A few pictures and footage from the Gutsy Travels book launch on 27th June at the Unthank Arms in Norwich.
The show must go on!
I woke up on Monday morning, the week of my book launch for Gutsy Travels, with no voice. I mean absolutely no voice, not even a whisper. I couldn’t get a doctor’s appointment so went to the pharmacy for advice and was told just to rest my voice and not to talk at all. A challenge in itself for me!
It was too complicated to cancel the event, so I needed to make a back up plan. I had been intending to give some background about the initial idea for Gutsy Travels and how it had evolved and then read three extracts from the book. By Wednesday evening I was able to croak slightly but no way would I be able to project my voice. “Maud” (aka Maureen) arrived from Plymouth and we decided that if my voice didn’t return, she would present the evening. She was already reading a piece from her guest chapter at the end of the book. I asked my son, who was coming up from London, to read an introductory blog that I had first written for the charity For Crohns and part of which appears in Chapter One of the book. It describes in brief my diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease and how I had decided to live my life with a chronic illness, which included travelling the world. I approached a fellow author, Simon Bell, who has also published with the Book Guild and asked him to read a piece about taking on a big challenge to raise money for the charity. Finally, I asked my daughter to read a piece which describes taking two large elephants to the river on a piece of string whilst volunteering in Thailand. Luckily, they all agreed.
My voice did not return fully by Friday but I decided I would be able to speak with the help of a microphone. Maureen would sit beside me ready to take over if my voice failed. The Unthank Arms set up the room and a group of family and friends had a meal before the event. As always, I felt a bit of nervousness about how many people would attend.
It was a very hot evening as the temperature was hovering at just under thirty degrees and the fans whirred in the background to cool the room. A playlist of travel songs played in the backgrounds and a complimentary glass of cold Buck’s Fizz was served as people arrived.
I took the microphone and croaked my way through what I wanted to say, interspersed with the extracts being read. At the end there were some questions and of course, I was asked where my next trip would take me. The answer to that is India and Nepal. Signing of books ensued and I sold a good number! In total, including the speakers, fifty people had attended the launch!
Thanks to all who supported me in so many ways and also to the Unthank Arms for hosting the event.
I hope you enjoy the book!
