A View From My Summerhouse

Friends Fun And Photos: #BloggersBash2017

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Sherri Matthews

Last year I called it Big, Bright And Beautiful. And it was. The Blogger’s Bash 2016 was all of those things.

So what do I call it this year? I could call it the ‘International Blogger’s Conference’ as displayed in the lobby of the The Grange Wellington Hotel in London where this year’s Bash was held. After all, with bloggers from Ireland, Canada and the USA attending, it truly was an international affair.

But I am going to call it this: Simply Wonderful.

So it was on June 10th, arriving in London on a beautiful, not-quite-officially summer morning, I met up with Julie en route for a quick coffee. It was fantastic to see her again; we’ve both attended all three Bashes, real old timers, ha!

First of my mad spate of selfies with Julie Lawford

Just before meeting Julie, Sacha and Geoff happened to be walking towards me on their way to run an errand before the Bash began…what a great surprise! From then on, it was hugs and photos all round, all day long…

Sacha and Geoffle, sporting his lovely reddish/pinkish beard as has become Bash tradition…

Arriving at the hotel, Ali greeted me with the most wonderful welcome which naturally meant a huge hug and it was as if it had been only yesterday when we last saw each other. The same with Helen who I met for the first time last year…

Ali Issac & Helen Jones…no escape this time!

Last year, Graeme organised an impromptu pre-bash meet at a nearby pub, but this year he held one for, well, himself. Can’t blame him, since the bash started earlier this year. But next year…perhaps a Pre-Bash Breakfast might be in order? Always great hanging out with Graeme…

And then there was Hugh. Hugs galore! For anyone not sure about attending the Blogger’s Bash, I would say go just for the welcome alone.

Three years ago when I walked – late, as usual – into the very first Bash held around a table at a Pizza Express, not recognising anyone amongst the sea of faces, I froze. Thinking, yikes, I can’t do this, I’m in the wrong place, I was about to head for the door. But I heard someone call out my name. And there was Hugh. Need I say more? Blogging friendships are real.

And a lot of fun. Lord knows laughter really is the best medicine. A joke about my purple shoes and who wanted to wear them and an incredible compliment from Queen-of-Killer-Heels Sacha who said she loved them – wow! – and taking away great fun with great friends is what the Bash is really all about for me…

Hanging out with Hugh Roberts and Graeme Cumming – my purple shoes unseen…

Then the Bash began! Thrilled to find a seat next to Marje, we chatted nonstop. I heard ‘Sherri!’ again and there was Sally arms open wide ready for the most promised of hugs. I’ve known Sally since my very early blogging days four years ago. I can’t believe I finally got to meet her and later, to share in her joy at receiving the Runner-Up award for the Most Informative Blog. Richly deserved, as Sally’s excellent blog is all that and much more…

Marjorie Mallon and Sally Cronin…big smiles and big hearts, both…

Sally…for real!

The day flew by with presentations given, awards handed out and announcements made, with several tea/coffee/water/G&T breaks (socialising being thirsty work) and lunch. And let’s not forget an amazing selection of delicious homemade cakes on display at the back for the room from Ritu and Geoff…thank you both!

Geoff had a little too much fun ~~playing~~ holding the microphone as Hugh, Sacha and Ali gave their presentations…

Here with Lucy Mitchell is anybody’s guess…

Throughout the day, Sacha posted live on the Blogger’s Bash public Facebook page for those who couldn’t attend. Debby Gies, friend to me and many attending bloggers, posted a short but very sweet live video message all the way from Canada. Shout out to Debby and Tina – next year, right lovely ladies?

Suzie and Elena both gave informative and helpful presentations about ways to bring more traffic to our blogs. Suzie gave great tips for those wanting to monetise their blogs and Elena about the value of using Pinterest…

Suzie Presenting…

Together with Christoph , Suzie and Elena then formed a panel, inviting us to ask questions about blogging in general. What came across strongly for us all is that the most important thing about blogging is not the numbers: it’s the connection with our communities and the friendships we form.

Last year I met Ritu for the first time and I was thrilled not only to see her again and have time for a quick chat, but also to congratulate her when she won Best Overall Blog…

Ritu gets her well deserved Best Overall Blog Award from Sacha and Geoff…and of course a great big hug…

Many congratulations to all the Award winners! You can find the full list of winners here at Sacha’s blog. Also to Ellen, winner of the ‘Connections’ writing competition with her beautiful story. Noelle and Steve were runners-up and you can read all three great stories here.

Joy and laughter and celebration filled the room, and of course, I carried on clicking away…

Ellen Best and Julie… great to meet Ellen for the first time…

Ritu Winner!

