My daughter’s wedding celebration party on Saturday buzzed Chester into a frenzy of delight. The ancient Guild Hall vibrated not only to the too-loud music, but with excitement as families met, old aquaintances re-gathered and work colleagues saw each other in a new light. Our daughter is a chartered tax advisor working for a prestigious accounting firm in Manchester. Who would have thought a gathering of accountants and tax advisers could be so jolly! I tried to buy drinks for the guests – and I did pay for all the sparkling wine – but I was impressed at how many folk insisted on buying mine instead. (Actually I was on non-alcoholics partly cos I was driving and I wanted to keep a clear head). Most of the booking and arrangements were done by daughter and her two friends the delightful Andrea and the incredibly creative Kati.

One amusing and flattering incident for me is that one of the staff was chatting to me about what I did for a living. I mentioned I co-edited a science fiction magazine, so as I gave him my card with Escape Velocity he said: “Geoff Nelder! I’ve heard of you!”  Fame, at last! He’d read reviews and pieces in the paper about my writing – wow, I thought I was the only one who did.

I’m busy proofreading my earlier thriller, Hot Air, for the Dutch Arts Academy who are publishing it in September. I thought it would be easy since it was copy-edited years ago by JBWB but noooo. Many of the alterations are from where I’ve changed my writing style from year to year – novel to novel. However, I found that a whole scene was missing, and that it was missing yet not commented on when it went for that copy edit in 2003 nor for the competition it won last year. Strange because it was a crucial scene where the feisty female protagonist has to bed a rich American yacht buyer to clinch the dodgy deal. It doesn’t quite go to plan but all that is missing and the narrative jumps to after its over such that phrases like: “Don’t forget to make a copy of that photograph'” makes no sense afterwards! In many ways authors shouldn’t revisit their former completed stories, and I know some famous authors won’t do that. It’s rather like a fussy artist who cannot resist touchng up his oil masterpiece until eventually it is all a brown mishmash. I think it was James Joyce who said that we don’t complete a manuscript but come to a point where we have to abandon it! That is after THE END is written and the plot wound up but there’s always that phrase we think could be tweaked…

I was going to put pictures here from the wedding party but my camera seems to be frightened of the dark and so the images are a bit shaky. Just imagine a room full of smiles, a groom developing a morning hangover, and a deleriously ecstatic daughter and you’ll get the picture. Well done to all and here’s hoping the happy couple have endless love and delight.