters had a lovely ten days in Croatia, the nearest country with guaranteed weather which we could reach without having to get on a plane.

We made sure our trusty 18-year-old Voyager had been serviced before we set off. The photos below are a small selection of those I took, and if you’re thinking of a holiday in Croatia, the only thing you really need to know is that it ain’t cheap. As long as you bear that in mind, you’ll have a great time. The beaches vary from stony to sandy, but the weather is ideal, something the Baltic Sea can’t really offer.

We stayed at the Apartments Mirlea, where the hosts were terrific and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their place. Based in the village of Zaton, the images below include Roman ruins in the nearest larger town, Zadar, and the waterfalls come from two stunning national parks we visited: the Plitvicka Jezera park, a system of 18 lakes with waterfalls falling from one to the other, and the Krka park.

I hope you all managed to get a break this summer too. As I post this, the rest of the James family are still on vacation, while muggins here has to go back to work tomorrow

And it’s a big, warm welcome to the next stray kitten!

Well, this is starting to get a bit farcical.  Earlier this week, Mrs James and Youngest Daughter went to the Mazurian Lake district for a few days.  There they were, cycling along a country lane, two kilometres from the last village and another two kilometres until the next one, when they stopped for a drink of water.  Out from the field bounds another tabby kitten, certainly no older than the kitten to which Bonnie gave birth nine weeks ago, miaowing to be given a home.

Kittens seldom stray far when they’re this young, so it’s a fair bet that he was dumped.  Just think, somewhere in the lake district there’s a fox or a bird of prey who missed out on a tasty snack.  Meanwhile, this is the third stray tabby to wind up in my house in just the last year.  Blimey.

Anyway, say hello to Joey (three guesses) and here are some shots of Bonnie’s kitten, now called El Matador (don’t ask).  There are also some shots of current visitors to the garden, now in full bloom.

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Documenting the new motorway, #11: Cruising on the carriageway

Security around the new bridge gets ever tighter.  The car in the second photo below contained two very fed-up-looking chaps who politely told me to get lost.  Fair enough.  However, further along the motorway things are not so strict.  Although long stretches are now almost impossible to access due to the fencing going up, in Radosc it’s possible to go cruising on the carriageway, and by “cruising” I mean peddling furiously on my bike.

So, in the pictures below we go from the new bridge over the Vistula, to Patriots’ Street, which the motorway goes under, to a shot of a big-beasty motorway-building machine (with my bike for scale), out to Radosc and the bridge over Izbicka Street.  Finally, there’s a shot of a picturesque lake in the local forest to prove that progress hasn’t quite destroyed everything.

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A brief thank-you post

My first idea was just to write “Thank you” in this post and leave it at that, until I realised that I am far too un-hip to be able to carry that off.  Today, my eighth novel went live on Kindle (the paperback had been available for about a week).  If you pre-ordered it: thank you.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Do remember to make your feelings known, because every rating or review helps readers discover books.

My strongest feeling on publication day is always the same: that’s one less book that will die with me.  It probably sounds maudlin or despondent, but it isn’t meant to.  It’s more about acceptance.  The next strongest feeling is also always the same: a voice in my head shouts: “Shut up and write the next book, you tart!”

Yet more kitten cuteness!

It’s been a hectic three weeks, but The Battle for Europe is just about ready to be kicked out of the nest.  If you’ve pre-ordered it on Kindle, thank you; you only have to wait until next Saturday.  Final edits are always the toughest part of the whole writing/publishing process, but at least I had this really sweet, still unnamed, and unspeakably cute kitten to keep me company.  Today she reached a new, unofficial top speed of 11.7 kmh along the lawn when, as she went to sniff a flower, a butterfly suddenly fluttered in her face.

More kitten cuteness with added jasmine and bumble bees

Bonnie’s kitten, still unnamed, is four weeks old today and now giving off potentially serious levels of cuteness.  Bonnie is doing well but not putting on any weight herself and is still very similar to the ragged creature that arrived unannounced in our garden in April.

Elsewhere, the jasmine bloomed this weekend and on another flowery-type plant I managed to catch some nice shots of bumble bees.  I must also thank you if you’ve pre-ordered The Battle for Europe.  It is certain to be my most successful title at publication next month, and behind the scenes, everything is right on schedule for its 18 July release.

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The kitten opens her eyes (cuteness overload)

The kitten is already two weeks old and recently opened her eyes.  Bonnie is doing a good job of feeding her, and when Bonnie disappears to do grown-up cat stuff, Oldest and Youngest Daughters are invariably on hand to coo and stroke and sigh.  Here are some of the results of the kitten’s first outside photo-shoot today.  This week also saw the rhododendrons bloom, and it’s always a photographic challenge to catch the bumble bees as they flit from flower to flower.

I also want to say thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered The Battle for Europe.  The editing process for any novel cannot be rushed, however in this case everything is currently right on schedule for its 18 July publication and I’m really looking forward to it.  Obviously, the genre in which I write isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but then if you’ve never tried reading military science fiction that treats you with intelligence, how can you be certain it’s not your thing?

The kitten and the woodpecker

First, the bad news: one of the kittens Bonnie gave birth to last Sunday died after less than two days.  We recognised early on that it probably wouldn’t last as it showed no interest in feeding.  However, the remaining kitten is very healthy and seems to double in size every other day now she (we think it’s a she) has all of Bonnie’s milk.  For selfish, new-book-marketing reasons, two lovely fluffy kittens would’ve been better than one, but I will see what I can do with just the one come July.

Elsewhere, for a few weeks now woodpeckers have been visiting the garden.  I think it might have something to do with the fat we hang out for them in the winter, but then again maybe not.  Anyway, a couple of days ago I had my camera to hand and managed to snap one of the little blighters – yay!

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Kittens!

[image error]Today’s post should’ve been about the gorgeous bloom on the hawthorn tree and the lucky shots I got this week of a tit on my apple tree.  Examples of those photos are below, but today has been the day that our newest family member gave birth to a litter of two kittens.  I blogged about Bonnie’s arrival on 16 April, and five weeks later, here are what this charming young lady has been growing inside her.

While I was tempted to write a grumpy-old-man post complaining about more useless mouths to feed, that shtick seems redundant when I wonder just how incredible it was that this cat knew to come here.  As I noted in the 16 April post, from all of the houses in the area, something told her to choose us, like so many strays have landed here before.  Sure enough, that skinny frame and dusty pelt are gone after weeks of decent food and more cuddles than you can shake a stick at.  And Bonnie knocked it out of the park today.

In addition, the timing could hardly be better: I will publish The Battle for Europe on 18 July, just as these two little black lumps grow into the cutest, most adorable, internet click-bait kittens.  Whatever else might be in these kittens’ futures, they’re going to play a role in my book promo plans, for sure!

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Documenting the new motorway, #10: The whooshing deadline

One of author Douglas Adams’s most endearing quotes concerned deadlines: “I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.” There is certainly going to be a loud whoosh as the deadline passes in August to complete the S2/A2 extension.  Although I work in the legal industry, I’m no lawyer.  Nevertheless, I shudder to think of the daily penalty payments the main contractor is going to be hit with, unless they’ve managed to renegotiate.  This stretch of motorway is not going to be just a couple of weeks late; all the way from the Vistula to Radosc, bridges aren’t ready, the surface isn’t laid, and the feeder roads are incomplete.  It will be fortunate if they can finish this time next year.

I will do a proper before-and-after post when the motorway opens.  However, if you don’t want to wait, click on one of the tags at the bottom of the post to filter all related posts.  The last time I pictured the bridge was last September, and my first post about the bridge was two years before that.

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