As always with these events, I was sorry not to be able to chat with everyone. But I did get a hug with Shelley and it was nice to see Lance there again. Great to catch up with ‘old’ friends Mary and Sue, and meet new friends Willow, Eloise, Jessica, Adam, Jo, and Alexina.

Great to meet Jo…and still chatting to Marje…

It was great to meet Alli who came all the way from North Carolina. Always keen to talk to a ‘fellow’ American about my other ‘home’, I hope I didn’t ramble on too long…

Allie Potts…welcome to England!

By coincidence, Allie had a FaceTime session going with Sarah as I walked by, so I got to say hello to her too in the States.

And there it is, BB 2017. Too soon, it was all over and we said our goodbyes. But do not fear, because it’s all happening again. On June 9th 2018 to be exact. Sacha’s blog will have all the updates starting soon I’m sure.

If you want to read more about the Bash, check out the BB public Facebook page and the hashtag #BloggersBash2017 on Twitter for lots more great photos, videos and write-ups.

Also, and very importantly, Hugh, as he does every year, has made a wonderful video of the day, now live on his blog. Waving to Charli and Norah, Irene, Anne, Sarah and all the gang at Carrot Ranch, and thanking those of you who still read my blog even though I’m barely here these days, it was great to share the day with friends near and far…

And finally, a huge thank you to the Blogger’s Bash Committee: Sacha, Ali, Geoff and Hugh, for once again making this event so successful, enjoyable and fun. Thank you so much for all your hard work and excellent organisation making such a terrific event possible.

Great Day, Great People. Simply Wonderful.

Goodbye BB…see you next year!

Hi and Goodbye until next year from Sally and Ritu and me!

Posted in Bloggers Bash | Tagged #BloggersBash2017, Annual Bloggers Bash & Awards 2017, Blogging, Blogs, Fellow Bloggers, Friendship | 144 Comments

All Change At The Summerhouse

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Sherri Matthews

Hello dear friends, how I miss you. My absence breeds a growing sense of isolation from my blogging community, the Summerhouse needs the laughter of friends. I wonder what you are up to, how things are going, what’s your latest news? There’s been a few things going here…

‘Arrrgggghhh’ is the first ~~sound~~ word that springs to mind; where to start? How about confessing that I got ‘done’ for speeding by a mobile speed camera. It wasn’t as if I was racing down the motorway, which at least would have been more fun. Boringly, I was clocked doing 41mph along a road I always thought had a 40mph speed limit but I now know is 30. I attended ‘Traffic School’ which, surprisingly was quite interesting. I am now reformed, if not a little paranoid…

But I ask myself, how hard does it have to be to get one measly blog post out? I started this one, my first since March, almost four weeks ago if that tells you anything.

Back then, one fine, spring day, I walked through an ancient English wood. I wanted to share the beautiful Bluebells with you. They’ve all gone now, but here’s the photos anyway…

The Path to Publication? Working and walking on it…

Two trees are dedicated to my Dad in these woods through The Woodland Trust…

Facebook reminded me of my post Time for the Rose which I wrote in June four years ago. June 2013, only five months of blogging. Where does the time go? I reflected on the passage of time and shared photos of my rambling rose growing across my front porch. The rose is gone now too. Things change. So much has changed here at the Summerhouse…

Some of you will know from Facebook that after a brave two weeks and two days, we said goodbye to our darling, sweet Maisy. All of us heartbroken, but especially my youngest Aspie, for whom Maisy was a constant companion and true friend.

Life is struggle enough for anyone with Asperger’s Syndrome. The unconditional love and companionship of a family pet brings comfort and security in a world that so often feels remote and uncaring, alien even.

Goodbye darling, sweet kitty, thank you for the joy and love you gave us…we will remember you always…

Kitten Maisy

Contented Kitty

Get back to my writing, settle down, write a blog post,…I thought. Then this, from early April onwards:

First, after much heavy-duty decision-making, Aspie youngest moved out of the family home into a flat, the first time away from home with the challenges it brings. All my chicks fledged, empty nest thing going on. A lot to sort out but so far, so good…phew… and I’m getting used to my new routine, back and forth…

And then in April we sold our house, having had it on the market since February and barely any viewings and not even mentioning it much because, honestly, I thought it wasn’t going to happen.

