The world can wait

Last time I blogged about my books, I did the whole of the Monday's Child series. Sunday's Child features a hero who works for the RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution. I say works. Actually almost every single person who works for the lifeboats is a volunteer. They have a pager, like Cal, and have to drop everything and leave at a moments notice, in order to save lives at sea. Sometimes, like the other week, it's a surfer who defied the storm warnings and decided to go surfing in Storm Ciara. The Hastings lifeboat almost capsized. You can watch a video that someone took HERE . The RNLI is not government funded. They are supported by voluntary contributions, sponsored walks, runs, items they sell through their website and in their shops. I visited a lifeboat station whilst writing the book. So, the point of this post. March is the extra mile for the RNLI challenge. So my arthritic knee and I are walking 31 miles in support. My sponsor page is HE...

You should have seen the queue of traffic behind us when we stopped so I could take this photo: Yes the town really exists - its in Scotland. We drove an hour and a half just to take this picture :) Look i found a lifeboat. Ok, I'm slightly obsessed by them atm, but that's because I'm currently writing Sunday's Child where the hero is a lifeboat crewmember. Yes, its voluntary. And incredibly dangerous as this shows. This was us this year. C is hiding there somewhere. I can see her feet. Same lodge. Same table. Just five years ago

Sunday 15th July, the one dry day in weeks, which was just as well, as hubby, 2/3 kids and me set off on a 90 mile trip to the coast (yes that's one way mileage) to visit Hayling Island RNLI station for research purposes. Armed with a notebook and camera and a list of questions 10 miles long, I needed lots of information for Sunday's Child.  The hero of that novel, Cal Trant, works on a lifeboat. The D.A.L - deputy lifeboat authority - Graham Raines MBE spent three hours answering all my questions. Despite what the TV adverts claim - the AA is NOT the 4th emergency service. That's the coastguard . Not many people know that you can call the coastguard as well as police, fire and ambulance by dialling 999. I did -- and not just because it was a question on Pointless a few months back!  Hayling Island is an inshore lifeboat station and protects a vast portion of shoreline along with Chichester Harbour. these guys all have full time jobs and carry a page...