Cathy Le Feuvre

Bouanne Libéthâtion!

Happy Liberation Day! 

That's the headline today ... in Jersey's native language ... Jèrriais!

In Jersey and Guernsey - the two largest Channel Islands, it’s Liberation Day today!

It was on this day - May 9th - in 1945 …. that the Channel Islands were liberated after five long years of Occupation by enemy forces! (*Sark residents celebrate May 10th & for residents of the Northern Isle - Alderney - all of whom were evacuated and had to leave their island in 1940, they returned later in 1945).

So, this year is the 78th anniversary of the day when British forces marched into St Helier after the surrender was signed outside the harbour on the HMS Beagle early that morning!

Today, celebrations included a re-enactment of that moment when the Union flag was raised again over the Pomme d’Or Hotel in St Helier, in what is now called ‘Liberation Square’! Parties and fun were had, and there are always moments of reflection as we honour those who lived through that dreadful period of our history and came through it, and those who did not survive.

It’s a fascinating period of history … all the more poignant for those of us who had family who lived through the Occupation!

Three years ago, to mark the 75th anniversary of Liberation, I spent a year working with Jersey Heritage to select 5O Objects from their Archives and Museum collections which told the story of the Occupation and Liberation era … 1940 to 1945.

It was an amazing project to work on and I’m so proud to have worked on it with the team at Heritage!

Object 47 featured the diaries of Ralph Mollett, who was the Secretary to the Bailiff during the war years, and he had an amazing view of history… standing next to and working with the head of our island during that time!

I reworked this episode for BBC Radio Jersey’s Breakfast Show on May 8th this year, but here’s the original audio which features on the Jersey Heritage 50 Objects Vimeo site.

If you have a few moments please do listen … it’s just fascinating!

Happy Liberation Day everyone!

Bouanne Libéthâtion!

50 Objects - No47 from Jersey Heritage Vimeo on Vimeo.

 

A Book Collection

Down the years, when people have found out that I'm a writer I've occasionally been asked 'Are you related to Amy Le Feuvre?'

 

Well I'm not, sadly, but probably around 25 years ago I was in Cambridge doing a TV story (as a TV producer and reporter) & visited a publishers which I discovered had links to Amy. That day I also dropped into a book sale in the city & found a copy of one of her books!

 

It was like a Sign!

 

Down the years, every time I see old books for sale I check for an Amy.... and so started a sort of collection which I've added to spasmodically over the years!

 

So, imagine my delight today, while browsing in a local charity shop in Jersey, to discover this one ... a new title for my little collection!

 

For those who are unaware, Amy wrote Christian books for children from the end of the 19th century and in the early decades of the 20th! She wasn't from Jersey but had, I believe, Guernsey roots and lived in England ... and she wrote more than 65 books and for several magazines!

 

Although the stories are rather 'dated' now, I do love their innocence and her writing! I think she was a bit of a pioneer & certainly given the number of times I'm asked if we're related, she's obviously remembered by a certain generation! I believe her books were often given as Sunday School prizes! Who remembers those?

 

I started to collect information about Amy at one point ... I must do more research!

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year!

It's 2022!

If you've been following me for the past year or so - thanks so much by the way - you'll know that during the whole of 2021 I wrote a daily blog called 'One Day at a Time'.

I managed to write or post something every day, which was a bit of a miracle at times ... and it was quite a journey.

Anyway, as I said on my final 'One Day at a Time' post of 2021 ... I'm still writing. I enjoyed the daily writing and was really encouraged by last year's experience and actually the daily post became a bit of a ritual so I'll still continue to ramble a bit from time to time - perhaps not EVERY day but more frequently anyway.

I have lots of exciting things coming up this year - including a new book - so do keep in touch!

From now I'll be posting again on this site, my main blog ... but 'One Day at a Time' is still there so please feel free to go back and read my year if you feel up to it! Click on that tab up there at the top of this page and you can read everything from Jan 1st 2021 onwards!

Meanwhile, on this first day of 2022 ... all I want to say is ... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I trust 2022 will be healthy, happy and peaceful for you all! 

Live your dreams!

Have a great year everyone! 

 

 

Never Forget!

Where were you on Tuesday September 11th 2001? 

It's a date that, of course, goes down in history as one of the saddest and most shocking of modern times.

