HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year with a quick pic of my gorgeous Santa Baby hanging out in sunny Australia. Oh okay then, he's not MY baby as such but thats not the point!

news and views next week. Love to you all. xxx

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

Just passing by to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

It's been an up and down year for most of us I'm sure, it always is. My highlight was, of course, my first grandchild Riley, born in June. A beautiful little boy who we all adore. The minor downs all fade into insignificance in comparison!

So, very best wishes to you all, I hope you continue to read my blog and to enjoy my books. Next year will see a new website and hopefully, a highly motivated me with a new book to go with it.

As the turkey burns, the pudding explodes, the relatives bicker and the children fight and scream, just remember:

IT'S NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MATTER, IT'S HOW YOU REACT TO THEM.

So chill out and enjoy, it's not that long until next Christmas when you'll have to do it all again!


Love to you all, Bernardine xxx

Pre-Christmas

Since the last blog lots has happened so I'm back a bit sooner than usual.

First there was the RNA winter party (I think of it as the first Christmas party of the season). The usual humdinger of an evening catching with friends and fellow authors, many of whom I don't see very often. We're a widespread group!

Had a bit of a shop and lunch in Oxford Street beforehand with crime writer Lesley Cookman; surprisingly I didn't succumb to the temptations of the handbag department of Selfridges which proved I do a teeny bit of will-power. Though I may just have to go back for the glorious red patent concoction that caught my eye on the way past it! In fact it called me... loudly. It even knew my name. 'get thee behind me Satan' I said firmly but.........

From the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Birdcage Walk (where the RNA parties are held) on the Thursday to the Institute of British Architects the following Monday, the night of the Colman Getty Pen Quiz. I guess the copious amounts of champagne didn't do us much good as we did V. BADLY. But it was for charity so we consoled ourselves with that. The team from the Times were the winners. (Boooo)

http://tinyurl.com/lap33x link for RNA blog. (always a good read)
http://tinyurl.com/yfj8mdk link for PEN

(Memo to self: must learn to link properly. Offers of help anyone techy? x)

below is the Team pic taken beforehand at the New Cavendish Club.

left to right back row: Catherine Jones, Veronica Henry, Catherine King, Melanie Hilton. Front row:: Janet Gover, Katie Fforde, Judy Astley, Bernardine Kennedy. (team member Jay Dixon took the photo. where was Liz Harris??)

Forgot to say previously that my whinge onblog about Mercedes Loughton worked and my car was taken away, fixed and cleaned from top to bottom. The power of the web! I also had a singing/dancing stereo.cd changer fitted. Does anyone know if this will be obsolete when the digital changeover happens? Never occured to me at the time.......

I'm having a new website built so watch this space. will link as soon as its up and running. I'm going for grown-up and informative. The web-designer has done websites for several authors so I have good vibes....

Below is a pic of my waterbaby grandson at only five months. He's doing so well in the water which is so great, especially as he (along with his mum and dad) is en route at this very moment to Australia to spend a month with his Australian grand-parents who live near Canberra.

Okay, off to catch up with something or other from my very long to-do-list. Back soon.

Bernardine xx

PS for the man in the US who contacted me through this blog about the orchid (not) named after me! I deleted your mail by mistake. could you mail again? many thanks and many apologies!