We needed to find a place with an annex for Mum. It was never going to be smooth sailing, but after a few frustrating weeks and a sale that fell through, Mum also sold her house. And then, by no small miracle, we found the right place. Since then my feet haven’t touched the ground; I don’t need to elaborate on the stresses of selling/buying/moving…

And my Summerhouse…I have to leave it behind! I feel sad about it. What will I do about my blog without it? I still need a view…and I still need my Summerhouse. A new one, it has to be…

During all the upheaval and randomly, while out shopping for garden supplies, I ended up posing with a very handsome owl, as you do, called Lord Ginnsburgh

Me & My Lord

In early May, I did manage an essay for Dr Gulara Vincent’s inspiring ‘Not Good Enough’ blog series. It stirred me up and reminded me that being good enough isn’t measured in what we do, but in who we are and those we love and who love us along the way.

In fact, stirred up pretty much describes my emotions of late. Along with everyone else, the horrific terrorist attacks in the UK within the three past months have left me traumatised. My eldest son was heading to London Bridge on Saturday night by Underground. Minutes before he arrived, all the trains stopped, every route blocked. He eventually got home via Victoria station in the small hours of Sunday. I don’t even know what to say other than Thank God. And to keep praying for all those who have suffered such tragic grief and loss and awful shock. I don’t know the words…

Thoughts of my dad grow keen again…then I remember that it was this time last year, approaching Father’s Day that I hadn’t heard from him for a few weeks, before I knew how ill he really was. Now I rush past shops selling Father’s Day cards, sharply reminded that I will never buy one of those again. I miss my dad so much.

On the writing front, I am pushing through one small step at a time, but I fight constantly for writing time. Sometimes I wish I could let the memoir go because I will have no peace until I do. It claws at my throat and fills my every waking thought and I want to sit at my laptop and say, right, today I Am Going To Finish It. Instead, I tell myself that better a short paragraph than nothing at all…so long as it is never nothing.

And finally, on a lighter note, once again London Calls. I will be there this weekend at the Blogger’s Bash. I don’t feel much like a blogger these days, but I’m so much looking forward to seeing ‘old’ friends and meeting new, as well as missing those who can’t be there.

My plan – ha! – is to try to catch up with as many of you as possible over the coming days… determined if nothing else.

See you soon! Love Sherri xxx

Posted in Asperger's Syndrome, Blogging, Nature & Wildlife | Tagged #BloggersBash, Asperger's Syndrome, Blogging, cats, English Bluebell Woods, Father's Day, Grief, London, Memoir Writing, Owls, The Woodland Trust, Weekly Photo Challenge | 129 Comments

Spring Forward

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Sherri Matthews

Hello again dear friends! Cobwebs linger in the corners of the Summerhouse, my short, more frequent posts haven’t materialised – yet – but spring has sprung, I am writing and my daffodils are blooming ~

A getaway to the countryside of Wiltshire last weekend brought brief respite and a chance to stroll through a beautiful village, between rain showers. But I can never complain about the rain, how I missed it when I lived in California, although I am so glad for the rain they have now, badly needed.

Here, in England, thanks to all that rain, it really is easy being green ~

Wedding Anniversary March 18th 2017 Wiltshire (2) Edited

Wedding Anniversary March 18th 2017 Wiltshire (12) Edited

Wedding Anniversary March 18th 2017 Wiltshire (3) Edited

Wedding Anniversary March 18th 2017 Wiltshire (4) Edited

Wedding Anniversary March 18th 2017 Wiltshire (42) Edited

Howard’s House where we stayed, is an independently owned and run country house hotel in the idyllic village of Teffont.

It dates back to 1623 as evidenced by this plaque on the side of the house ~

The gardens, despite the lack of sunshine, shone with the joys of spring. This little gate leads us there, just off the road ~

You can see why this is a popular venue for a wedding. If it had been just a little warmer, I would have happily sat here whiling away the hours with one or two glasses of bubbly ~

Especially lovely are the wild primroses, delightfully prolific this year ~

As a child, I remember picking a small handful of wild primroses from our garden for Mum on Mother’s Day which falls in March in the UK. Happy Mother’s Day to my fellow Brit Mum’s for this Sunday!

This is the back of the hotel which really does look like a house, albeit one with sixteen bedrooms ~

It would have been nice to walk further, but the grass, while lush and full, was soaked ~

Since my last blog post, our darling cat Maisy, fifteen, has been diagnosed with inoperable liver failure. Last week, we braced ourselves to say goodbye, utterly heartbreaking. But…she rallied and is back home as we make the most of every day we have left with her. We’ve always said Maisy is one tough cat; despite using up eight lives, she’s making her ninth count for all it’s worth.