And today it's 20 years since what has become known as '9/11', that infamous terrorist attack on the United States of America

Four commercial airlines were hijacked mid-flight by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists.  Two of the aircraft were deliberately crashed into the World Trade Centre,  the iconic Twin Towers in New York City, with the subsequent collapse of those towers. A third was crashed into the west side of the Pentagon in Washington DC, the headquarters of the American military. A fourth was also hijacked and was also destined for the USA capital, but the brave passengers on board attempted to gain back control of the aircraft, which subsequently crashed instead in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Of course, it's the image of the burning Twin Towers that remains in most of our memories and that's why many of us remember where we were on that day.

At the time I was Head of Broadcast of a small (somewhat experimental) TV station in Hertfordshire in England. It was called 'Home TV' and it broadcast just to the towns of Hertford and nearby Ware and surrounding areas ... the forerunner, one might say, of the small digital and cable stations that sprang up later. We ran locally generated news, sports and weather mostly, mixed in with other interesting 'bought in' programmes and national news from SKY TV.

Some members of my small team and I were in the operations room, the control room from which we controlled transmission. It's a room with lots of TV monitors which allow the directors and engineers to see what's coming in and what being transmitted to our viewers. The SKY TV news feed monitor was always on so we could see what they were running, even if we were not 'taking' the live feed at the time.

It was around 3 o'clock in the afternoon and we were having a meeting about the upcoming local news bulletin - scheduled for 6pm - when we looked up to see the SKY TV monitor flick to pictures of the World Trade Centre in New York, with one of the towers (the North Tower)  ablaze. We turned up the sound to hear those words 'News coming in of ....'

We all stood there, pretty shocked, I have to say. And then, a few moments later,  we saw it ... the second aircraft plough into the South Tower.

It was devastating! It was at at THAT point that I realised that this had to be a terrorist attack rather than an airline crash or accident.

But with my news head on I also realised that we needed to break into our regular programmes and show what was happening there across the Atlantic in New York City and, as it transpired, in Washington DC and other parts of the USA.

We had to have special permission to dip into SKY TV outside of our contracted hours, so I picked up the phone to their control desk.

All I said was 'Home TV in Hertford, we're taking your news feed now!' I guessed that no one there would be able to answer questions because of the seriousness of the events unfolding, and I figured that if we were in trouble for taking the feed, we'd deal with that later. We flicked live to the SKY TV feed and stayed with it all day. Somehow, news of what was happening in two small provisional towns in the UK seemed immaterial at the time, as did re-runs of cartoons and natural history programmes and sports compilations.

I really can't remember if we did a 6 o'clock bulletin. What with trying to get reaction from local people and working with the small team of largely young and inexperienced staff who were, understandably, rather traumatised by the day, September 11 2001 became a bit of a blur.

It was only when I went home late that night and sat down to watch the national BBC News that the enormity of the day began to settle on me. 

That day 2,977 people were killed and more than 6,000 others were injured. The immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes (including the terrorists), 2,606 in the World Trade Centre and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon.  Most of those who died were civilians but we know that 344 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers died in the World Trade Centre and on the ground in New York City. Another law enforcement officer died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into that  field near Shanksville and 55 military personnel perished in the attack on the Pentagon.

Of the 2,977 people who died, 2,605 were U.S. citizens and 372 non-U.S. citizens - all were loved, had families, some were dads and mums and grandparents. Each person is a hole in the life of someone else. 

9/11 is the deadliest terrorist attack on the USA and, in fact, in world history. Over the past two decades we've seen the experiences of that day played out on TV over and over and over. I think that must just be awful for those who lost someone that day, especially in the Towers, as they are being constantly reminded of their precious loved ones final moments of life.

Of course, we know that the 9/11 attacks led to an invasion of Afghanistan, where the al-Qaeda terrorists were allowed sanctuary, the eventual killing of the mastermind behind it - Osama bin Laden - and 20 years of Allied troops on the ground, with the loss of many more thousands of lives. American and British and other military personnel who were killed or injured in the subsequent years of battle and not forgetting the many many thousands of  innocent Afghanis who got caught in the cross fire. It's only last month - August 2021 - that the allies have moved out, leaving the country once again in disarray and once again under the control of the Taliban ... itself a radical Islamic group. But that's another story.

In the intervening years I was privileged to hear some of the personal stories of those who were directly affected by the events of 9/11. People who were on holiday in New York city and saw the events unfold in front of them. People who served at 'Ground Zero' (the place where the towers fell) for many months afterward, including chaplains and others from The Salvation Army in New York City and the wider north eastern provinces. People back here in the UK who were also affected and traumatised.

So today, as I have done every year  since that infamous day in 2001, I take time out to remember all those precious souls lost on that dreadful day.

I pray for their family, friends, loved ones, colleagues. I pray for the children who never knew their fathers, all those lives unfulfilled and the doors closed too soon.

