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This afternoon I've had the pleasure of speaking to writer Elly Griffiths once again, this time for Felixstowe Book Festival where we were together, in front of a capacity audience, unpicking her new time travel novel 'The Frozen People'.

It's always such a joy spending time with Elly. She has such energy, positivity and humour, and this latest book, taking criminal 'cold cases' to another level, is entertaining and fascinating.

In this book, the first in a new series, we find a police team in London is enabled to travel back in time to investigate unsolved crimes. We are introduced to Elly's new hero Ali Dawson as she has to step back into the Victorian period, at the request of a politician eager to have his past redeemed.

Elly has always had a passion for Victorian literature, she says, and Wilkie Collins is her favourite writer. Her enthusiasm is clear and infectious as she reveals details of everyday life of that time. 

So the Victorian period was very much on my mind in the past week and a newspaper article caught my eye the other day which seemed very timely. It reported on a new exhibition at the Charles Dickens Museum and suggested that the great writer had his own 'sliding doors' moment, worthy of any time travel novel.

Charles Dickens it seems could have become an actor rather than a writer. He had received an invitation to audition for a key actor-manager in Covent Garden but had to miss the appointment through illness. By the next season Dickens was established as a parliamentary reporter and his career had taken a different route. 

It's always intriguing looking back on these things, isn't it? And we can do it in our own lives - the 'what if?' question. But in spite of Elly's police team being able to go back in time, we need to deal with the here and now. And I love the quote Elly shares from the physicist Carlo Rovelli: 'Time travel is just what we do every day, isn’t it? Every single day we travel one day ahead in time.'

Thank you for reading.

I hope you've cleared your diary for next weekend as we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of bookish activities.

Of course I'll be by the sea at Felixstowe Book Festival as I'm interviewing on both the Saturday and Sunday. 

I'll be speaking to Jessica Duchen about pianist Myra Hess on Saturday (scroll down for details), and Tim Minshall, Lucy Hughes-Hallett and Elly Griffiths on the Sunday (that's a busy day!).

While I hope I'll see many of you there, I'll understand if you've been tempted inland to the village of Laxfield where they're holding their biannual book festival this same weekend. Take a look at their programme here and, dare I say it, if you're really clever, you might be able to flit between the two.

Then on Monday night we'll be able to compare notes as we meet at the Woodbridge Book Group. From 8pm we'll be talking about 'Tiepolo Blue' by James Cahill but there will be lots of other booky chat at the end of our discussion, and at the pub afterwards too. Can't wait to hear who has inspired and delighted us in these author visits this weekend.

Thank you for reading.

This week I had the relatively rare pleasure of receiving a letter in the post from a friend, briefly sharing her news. Her note was very lovely but concise and would have been easily communicated in a couple of sentences of an email or text. It was so much more special to hold it in my hands, though. I was able to display the card on the mantelpiece and be reminded of the time and trouble, and no small expense these days, in her sending it to me.  

As a result, I've been encouraged again to write to others. It's something I've always enjoyed doing but you can easily get out of the habit and, if you don't get an immediate response, you can think that it's gone unappreciated. But it rarely is! In fact, weeks later friends have often mentioned how much they've welcomed the letter. The rarity can make the correspondence all the more memorable!

Post is most likely today to comprise marketing material, official documents or demands, unless we're celebrating a birthday or expecting a delivery. 

It was amusing, then, to see a report on the BBC news about people receiving their notification of being recognised in the King's Birthday Honours this week through the post.

Southwold librarian, Charlotte Clarke has been awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to the community, but she says when she saw the envelope she thought it was a summons for jury service!

This weekend Charlotte was hosting the Slaughter in Southwold festival of crime writing. This is the 11th year of the event and It has gone from strength to strength attracting big name authors and generating a fabulous atmosphere. Congratulations, Charlotte, and please carry on doing what you're doing!

Thank you for reading.

In the summer months, I'm very definitely an early bird. I often wake even before it's light, when the birds start singing. That can be a little too early to get up, but it's not much later that I'll make myself a cup of tea and sit quietly enjoying the peace and stillness before the day begins. 

I started doing this out of frustration from not sleeping, but soon realised that I was gaining all sorts of benefits in what feels like a gift, a special part of the day just for me. The 'to do' list may be looming but doesn't need addressing yet. This is a time when there are no demands, no expectations. I can sit and ponder, and sometimes read or write, but I also let my mind wander or take stock.

While this has become a little habit for me over the past few days and weeks, I was interested to have my behaviour validated by a book I read this weekend. I've mentioned it below, it's called 'The Brain at Rest' and it's by a neuroscientist, currently working in London but who has studied in the US. 

In this book he points out how the expectations in society today of heightened productivity, multi-tasking, cramming activities into every available hour are actually detrimental for our physical, mental and emotional health. That's possibly - probably - not news to us really. But he shares some of the science behind why we should all try to return to having quiet times in the day, should focus on individual tasks without distractions and should recognise the importance of sleep. He also explains how and why creativity is sparked by napping, daydreaming and going for long walks! 

It's a great book and very easy and quick to read. It does have suggestions at the end of each chapter for how to implement his points into our own lives, but these are not onerous tasks. Sleep for as long as you feel like sleeping, he says, and try to nap for 30 minutes daily, go for walks in a forest or go to the beach. And spend time before going to bed, or when you wake up, staring into space. This is when you'll find that you get your best insights and ability to solve problems, he says. Let's try it this week!

Thank you for reading.
 

It's the beginning of June! And it looks like lovely weather and a bumper month for book events and artistic endeavours in this part of Suffolk.

Tomorrow we've got our delayed May book group meeting in Woodbridge where we'll be discussing 'Drift' by Caryl Lewis. If you haven't already got in touch and plan on coming along, do let me know. I look forward to seeing you there.

At the middle of the month it's the crime writing festival Slaughter in Southwold. You can take a look at the programme here or read my article in 'Suffolk' magazine here.

The following week we'll be discussing 'Eurotrash' by Christian Kracht at the Framlingham Book Group. Scroll down for details on that meeting.

And for the final weekend of the month, it's the Felixstowe Book Festival. I will be there on both the Saturday and Sunday interviewing Elly Griffiths about her new time travel novel, talking to Tim Minshall about manufacturing, Jessica Duchen (more next week about her biography of Myra Hess) and Lucy Hughes-Hallett (scroll down for more details about her book 'The Scapegoat'). I hope I'll see some of you there.

Then on Monday 30 June we're back to our usual slot for the Woodbridge Book Group which will be discussing 'Tiepolo Blue' by James Cahill. Copies of the book will be available at our meeting tomorrow, or let me know if you'd like me to keep one aside for you to collect at another time.

In addition to all this, two of our book group members - Debbi Francis and Kate Laydon - are taking part in Suffolk Open Studios which runs throughout June. The programme with details of all the artists taking part is here.

Lots of dates for the diary, plenty of books to read and lots of inspiring people to meet. Looks like a great month!

Thank you for reading.