Here she is, happy to be back in her usual spot ~

Finally, exciting news: my essay ‘Promise of a Rose Garden’ is recently published in Lady by the River: Stories of Perseverance, a collection of personal stories about facing everyday challenges. I was truly honoured when my dear friend Yvette first invited me to collaborate with her. This summer, Yvette plans to use the book as a resource guide when she teachers her self-help workshop.

‘Our’ book has bubbled away for some time; it is thanks to Yvette’s hard work and tenacity that ‘Lady’ was published at all, and I thank her so much for what we all hope is a book that will encourage even just one person reading to know, above all else, that they are not alone.

Some of you may also know dear Mabel Kwong, one of the collaborating authors, who shares her thoughts about being published in Lady By The River in her recent post.

One more thing, I almost forgot, just a little somethat that amused me I thought I’d share…

A short item in the local Gazette caught my eye with the headline: ‘Is town becoming hotspot for sightings of UFO’s?’ I read on to discover that, apparantely, my town has been the subject of several, unexplained sightings, a few of which have been reported to the UFO Stalker website. But the strangest of all is of a sighting back in December of an alien wearing a Stetson walking by the college. I wonder if I had walked past this alien it would have tipped its hat and said ‘Howdy Ma’am’. After all, if it’s good enough for Clint Eastwood…

I miss you all, and I will see you very soon!

Love Sherri x

Posted in Book Publication, Cats, Nature & Wildlife | Tagged Book Publication, cats, English Garden, English Spring Countryside, Howard's House Hotel, Lady By The River, Mother's Day, Narcissus Daffodils, Perseverance, UFO's, Weekly Photo Challenge, writing | 173 Comments

Of Blogging Blues And Otters

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Sherri Matthews

Today, the view from the Summerhouse is grey and wet. Yet I am heartened at signs of spring bulbs rising from winter’s slumber with fresh, green shoots. Soon, the view will be awash with colour.

As I work on the last leg of my memoir revisions, I feel like a spring bulb: hidden away, seemingly asleep, but working hard to grow a shoot of writing progress, the completed draft, closer to the surface.

Concentration and focus on writing is one thing; my increasing challenges as a carer and advocate for a family member are another. And this leaves me with not much left for blogging.

My solution, I think, is to post short (but hopefully sweet…) posts when I can. Just a few words, with a photograph or two, maybe a quote or a 99 word flash fiction while I focus on my writing…

Because I don’t want to disappear, and I do want to visit you, dear friends, and I will be working on that…and thank you so much for your understanding and to those who’ve recently helped with suggestions to ease me out of my blogging blues.

One idea from dear Sarah was to post a haiku and a photo, as she regularly does. I have always wanted to try my hand at haiku, so let’s see. I was encouraged by her beautiful post about the different forms of Japanese poetry featured at her friend (and my new blogging friend) Bill’s blog, Artistry With Words.

To kick off my new blogging regime then, I thought how nice it would be to share with you some photos from a sunny day spent at Tamar Otter & Wildlife Centre in Cornwall last summer. It is one of several posts I was forced to abandon at the time…

It was a baking hot day, for England, but these darling otters, both British and Asian, including their babies, came out to play ~

I thought it would be against the odds to snap a shot of a family of otters looking in the same direction.

Next time I post, let’s hope the view is sunny and bright with the bulbs in full bloom and we will say hello, how lovely to see you again, and share a smile beneath spring’s warming sunshine…

Posted in Blogging, Nature & Wildlife, Poetry | Tagged Blogging, Friendship, Japanese Poetry, Memoir, Nature & Wildlife, Photos of Otters, Sarah Potter, Spring, Tamar Otter & Wildlife Centre, Weekly Photo Challenge, writing | 127 Comments

In The Raw

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Sherri Matthews

As the sun slowly set on 2016, I watched from a beach on the Dorset coastline, and I thought of my dad.

Today, writing my first post of a new year, I think of all that’s happened since I wrote my first ever post. Four years of blogging. Three years of writing my book. Another year begins and I’m ever hopeful that this is the year I publish my book.

One of the last things Dad and I spoke about was my book; he loved hearing all about my writing. Brexit happened while I waited to hear back from him, keen to know his thoughts. Dad watched the news avidly, always interested in the world around him. But I didn’t get the chance. I wonder what he would have made of Trump.

Between Christmas and New Year, I received an email from my cousin. Her mother was my auntie, Dad’s eldest sister. To my cousin, Dad was ‘Uncle Bobbie’. She sent photos I’ve never seen of my dad as a boy, of my grandparents when they were young, of me as a little girl snuggled next to Mum, sitting on Dad’s lap, holding Dad’s hand; smiling for the camera.

I always wanted to know more about Dad, about his younger life: what he did; where he lived, how he did at school. What happened. What went wrong.

