Welcome Mili

[Kath Mulligan]

Hello Mili, welcome to the world of Minack in cyberspace. Lucky you, not having read the books yet; you have so much to look forward to and enjoy. Hope you get as much pleasure from them as we all do, and look forward to hearing your views as you wade your way through them.

How did you get to hear about Derek and Jeannie?

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Hi Mili - one of my favourite names by the way. Welcome to our wonderful forum........Minack awaits you at every turn......... it's always there for us all whenever we discover it via the Chronicles and once found we never want to let it go. So jump right in and join us......... :D

[Mili]

Hello everyone!
Thank you for welcoming me into the world of Minack! As I told Linda I have not started reading the books yet but like with everything I take seriously I want to be fully prepared when I embark on my journey; which takes me to my very first question but which I would post separately in order to keep topics separately to make it easier for you and me.

So I will tell you how I found out about Minack Chronicles. It all started when because of back problems and arthritis I could no longer spend hours in my garden; I took over a new passion, reading. Before I was just an occasional reader with no particular likings except for Rosamunde Pilcher novels because for as long as I can remember (way before the Beatles) I have always been in love with England and all English! About 19 months ago when I became least mobile I found an RP group online and shortly after I heard about Marcia Willett. I was captivated immediately and shortly after was forming a group to discuss her work. This was November 2006. In our group we discuss not only Marcia but all other English authors, see we are all in love with England, though recently we have to say UK because we now have two members that are Welsh. However it was not until recently that one of my members/friend mentioned Derek Tangye, everyone knows not only my passion for England’s country side but for cats so I immediately got interested. And here I am! My friend Cheryl sent me 5 of the books but I have not started yet because she sent me the first ones but I discovered that “Somewhere a Cat is Waiting” includes the first ones plus some more she does not have so I ordered it and I am waiting for it. Once I start reading them I would not stop and I like to read them in what looks like the most reasonable order to read them, in order of publication. Which takes me to MY QUESTION but as I said I would post it separately.

Now a bit more about myself besides being crazy about England and I will try to be brief because this one is long already! I am 59 years old and live in Heron Cottage (given name of our tiny home) with my husband of almost 40 years and 3 cats; Sarah, Andrew and Sebastian. These are our children of our old age, in younger years we have 2 daughters, one married and has given us 2 grandsons, but they not only flew the nest but live in NY. Before moving to Florida almost 4 years ago (I do not like it here) we lived 6 years in Maryland (which I loved), and before that in quite a few places flowing my husband around with his military career (he has been retired since 2002). Oh and I did forget to mention I have never visited England but it is in my future plans!
If I miss anything please ask!
Glad to be here! Mili

P.S. Oh yes I did miss something, Mili is short for Milagros my middle name and the one my family and friends always called me by, my first name is just for official business.

[Mili]

Oh something else I should add, I chose that tabby cat because it looks exactly like my Andrew (he will be 8 in October) and was diagnosed almost 2 weeks ago with diabetes so mommy is always keeping an eye on him. This coming Saturday he is going in for check up and I am praying his sugar level has gone down and his weight stabilized.

[gloria townsin]

Hi Mili
what good info about yourself and your literary interests, you will love the Chronicles. Re the UK thing, I always say I am English because - I am. The Scots, Welsh, Irish will all say they are what they are so I never quite get why we feel we need to say UK - hope that doesn't start a storm of protest. I think we should all be proud of where we come from and that for me is England. There is something good in every place but I do love England and couldn't see myself leaving these shores for good, but my friend who has moved to Spain loves it there and a cousin who moved to France loved it there although he is now back due to illness. We have a son who married an American girl and lives north of Seattle he has been there for over ten years during which time we have seen him three times, which is sad for us and his brothers.
You must make a visit to the West Country your goal it is a most beautiful place for many different reasons, there is always something new to discover and favourite places to re-visit, I don't think you could ever be bored with it. Will look forward to hearing you views and ideas as you begin to read. In the meantime join in and ask us whatever you like. :D

[Kath Mulligan]

Hello again, Mili, what an interesting intro from you. I am an avid Marcia Willetts reader too, and have got her latest book on order at the moment from Amazon. So - a connection already! :lol: Have also read most of Rosamund Pilcher's books too, plus a couple by her son.

I am sure you will be captivated by the Chronicles, and although you are probably best reading the first few in chronological order, don't fret about it too much because each of the books can be enjoyed in its own right. I often dip in and out of mine, depending on my mood.

Look forward to chatting much more with you in the future.

