I’m off to Cardiff to chat CHOPSY with the fab folk at Book-Space Cardiff.

Going a week early, the plan is to rest enough after the journey so that the M.E fairy feels accommodated and consulted on every decision. (Life works best if she gives me the illusion of control.)

I’ve writing to do anyway, the new novel is calling me, and I need to add the finishing edits to the last novel. With a Christmas novella in between the two, plus did I mention I’d written a memoir, that’s five years’ work. I was feeling pretty slovenly until I wrote that sentence, plus all the articles and the blog and A Writing Chance Award – not bad for a woman who doesn’t write.

That ghost is long gone, a woman who doesn’t write. Now, if anything, I don’t seem able to stop. My world is full of words, and the M.E fairy, of course.

So, I’m resting in Cardiff to finish off the last edits. Ooh, and a visit to the Big Asda (you know I love a big Asda.)  And maybe Ikea. And there’s lunch. And coffee. And hopefully a catch-up with an old friend. I’m staying with my daughter, so there’s bound to be shennagins.

There’s no need to mention any of this to the M.E fairy; she will make her feelings known, and anyway, at the moment, she’s not letting me pack.

Packing in April is full of its own thrills. Do I pack for winter or blazing sun? Summer dresses, or boots and leggings, and that could be just one day. I like to be prepared. I like to have choices, and there’s always the dilemma of sudden sensory overload from the texture of clothes I’ve worn, without drama, for years.

I’ve been packing for a week (as the M.E fairy dictates). The trouble is, it was freezing when I started, and now I’m wondering where last year’s sunblock was discarded and if it’s safe to use after a winter in the garden under a chair?

I’ve packed and unpacked jumpers and woolly dresses. I’ve not even started on the shoes. There’s a suitcase full of pills and potions for every eventuality. Do you think mosquito nets are too much? I have everything covered. Except.

I have no tops!

This is not an exaggeration. In neither the wardrobes nor the massive chest of drawers, I have no tops.  I’ve searched everywhere, well, I looked in the drawers again.

Assuming I’ve been burgled by someone with a particular affinity for the same vest top in a 100 different colours, I do what any sane and rather tired woman would do. I order more tops.

Then the Mister, being a helpful sort, offers to bring down my ironing basket so I can find a particular pair of jeans. He even offers to iron them.  And there, with barely any rummaging, are all the tops, mysteriously un-burgled.

The new tops arrive.

And now I have all the tops.  (I did a similar thing with tomato seeds once, and from there, I ended up writing for five years. )

Freshly pressed, hanging in the wardrobes (there’s a reason for having several wardrobes, but for the life of me, I can’t think why). Hanging in the wardrobes, it’s like I’ve been shopping all over again (which obviously I have.) There are tops there I didn’t know I had. Tops that have never been worn. Tops that are treasured, dear friends.

But I’m going to Cardiff for a week. In April.

It was boiling this morning. Now I need a scarf and socks.

Maybe I should just take it all.

Maybe I should do a capsule wardrobe thing….HAHAHAHAHA!

(How would that even work with a neurodiverse post- menopausal woman who likes to be prepared and travels with at least 15 pairs of clean pants and a clean hankie, ready at a moment’s notice?)

Maybe that’s why the M.E fairy likes to keep me at home. Saves on the washing if nothing else.

I should write a book about that.

I’d love to see you in Cardiff.

I will be at Book Space Thursday, 16^th June 6.30 pm

Grab a ticket here Chopsy Event ticket – Book Space Cardiff

Come up and say Hi, and please, don’t judge my outfit too harshly.

I bought nothing to wear.

grab ya self a little bit of CHOPSY from whatever fabulous indie bookstore you buy your books from or click here https://linktr.ee/chopsymayajordan

And please, please, please leave a review if you get a chance xxx