Continuing the celebration of a special bonfire night in my novel The Purrfect Pet Sitter, I am delighted to welcome fellow Chindi and Apricot Plots author, Jane Cable to my blog to share her bonfire night memories. Jane made the move from West Sussex to Cornwall in 2017 and reflects on her first bonfire night in Cornwall.
Cornwall does winter really well. When the tourists go home the celtic heart of the county seems to re-emerge; firework displays followed by Christmas lights – community events in just about every town and village – chasing away the darkness in a way that even our distant ancestors would recognise.
In the past I’ve dreaded the short days but here it seems different. Here people seem more in touch with the land, the sea and the sky. That’s not to say it’s talked about – it just kind of is.
Last year was my first bonfire night as a Cornish resident and it also marked the time of year when we take back our beach house in Porthtowan, which we let to holidaymakers from Easter to the autumn half term, and make it our own again. So it was particularly special to wrap up in coats and scarves and walk down the hill to the low sand dunes behind the beach, knowing we were back in the village for winter.
The whole village – and more – turned out. The bar nearest the beach was overflowing and there was total traffic chaos, but we found a place on the edge of the dunes and waited. All around us children played with sparklers and glo-sticks, families mingling as we waited for the main event.
Photograph by Blue Six Photography
The firework display itself was spectacular; multi-coloured rockets launching from the beach, illuminating the cliffs and filling the sky before sparkling down to the waiting waves. It was spell-binding, breath-taking – all the more because we were home.
Your Cornish bonfire night celebrations sound perfect, Jane. Thank you so much for sharing them and I hope this year’s celebrations are as spectacular. x
About Jane Cable:
Jane writes romance with a twist of mystery and has recently signed a deal for two timeslip novels with Sapere Books. Find out more at www.janecable.com or follow Jane on Twitter. Jane is also a member of the Chindi Authors and Apricot Plots. She has published two previous novels with Matador:
The Cheesemaker’s House
When Alice Hart’s husband runs off with his secretary, she runs off with his dog to lick her wounds in a North Yorkshire village. Battling with loneliness but trying to make the best of her new start, she soon meets her neighbours, including the drop-dead gorgeous builder Richard Wainwright and the kindly yet reticent café owner, Owen Maltby.
As Alice employs Richard to start renovating the barn next to her house, all is not what it seems. Why does she start seeing Owen when he clearly isn’t there? Where – or when – does the strange crying come from? And if Owen is the village charmer, what exactly does that mean?
“I desperately want to find out about Owen; a fascinating character… the gift here is to make you want to read on.” Jeffrey Archer
Genre: Romantic Suspense | Publisher: Matador
Buy the book.
The Faerie Tree
How can a memory so vivid be wrong?
In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart.
In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right?
With strong themes of love, grief and family relationships, The Faerie Tree is a contemporary women’s novel as gripping and unputdownable as Jane Cable’s first book, The Cheesemaker’s House, which won the Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. It is a story that will resonate with fans of romance, suspense, and folklore.
Genre: Romantic Suspense | Publisher: Matador
Buy the book.
Don’t miss more fabulous firework memories from fellow authors between now and November 5th, and as always, do get in touch. I’d love to hear your firework memories too. x
It’s lovely to live in a place where everyone turns out to an event like that – a real community occasion. It’s like that where I live too, although it’s probably on a larger scale for us, as we are in a big seaside resort.
Thanks, Susanna. Sadly this year the Porthtowan fireworks didn’t happen because the village is tiny with one road in and out and too many people tried to cram in. Hopefully next year it will go back to its local roots because it’s very much that sort of place.
Hope your display is wonderful!