And I remember them.

It's twenty years since that terrible day and we should NEVER forget them!

*This post also appears on my One Day at a Time blog, which is a daily blog for every day of 2021.

But I thought it was worth sharing here as well!

Never Forget!

Caution! World Under Repair

It's New Year's Eve 2020.

And if you weren't already aware, we're at the end of ... here we go ... I'll say it .... 'a very strange year'!

There - that's done! 

I could say much about the different ways we've learned to live, the things we've missed out on, the expectations dashed, the woes of the past almost 12 months during which a microscopic virus has locked us in, locked us out! Of life, of love, of the things and people and activities and experiences we love.

But I won't! Done that, been there, along with millions of others who have put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard this year!

I'll just tell you about a walk I took this lunchtime which, weirdly, turned out to be a bit of an analogy for life as we travel from 2020 into 2021. 

I live in a lovely place called Jersey - it's one of the Channel Islands, just off the coast of France, but British - and walks on the beach, or at least along the coastline, are my favourite!

One of my usual walks is from West Park, St Helier, to First Tower and back ... not more than a mile or two all told, but bracing on a winter's day!

I set out in the sunshine but we've been having a lot of showers recently and right at the start of my walk I spotted a rainbow.

Not a massive arc in the sky, but certainly a rainbow ... the kind which popped up in the early days of the pandemic in windows and on pebbles on the beach, drawn by unknown people as a symbol of hope in the darkness.

And straightaway I was filled with a strange optimism.

 

Yes, the sky was dark on the horizon, clouds still full of rain, ominous over Elizabeth Castle on the little islet in St Aubin's Bay,  but the sky above was strikingly blue.

2020 might have been full of gloom but in all that there has also been some brightness. Remember how we all pulled together in those early days, to keep ourselves safe, to keep others safe?  Remember how we kept our distance, washed our hands, wore our masks ?Remember how we clapped for our carers at 8pm on a Thursday evening, showing our appreciation for all those who were caring for us in hospitals and care homes, serving us in the shops and on public transport ? Keeping our communities working ? Saying 'thank you' to those who are usually forgotten but who, for a while, we realised were the real heroes of our communities.

But I looked into those dark clouds and was reminded  that it's not over yet. The second spike of this wretched coronavirus is hitting us hard not just here in Jersey but across the world. People are still sick, dying in vast numbers, isolating. Some people are still unfortunately not behaving like we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Some seem to have forgotten the sacrifices of the early months of this year, and the ongoing sacrifices that some are still making to ensure the ones they love stay safe. For some of us that means still working from home after nearly a year, forgoing the company of even our close family at Christmas and New Year and on birthdays and other special anniversaries. 

But as I peered into the horizon I spotted something really beautiful ... like a golden line just on the sealine, under the cloud. Just where the sun was hitting the water.

And then I looked up ... there IS blue sky overhead.

Could I equate that to the Covid-19 vaccines which are on the way ?

Perhaps! That's one way of looking at it.

But maybe it's about more  than that. 

It reminded me that when we pull together and remember that others matter as much as ourselves, maybe sometimes more than ourselves, we can get a handle on this! We did it in the spring and summer of 2020 and then we lost focus. We thought we could relax. We believed that we were invincible. We were wrong!

Along the seafront in St Aubin's Bay in Jersey the pink granite seawalls have recently taken a battering from the storms, the high seas, the winds of winter. They are hardy and strong, but even they couldn't stand the onslaught of nature.

But they are being repaired - even on New Year's Eve the guys were out doing their stuff to rebuild these beautiful defences.  It's not a job that will be completed overnight. It must be done with precision and care to ensure that the wall survives when the storms come again, as we know they will! 

As we enter 2021 I am reminded that we are in this for the long haul. Our World is 'Under Repair'!

We are not there yet. Even with the much acclaimed and longed for vaccines, we still have a long way to go. We still need to wear masks, keep our distances, endlessly sanitise our hands. There's no letting up. 

But if we all pull together, try to forgo our personal agendas and think of the wider common good, then with the added bonus of the vaccines, we may find that this coming year will be healthier and better than the last. We need to stay alert and not forget the year that was 2020. There are lessons in that there time for us all! 

The storm is still there ... over the horizon ... and it will come back I'm sure. But the blues skies are overhead! 

Happy New Year everyone! Stay safe! 

*All pictures /images by Cathy Le Feuvre

                                                                                                                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life in the Time of Covid19*

It's been more than a month now since Jersey in the Channel Islands - it's a small British island which lies just off the coast of Normandy in France - went into 'Lockdown'.

