PEOPLE SAY

"Where do you get your inspiration from?"

I get it wherever I can find it.  On a train, a bus, a plane.  Eavesdropping is the writer's greatest ally, that and watching people's faces when they think are unobserved.  My daughter is always saying, "Stop staring, mum!"

Of course, other times - I just let the sheer other-worldliness of a place soak into my skin.  For a while I live a completely different life, and I had one such experience recently.  We stayed at the fabulous Villa Joya in Portugal, courtesy of a charity auction held in aid of Action Against Hunger.

It was sublime.  I love Portugal (even if the language is pretty impossible).

Blue skies and palm trees...

Lunch by the pool (with not a cheese & pickle sandwich in sight)

Flowers everywhere...

Course after course of fancy food, served in teeny-tiny exquisite portions...

And romantic sunsets which must have been set up by Central Casting...

And now it's back to the train...