Kath

[Mili]

Oh silly me! I was waiting for the place where it says you have no new messages to say I had some! Now I know that is only for private messages! Kath I will be sending you one about Marcia’s novels.

Gloria I totally agree with you but in my case if I say I love England I am leaving out Wales so instead of saying England and Wales if I say UK it covers both doesn’t it? That way my friends in England and in Wales are automatically included. I actually should say I love West Country but I do not want to leave the rest of England out, plus I also dream of visiting Worcester (where my best friend lives), Gloucester, the Cotswolds and Rye; so far because by the time my trip materializes I am not sure what I would be able to do. I probably stick to Devon and Cornwall. So sorry about your son, I know the feeling my daughters live in New York and I hardly see them I am limited to be able to go away and they both hold busy jobs that cannot get away.

I am sure I will be captivated by the Chronicles. I know how important are the first books and are the introduction to the Minack world so I want my own books so I can underline and make notes to the margin. Some books you like to keep pristine particularly if you plan to sell them eventually or pass them on, but those that are to keep and for future references and reread I like to make them my own and give them the character of notes to the margin and so on. Make sense? I am hoping to get my books soon they were shipped already and they are not coming from far. I read someone said they are hard to find in England but here they are not. My best deal was with Alibris (if anyone does not know about it let me know) because I pay American postage which is much cheaper than from abroad.

I looked through the GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS dozens of photos! And was able to post some photos of my own last night, though they went into the order I did not wanted so I had to edit this morning.

Now let me continue my navigation and see if I can find my way to my other replies.

[Sybille Weber]

[quote="Mili ..... I totally agree with you but in my case if I say I love England I am leaving out Wales so instead of saying England and Wales if I say UK it covers both doesn’t it? That way my friends in England and in Wales are automatically included. I actually should say I love West Country but I do not want to leave the rest of England out, plus I also dream of visiting Worcester (where my best friend lives), Gloucester, the Cotswolds and Rye; so far because by the time my trip materializes I am not sure what I would be able to do. I probably stick to Devon and Cornwall......
[/quote]

I tend to say UK or Britain, too, as I love England, Scotland and Wales, but then we are not born in either of these countries and (unfortunately) are a bit of an outsider :cry: although I tend to have a particular weak spot for England.
It is true, there are so many beautiful places all over the country, and I love them all, yet during all my travels to England I came to love Cornwall and Kent in particular. (Cornwall for the reason that apart from being beautiful it made me feel immediately at home and at ease, Kent because it is like a second home for me as it is closest to the continent so that I have been there so often.)
Now I have mentioned Cornwall as a part of England, which Cornish people probably don't like to hear, but which it officially is, but of course it is true that Cornwall is different from the rest of England, and, being neither Cornish nor English I think I can afford to love both. :lol:

Yes, Mili, the Cotswolds are beautiful, too. We stayed two weeks at Blockley in a former mill with its own pond (including ducks and kingfishers) years ago and went to see all the lovely towns and villages in the area and enjoyed the lovely countryside, and yes, Rye is well worth a visit, too. Yet, if you only have limited time, I agree that the West Country has to come first.

Personally I find that the taste as to which part of the country you like best also seems to change a little as you grow older. In my youth I prefered to stay in the wild bleak country like the Yorkshire Moors and Dales or by a wild Scottish coast. Nowadays it's great to see these places on a day out but then go back to the rather sweet type of country like the Cornish south coast. Cornwall therefore is perfect with its rugged north coast and bleak moors and the gentle south coast with a lot of beautiful vegetation. You can always have both.

[Kath Mulligan]

Sybille, I think we have told you before, you are such a lover of England, that we consider you to be an honorary Englishwoman, so please don't feel like an outsider. You are one of us! :wink: :lol:

Isn't it strange how so many of us keep saying the same thing - how immediately at home we feel in Cornwall. I was talking to a lady on the plane when I was coming back from Memorial Weekend and although she originates from Oldham, Lancashire, she has lived in Lanivet, near Bodmin for 40 years and she said exactly the same thing. They originally moved because of her father's job but as soon as they got there she felt at home, and now wouldn't live anywhere else.

Kath

[Sybille Weber]

Sybille, I think we have told you before, you are such a lover of England, that we consider you to be an honorary Englishwoman, so please don't feel like an outsider. You are one of us! :wink: :lol: Kath

Yes, I remember, Kath, and thanks for reminding me. :D
I guess my heart and spirit are in England most of the time anyway. It's now just a matter of getting that body over, too. :lol: