Wednesday, 17 February, 2010: Next speaking date: I am delighted to say I have been invited to Sheringham on Wednesday 24 March this year to speak at the monthly dinner of the new Sheringham Museum Trust, and the brand new Museum is officially opening the next day. The subject of the talk: The Hostage Handbook, how and why it came to be written and what lessons might be drawn from such an experience.
The book is also featured with four pages of pictures and text written by Paul Dickson in the March edition of the Archant magazine Let's Talk and Henry Layte, proprietor of the great new independent bookshop in Norwich, The Book Hive was featured with the book today in an Eastern Daily Press article on the Norwich Lanes. Henry's knowledge about books and his enthusiasm for them and their authors is already warming many literary hearts as never before in and around the city. Thanks to him signed copies of The Hostage Handbook are among a number of new publications being featured by Henry at The Book Hive, a very comfortable and pleasant venue where a rather special book launch party for Handbook went ahead on the evening of Friday 29 January despite the heavy blizzard that descended on the city that night -- and despite the fact that The Book Hive stands on top of what became a very icy hill.
Despite the challenging weather, friends of Henry and myself and complete strangers alike all came by road, from as far away as London, Colchester and Kings Lynn as well as other outposts in and around the city. Among the star guests of the evening who enjoyed a glass of wine and snacks were my dear London-based friends 'Holmes and Watson' who appear in full costume most days of the week at the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street in London.'s West End. S Holmes Esq himself, (Stewart Quentin Holmes in full) himself the author of a slyly funny humour book Nothing Really Serious had many of the guests in stitches with his jokes and humorous asides. Henry Layte gave the book a very generous introduction and I was very honoured that among the guests was Illuminee Nganemariya, the author with Paul Dickson of the extraordinary book Miracle in Kigali which describes graphically the amazing and moving experience of her survival of the Rwanda genocide in the heart of the capital.
I was also very touched to find a dear friend of my childhood, Megan James, now Megan Davies, who grew up in the same street as myself at Hotblack Road, Norwich, attending with her husband Tony. We had not met for over sixty years! And we still recognised each other!!! And now we have discovered we are neighbours again, living only a few minutes apart south-west of Norwich. Jon Welch, a new friend and a senior reporter on the EDP came along too - jut for the fun of it, not to write about it.
Off and on it has taken me four decades to make up my mind to publish the verbatim transcripts of those diaries of my time as a hostage in China - and in lots of ways already publishing the book has been a wonderful and heartwarming experience. Meeting old and new friends in and around Norfolk as described in this blog has been an unexpected and marvellous surprise. And it has reminded me again of just how wonderful it is to be free in this fair land of ours.
The book is now currently being sent for review in the national press and media and a London launch party is planned, possibly at one of the Daunts bookshops in West London. Watch this space !