Wednesday, December 24, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2008



There were some personal highlights and low points during the year. 
May, the best mother in law in the world, died aged 97 but she had a good innings and lived long enough to see the highlight of our year, her granddaughter Clare getting a FIRST in Sociology from the University of Sussex.  
I appeared on ITV West Country News talking about the Honeytones, and my cousin's daughter appeared on Newsnight talking about the Greek riots. She is a 'real expert' on International Crime with a PhD proving that interest in crime runs in the family. 

On the blogging scene the highlight of the year was meeting up with that brilliant group of superbloggers at Crime Fest in Bristol. 
Other highlights were 'on line' interviews with K.T.McCaffrey, Leighton Gage and Marek Krajewski, [link and scroll down for multiple entries] and some nice comments made about  my review of Philip Kerr's March Violets  by the talented crime writer Michael Walters. The review is here.

Many thanks to all those who have linked to my posts on crime fiction and the Honeytones  or commented during the year. I would put links to all of your blogs but the list would be very long and I am still suffering from 'cold' therefore I might forget someone; so thanks to  everyone in the side bar plus a few others. ;0)

What pleased me about my reading and blogging this year is that sometimes I got it right, but more about those rare occasions after Christmas. 

4 Comments:

Blogger Philip Amos said...

Lovely photographs, Norman -- the one of you and Clare and ? just a delight. Thank you for sharing these, and thank you for another year of the great pleasure your blog gives me. I must say, by the by, that I much dispute the rarity of the occasions you mention -- Norman being right is the norm, I should say. Ouch. Warmest greetings of the season to you and all your family. For the New Year, I wish you all whatever it may be that you wish for yourselves.

5:33 AM  
Blogger Uriah Robinson said...

The pretty girl is Amber, Clare's daughter.
Clare was a mature student which made her achievement all the more praiseworthy.
Thanks for your good wishes and all the best to you and yours.

8:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations again to Clare, and my very best wishes to you and your family, Norman, for a lovely Christmas and new year. It is always so sad to lose someone close to you, and Christmas is perhaps the time we remember our loved ones who are no longer with us the most.
But, sadnesses aside, have a wonderful time with your family. As usual, your post is lovely and I look forward to reading many more stimulating pieces on Crime Scraps in 2009. And I hope maybe we will meet up again at CrimeFest in May....

happy Christmas! Maxine.

12:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I echo your thoughts on the crime fiction blogging community, Norm. It's the common interest - to say "shared love" seemed a bit 1960s - of our favourite books and having an online dialogue about it, that's kept me going over the last 18 mths or so. But more than that, it's also the generous human spirit of those who write about it that makes it all worthwhile and satisfying.

I like the thought of the "six things" - good and bad - and may adopt this for a post on my blog in the near future. I like to celebrate as well as let off some steam now and again...

All the best to you and your family in 2009. And like Maxine, I hope we meet again soon.

10:05 AM  

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