I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for A Grand Old Time by Judy Leigh as it was my birthday yesterday and I feel as if I’m rapidly approaching 75 myself! As I have a mountain of things I still want to do in life I asked Judy which three things are on her bucket list before she hits 75 and she agreed to tell me.

I shall be taking A Grand Old Time with me as I head off on another bucket list item of my own soon – a trip to India looking for tigers.

A Grand Old Time will be published by Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, on 3rd May and is available for pre-order here.

A Grand Old Time

Evie Gallagher is regretting her hasty move into a care home. She may be seventy-five and recently widowed, but she’s absolutely not dead yet. And so, one morning, Evie walks out of Sheldon Lodge and sets off on a Great Adventure across Europe.

But not everyone thinks Great Adventures are appropriate for women of Evie’s age, least of all her son Brendan and his wife Maura, who follow a trail of puzzling text messages to bring her home.

When they finally catch up with her, there are shocks in store . . . because while Brendan may have given up on life and love, Evie certainly has not.

Three Bucket Things Before I’m 75

A Guest Post by Judy Leigh

Limiting myself to just three things on a bucket list before I’m 75 is impossible: when I have finished my list of three, half a dozen more will pop into my head and jostle for pole position. I can be a bit impetuous and change my mind frequently, but here’s an attempt at my three things.

There is fascinating local history of women being accused of witchcraft, and I’m interested in researching their stories. It will become a novel. It might also become a PhD thesis, as I’m wondering what sort of prevailing culture singled these women out for discrimination.

I want to travel to places I’ve never been. I’d like to drive across the USA in a big American car and across New Zealand in a camper van, visit Sri Lanka. Of course, it’s all research for a novel.

I’d like to learn the Romani language. Words we use every day such as dosh, lollipop, pal all come from Romani. My grandmother used to use fascinating words such as hotchiwitchi, a hedgehog. There is a novel there too, about my father and my grandmother who came from a family of fairground travellers.

(These are smashing wishes Judy. I hope they all come true.)

About Judy Leigh

Judy Leigh completed an MA in Professional Writing at Falmouth University in 2015, leaving her career of 20 years as an Advanced Skills teacher of Theatre Studies. She has had several stories published in magazines, including The Feminist Wire, The Purple Breakfast Review and You is for University. She has also trained as a Reiki healer, written a vegan recipe blog and set up a series of Shakespeare Festivals to enable young people to perform the Bard’s work on stage.

You can visit Judy’s website and follow her on Twitter @JudyLeighWriter.

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