You can learn a lot from old photographs. I discovered, thanks to my auntie’s annotations, that as children in the early 1930s, Dad and his siblings took family holidays at Bognor Regis, Tiverton and Southend. That they lived in Leicester during WWII.

That each of them celebrated sumptuous 21st birthday parties at long tables bedecked with crisp, linen tablecloths, around which sat family and friends dressed in black tie, cocktail dresses and furs and drinking champagne, headed up by my ‘Godfather’ Granddad, cigar in hand, beaming proudly. In fact, in most photos of Granddad, he is holding a glass of champagne.

Bittersweet. Raw. Memories of lives and eras gone by, yet kept alive through photos and words. Especially words.

Me with Mum & Dad. Mum knitted Dad’s jumper. It was orange. 1960s

Before Christmas, lovely blogging friend Tina Frisco, invited me to write a few words about my blogging/writing goals for 2017 for her Spotlight on #Blog Visions for 2017 New Year’s post, a huge honour to feature alongside several amazing bloggers. Thank you Tina for helping me get moving after Christmas!

And when dear friend Charli Mills invited me to write the first essay for her new series, Raw Literature: Starting the Conversation, I was both thrilled and incredibly nervous. Charli challenges us to examine and look past the ‘shittiness’ of our first drafts; to explore, as she defines it, that ‘…first lick of flame after flint sparks…’. That moment when we find the real story and discover the writer we really are. Thank you Charli, for believing in me.

In my essay, Raw Literature: Memoir & What Lies Beneath, I share that ‘moment’ when I realised why I write memoir, always looking for the true story behind the story I’ve always believed it to be. But there are some stories we will never really know, and perhaps we do not need to.

Time then to get back to work. Thank you dear friends, family, online and off, who read my blog, my writing, for taking the time to leave your lovely comments of encouragement; for messages, emails, texts, something said quietly in person. I hope I show you the same kindness, love and care in return.

My 21st birthday was very different to my dads, and that’s another story. But discovering my granddad’s love of champagne, it looks as if I have him to thank for my New Year’s mantra, found hanging on a wall in a pub, naturally…

I hope 2017 is kind to you all, and I raise a glass of bubbly to second that.

Love Sherri xxx

Posted in Blogging, Family Memoirs, Guest Blogs, Writing | Tagged Blogging, Champagne, Dad, Family Memoirs, Fourth Blogging Anniversary, Guest Posts, Memoir Writing, New Year, Raw Literature, thank you, writing | 127 Comments

Christmas Present

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Sherri Matthews

It doesn’t seem possible that Christmas is just over a week away, a New Year chasing its heels. So much has changed, not least of all the weather. The last couple of weeks in southern England have been unseasonably mild, although unlike last year, we did have a few frosty days in November.

What happened to those white Christmases of my childhood I wonder? For me, they really did exist. It took me a while to get used to a Californian winter when I first moved to Los Angeles. Winter wonderland scenes with fake snow, icicles and huge, plastic snowmen in front yards looked out of place against the azure sky, bobbing around in warm, Santa Ana winds.

But it is Christmas Present I am more keen to think about today. Which means presents! And what better presents than books, especially debut novels recently published by three dear friends.

Sarah Potter, (and thank you again so much to Sarah for featuring me as her Guest Storyteller and to all who left such amazing comments), published her first novel Desiccation last year.

An urban fantasy, sci-fi crossover fiction, it’s best described as ‘St Trinian’s meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers‘. And it is, and it’s a wonderful read. I know, because I read and reviewed it on Amazon.

Sarah followed up very recently with her latest upper-middle grade crossover fiction novel, Noah Padgett and the Dog People which tells:

‘The tale of a boy who fell into the paw-hands of a villain crazier than the Mad Hatter and more puffed up than Mr Toad…‘

I have the paperback ready and waiting on my bookshelf, but as well as for Kindle, it is also available in audio format.

Great stories take us to places we might otherwise never go. A classic, of course, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, takes us back in time to a world very different to ours, yet its message of forgiveness and love is timeless.

Every first weekend in December, with great anticipation of seasonal celebration, my family catches a steam train to the tiny, medieval village of Dunster in Somerset, England, its narrow streets transformed into a Dickensian candlelit delight.

A castle overlooks the village from on high, hosting a Victorian Christmas all of its own…

First some sweet music from this lovely harpist…

Then to open presents…

Time to feast in the grand dining room…make sure to look for your place card!

