Festival fever

The best laid plans.... Having plotted out a writing schedule for August, I managed to come back from the Eisteddfod with yet another bout of Covid, which threw everything into disarray. I'm slowly getting back on track again but deadlines are looming and progress needs to be made.

But our few days at the Eisteddfod were well worth it. I spent far too much time - and money - in the book tents, listened to some of my favourite singers, heard the wonderful Mererid Hopwood reading from her new poetry collection "Mae" and was able to practice plenty of Welsh. We were staying in a delightful cottage, named Cut Moch (a very comfortable conversion of - as the name translates - a pig sty!) in a remote area of Powys. We managed a couple of other visits too, to Plas Newydd (of Ladies of Llangollen fame) and Cwm Pennant (of St. Melangell fame - her story had been one of my favourites when writing Once Upon A Time In Wales). So it was a good break overall.

Mererid Hopwood with musical accompaniment

Already though the mornings have a definite chill to them and the evenings are beginning to draw in - and, after so long a dry period, many of the trees are turning and dropping their leaves weeks prematurely. "Mists and mellow fruitfulness" seem to be almost upon us. The diary is rapidly filling up with the usual autumnal commitments - various meetings, workshops, book fairs - and of course deadlines! But I'd like to squeeze just a bit more out of summer first ...