My transformation from an unhappy life working in the finance sector is now complete. I am absolutely delighted to have been invited by my friend Glyn Coy to collaborate in this new book. This is Glyn’s second book, my first.
We first discussed the possibility of this project earlier in 2021. Just as with everything else in life COVID intervened and conspired to disrupt our plans. At the same time we launched a podcast in January 2021, together with a programme of guided walks which we did in conjunction with Wiltshire Museum. These distractions, and life in general, got in the way.
Happily Glyn clung to the determination to have a book available for Christmas. I was completely taken by surprise when he said he had completed a rough draft. This was terrific news, but unfortunately the timing was terrible. I was in France for a month with a broadband connection not much faster than dial up. We used the Blurb online tool to design the book but the files were enormous. Editing and uploading Glyn’s draft was impossible whilst I remained in France.
Once I’d returned to the UK we got to work on further edits. We swapped out photographs, re-wrote chunks of text, and proof read what we had written countless times, still managing to miss typographical errors. A proof copy of the book was sent to us by the printers and the rendering of some of the images was awful. So we swapped and re-edited many of the images. Even on the final day before pressing the “Order” button we were re-editing photographs and changing others.
The final challenge was getting the books from the printers in the Netherlands in time for the book launch we had already scheduled for 10 December. In this post-Brexit world what was once a simple process was now hugely stressful. But whilst the books were held up in UK Customs for a while they arrived with time to spare, much to our relief.
We now have the books in our hands and they are available for pre-order on the Hidden Wiltshire website. If you use the link below to Glyn’s blog on the Hidden Wiltshire website you can order the book or get tickets for the launch which we’re proud to have been invited to do at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, at 19:30 on 10 December . We’ll be giving a brief talk and signing books for those that want them. Tickets are free but numbers are limited.
I am honoured and grateful to Glyn for asking me to take part in this collaboration. It’s my first attempt at a book and I’ve learned a lot through the process. We have a lot more planned for Hidden Wiltshire, including a short film recorded in the summer which will be released early in the New Year.
I am officially rehabilitated from my former career which now seems such a distant memory.