Followed by traditional Christmas cake and pudding by a warming fire…

And then, how lovely to retire to the library for a glass of port and a nice, quiet read of those recently purchased books…

Away from the peace of the castle, once owned by the Luttrell family but now by the National Trust, things were more boisterous…

One man walked along a tightrope while playing a violin, accompanied by his friend playing a moving piano. Even Jacob Marley would have enjoyed this entertainment. Maybe…

Thinking back to that beautiful library, what a thrill it must be to at last hold the book you’ve written, laboured over and finally published. I know this is just how Hugh Roberts is feeling right now with the launch of his debut novel Glimpses this month.

A collection of 28 short stories sure to delight – and shock – with thrills and spills, twists and turns, humour and horror. I know, because I’ve read most of these great stories on Hugh’s blog, Hugh’s Views and News, although he tells us that he’s changed several and added some new ones. To celebrate his book launch, Hugh is running a competition with the top prize a £100 Amazon Gift Certificate.

One of the happier parts of this year have been the many, long walks I’ve taken, through sunshine and rain (but no snow, yet…). I think of another lovely friend, ‘restless’ Jo, who takes us on her Monday walks with her gorgeous photographs and narrative no matter the weather; I know she will remember the beautiful, Roman city of Bath.

Hubby and I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Christmas markets at Bath at the end of November. It was very cold that day – our brief frosty phase – but a warming cup of mulled wine helped greatly while walking around the market, admiring the beautiful, Bath stone buildings, including the old Pump Rooms (where afternoon tea is now served)…

Although there is no skiing in Bath due to the distinct lack of slopes and yes, snow, there is an Apres Ski Bar for anyone who wants to pretend…

It’s very cosy and Christmassy inside. Hot chocolate? Coffee? Prosecco? It’s all there…

And for those who have other things in mind, if not skiing…

This year, my blogging hasn’t been exactly prolific, but I’m so grateful to those who still visit the Summerhouse. I’ve known dear Jude since my very early blogging days, and I’ve always enjoyed participating in her photography challenges when I can.

Jude runs a Garden Photography challenge over at her gorgeous blog Earth Laughs in Flowers, and December’s theme is urban floral displays. I wonder if her ears were burning when I told hubby I had to take photos of these pretty floral displays outside a restaurant just for her…

Although I don’t blog as much as I used to while working on my memoir, since returning in October, I have continued to write 99 word flash fiction over at dear friend Charli Mills’ Carrot Ranch. I post them in her comments in response to her weekly prompt rather than here for the time being, purely because of time constraints.

Through Carrot Ranch, I’ve met a wonderful group of writer friends, one of whom is Sarah Brentyn who blogs at Lemon Shark. She very recently released her debut collection of short fiction, Hinting at Shadows…

I have always enjoyed Sarah’s wonderfully edgy, what-lies-beneath writing, and look forward to reading her ‘microburst’ stories that promise and intrigue…

‘No one escapes life unscathed. Delve into the deeper reaches of the human condition and the darkness
that lives there.’

Last, but not certainly not least, I must tell you about the beautiful post my wonderful, sweet friend Patsy Parker shared, in which she tells of the absolutely stunning painting she made for me called Sherri’s Red Fox in honour of my dad and our walks in the woods.

And then she mailed it to me, from California, framed and all. Isn’t it stunning? I cried when I opened it…

Please check out Patsy’s awesome blog Patsy’s Creative Corner and her other amazing artwork. She is incredibly talented. You’ll get a wonderful welcome, guaranteed.

Thank you so much dear Patsy, and many congratulations to Sarah, Sarah and Hugh…thrilled for you all!

*******

This is my last post until after the New Year, but I’ll be hanging around to visit and do the rounds for as long as I can before launching into next week’s Christmas preparations.

Until then, I wish you, dear friends, a Merry Christmas and a
happy holiday season filled with joy, love and peace
from my home to yours…

picture-156

…and a Happy New Year to all!

Love Sherri xxx

*All photographs and videos copyrighted by Sherri Matthews and a View From My Summerhouse 2016

Posted in Books & Reading, Christmas, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged A Christmas Carol, Anticipation, Books & Reading, California, City of Bath, Debut Authors, Dunster By Candlelight, Friendship, Garden Challenge, Monday Walks, Victorian Christmas, Weekly Photo Challenge | 131 Comments

December’s Guest Storyteller, Sherri Matthews

Posted on December 3, 2016 by Sherri Matthews

Delighted and excited at my invite from my dear friend Sarah to feature as her Guest Storyteller today! As a writer of non-fiction, writing a short fiction story (400 words in this case) lets me mix things up a little. In my story, A Blue Coat for Christmas, a Christmas gift isn’t all it seems…Thank you so much to Sarah for inviting me to her wonderful blog, and thank you, as always, dear friends, for visiting and reading!

Sarah Potter Writes

Sherri has been writing full-time since 2011. Currently working on her memoir, Stranger in a White Dress, she has been published in a variety of national magazines and two anthologies. Sherri raised her three, now adult children, in California for twenty years and today, lives in England’s West Country with her hubby, Aspie youngest, two cats, a grumpy bunny and a family of Chinese Button Quails. She keeps out of mischief gardening, walking and snapping endless photographs. Her garden robin muse visits regularly.

You can find Sherri’s links of interest at the end of this post.

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Sarah says: I’m thrilled that Sherri has agreed to make a return visit to my blog as guest storyteller with a seasonal story to delight us all. Some of you might remember her Christmas-themed story Chocolate Umbrella from December 2014. This story received 54 likes and 79 comments, which was a fantastic response…

View original post 549 more words

Posted in Guest Blogs, Uncategorized | Tagged Christmas, Flash fiction, Guest Post, story telling | 34 Comments

An Italian Journey: Writing And Healing

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Sherri Matthews

September arrived and with it, any thoughts of writing vanished. My birthday; a long-awaited holiday. Both beckoned. But somewhere in the space between early spring and autumn’s first flush, everything blurred into one big smudge of I can’t face it.

We heal, eventually, from family illness and loss, but scars do not disappear. And something, at some point, has to give, even if only for a short while. My long-burn writing dream never died, but in the deep, silent part of me, my ability to focus, to write, lay in tatters.

So I retreated into long walks by the sea and drinking wine in my garden, listening to the birds singing their sweet September song. I offered up my writing, like a bird held gently in both hands, and I let it go and watched it fly away.

And then, with gentle persuasion, I took Hubby’s hand and I flew away too, on our long-awaited holiday to Lake Garda in Italy.

Stunning views of the Alps, lakes and the Black Forest as we flew above France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria on this beautiful, blue sky day. The Stewardess knew something, as she returned with not one, but three gin and tonics – each! – with a knowing wink. It wasn’t just the hum of the plane’s engine that was buzzing… (c) Sherri Matthews 2016

From Verona airport, we travelled on for not quite two hours to the north-western shore of the Lake, where, against the backdrop of the Italian Alps, sits the exquisite and historic village of Limone.

The name Limone is Italian for ‘lemon’, and lemons and other citrus fruits once grew in abundance in the now ancient lemon groves, dating back to the 14th century. The terraced columns of the Limonaia del Castèl are still clearly visible.

During the summer, they are opened up by candlelight for visitors to tour, with lemon trees still grown, albeit in smaller quantities.

But ‘Limone’ is also the Latin word for ‘boundary’. Lake Garda is made up of three regions; Limone is part of the Brescia province, in the Lombardy region.

Limone also, quite possibly, holds the secret to long life: In the 1970s, during a routine medical check-up, a man was discovered to have high levels of cholesterol but without any of the expected damage. Doctors went on to discover that this man, members of his family and a small community in Limone, all carried a type of protein that keeps cardiovascular disease at bay. Hopes continue that this protein can be replicated for the general population, but so far, we wait.

The view from our balcony was truly spectacular.
To the right ~

And to the left ~

The ever-changing skyline transformed the mountains as a work of art ~

The walk down to the lakeside took us down narrow – and steep! – cobbled streets ~

Past houses bursting with blossoming bougainvillea ~

And shops filled to the brim with every good thing ~

For a quiet place to sit, there is no lack of cafes, bars and restaurants ~

And then we found the harbour ~

We walked along the beach ~

Places to dine, take in the view, relax, pop up everywhere in Limone ~

And swans enjoy the lake too ~

But even as lost as I was in all this beauty and tranquility, it wasn’t until we visited Malcesine across the water, only a twenty-minute boat ride way, that I found true magic.

The beaches and streets and harbour of Malcesine were just as gorgeous `
as those of Limone ~

But it was while walking around The Scaliger Castle that I felt a familiar stir, like a breeze, in that deep, silent place where my writing lay in tatters.

Not just the stunning vistas, but a glorious history ~

The 13th century castle has been extended over centuries, owned by The Scaliger Dukes of Verona and later by the Austrians in the 19th Century.

As I climbed higher, the view became ever more breathtaking ~

I reached the bell at the very top ~

And then, as I walked through the castle, I read this, quoted from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, considered to be the greatest German literary figure of the modern era:

‘How I wish my friends could be with me for a moment to enjoy the view which lies before me.‘ J W Goethe, from Torbole, 12th September, 1796.

I felt just the same way ~

Writings and sketches by Goethe filled the castle and I realised, to my thrill, that I was walking in his footsteps, for he had once visited this very castle during his ‘Italian Journey‘ in 1786. Forced by strong winds to take harbour at Malcesine, he wandered up to the ruins of the castle for some peace and quite, but someone crept up on him and stole some of his work.

It caused an outcry as Goethe was suspected of being a spy, but his ‘gentlemanly appearance and his power of oration’ won the day. From then on, thanks to the high regard for Goethe and his visit, albeit an unplanned one, Malcesine became the tourist haven that it is today.

Reading about Goethe’s Italian Journey inspired me more deeply than I at first realised. Stopping for a light lunch, we found a quiet place just off from the harbour ~

There, I found a moment of rare and sublime contentment. Enjoying a bowl of homemade minestrone soup and a glass of Prosecco, languishing in September’s Mediterranean warmth, I could not take my eyes off the green shutters facing me.

At the table in front of them, a family of three adults finished lunch and for a little while, nobody sat there.A man played a violin over by the harbour and two small children laughed as they chased one another down by the water, but through the world passing by, words tumbled out of the deep, dark place where they had slept inside me, undisturbed, for so long.

‘One would need a thousand styluses to write with. What can one do here, with a single pen? And then, in the evening, one feels exhausted after so much looking and admiring.’ J W Goethe, 5th November, 1786.

And then, at the empty table, sat my dad. Not a ghost, not a vision. He was just there, smiling, telling me to enjoy my life, to laugh and love and to LIVE it.

That evening, back in my hotel room, I took out my single pen and notebook, unused for too long, and my writing returned. I wrote ‘Green Shutters’, and I found the flow of my memoir, inspired when I least expected it by my own Italian journey.

And I’ll say Buon Appetito to that.

Posted in Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Writing | Tagged Apolypoprotein A-1 Milan, Grief, Italian Journey, Italy, J W Goethe, Lake Garda, Limone, Malcesine, postaday, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, writing | 154 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Sherri Matthews

From across the Shining Sea, I wish my dear American family and friends
a Peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving.

Melted Frost On Winter Violas (c) Sherri Matthews 2016

Melted Frost On Winter Violas
(c) Sherri Matthews, November 2016

Posted in Nature & Wildlife, Thanksgiving | Tagged America, English Garden, Peace, Thanksgiving | 31 Comments

Lest We Forget

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Sherri Matthews

Escaping the clamour filling news headlines and social media lately, I stood alone in my living room this morning at eleven o’clock to observe two minute’s silence.

With the television on, as Big Ben chimed, cameras caught moments throughout the UK of not only gatherings of military commemorations for Armistice Day, but of ordinary people, including school children, stopping to show their respects in remembrance and in silence.

One camera panned to Somerset artist Rob Heard’s memorial Shrouds of the Somme on display at Bristol Cathedral. Each shroud carries the name of the 19,240 British soldiers who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in World War One. We remember the 19,240 ‘Tommies’ who ‘went over the top’ and didn’t return.

Shrouds of the Somme Courtesy BBC

Courtesy BBC

I remember men from both World Wars, like my husband’s grandfather, Walter Rideout, who fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1914 and his father, Albert Matthews, a ‘Desert Rat’, who fought in El Alamein in 1942. Both survived and returned home and barely spoke a word about it.

But Albert’s younger brother, Stanley George Matthews, did not survive, for he lies buried deep below the black, heavy waters off the coast of Greenland, brought down with HMS Hood, sunk on 24th May 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck. He was twenty-two years old.

I think of such men today and of walking around Green Park in London back in March when I stopped for another reason, fascinated by the way the late afternoon sun beamed flames of light upon the magnificent Bomber Command Memorial.

Bomber Command Memorial, Green Park, London (c) Sherri Matthews 2016

Designed by architect Liam O’Connor from Portland stone, bronze sculptures of a Bomber Command aircrew stand tall in the midst of the memorial. They represent the 55,573 British, Commonwealth and Allied Nations’ Airmen who served in the RAF Bomber Command and lost their lives during the Second World War.

wwii-memorial-green-park-london-1

(c Sherri Matthews 2016

The memorial was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

And in the words of Winston Churchill:

All these soldiers fought and died to give us the freedom we enjoy today, but I wonder what they would think of the way we treat that freedom now?

We honour them and their very great sacrifice with the deepest of gratitude. They died for our peace and safety, that we might live, and decently, when they could not, and we must not let them down. We must remember them.

Lest We Forget…

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

(From the poem The Fallen, Laurence Binyhn 1869-1943)