It was Monday March 30th and after witnessing the spread of the coronavirus from the end of 2019 and watching what was going on in the UK which introduced social distancing and other rules on social gatherings on March 23rd, our government announced similar restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease.

Since the end of March many islanders have been 'self isolating' in our homes, especially if they are over 65 (which, if you're reading this in 2020... I'm not .. yet!) I'm working from home because, although I am not in any particular danger, I look after my Mum who turned 90 a couple of weeks ago. We have been allowed outdoors for 2 hours a day for shopping, trips for healthcare or exercise. But we've pretty much stayed indoors.

Lots of people have called this a 'strange' time!

It is! 

As a writer I kept saying to myself 'you really should be documenting all this!' Writing a diary? At least blogging? But somehow, in all the weird lethargy of the times, I haven't quite got around to it. I did start writing something on April 1st but didn't post it because … what I wrote felt like an APRIL FOOL! You could make it up!

And then, I asked myself a second question 'what actually have you got to say?' That's because I feel like my life at the moment is incredibly BORING! I look at social media posts and everyone is being so creative - making stuff, home schooling, using their 2 hours for spectacular excursions, whether they should be doing so or not - and in comparison … I'm doing nothing. Or that's what it feels like!

Now, however, as the pandemic continues to sweep across the globe and more and more people are infected, affected and die, I feel I need to write! I realise as time goes on that being intimidated by what others are saying they are doing on social media, is worthless. Whether we know it or not, even the smallest day to day elements of life during such a strange time are worth documenting. Aren't they?

SO here goes … 

I AM working from home.  I work for the BBC local radio station (BBC Radio Jersey) and they sent me home and set me up with a computer with all the links to programmes and editing facilities, on March 31st. And it's busy.

Here in Jersey we are working our way up to the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of our island on Saturday May 9th. If you're not aware, the Channel Islands were the only place in the British Isles that were invaded and occupied by the German Nazi regime during the Second World War. We celebrate the Liberation from our Occupation every year, but  Liberation75 was meant to be a fantastic public commemoration, with masses of events planned. That's all been cancelled due to this wretched virus, although much is now happening online.

At BBC Radio Jersey, we're still planning lots to mark the day, which follows the celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day in the UK on May 8th. And as Communities Journalist in Jersey I'm helping to gather stories, and I've been involved in some long running projects in the run up to May 9th. So I've had loads of editing to do!

It's very surreal though. My 'office' is my Mum's dining room. No outdoor window but a couple of lovely paintings on the wall of Jersey scenes, and surrounded by family photos on the piano and mantlepiece.

Although I try not to, I find myself sitting for hours at my computer, only getting up occasionally to enjoy a cuppa, have a 'comfort break',  receive socially distanced post which has been pushed through the letterbox by the safe postman, chatting to Mum and my brother, who is also socially isolated at home (he's a Personal Trainer and he can't work right now because gyms are shut) and very occasionally, walking around the garden to get a bit of fresh air.

I've realised that at work we normally do break up our day. We chat with colleagues, we go make some tea or coffee, occasionally I have to walk three floors downstairs to open the door to visitors when our receptionist is on a break, we have meetings. And I'm missing all that … even the annoying doorbells!

I've discovered that it's very easy to become disconnected with the work programme. I have found myself becoming a little paranoid from time to time that OTHERS think I'm doing nothing here at home and I'm just sitting here waiting for their instructions. At other times I've found myself thinking 'Well they can't be doing much there in the office because it feels like I'm doing everything!' 

Both emotions are, of course, ridiculous in the extreme. But it's one of the results of isolation and if it's affecting me, someone who is usually pretty upbeat, then it must be having really detrimental affects on others who are not so fortunate of myself. 

I can go for walks. I have been for a few over the past month and they've been glorious! They've been mostly on the beach near to my home, the stretch of sand from West Park in St Helier to First Tower in St Aubin's Bay, which is fabulous! I should go for more exercise but by the end of the day in front of the computer I'm exhausted! And the weekends seem to go so fast, with an early morning Saturday shopping trip which has got earlier and earlier to avoid the social distancing long queues and cooking and cleaning and washing, and, truth be told,  just sitting in front of the TV.

By the way I have 'social mediared' some walks which I realise means that I'm part of that online weirdness that makes others feel incomplete. It's a complex world we live in.

I have a garden. Must get round to clearing some weeds soon as the weather warms up a bit.

Less traffic in the roads outside the house means I can hear the birds more clearly. I'm sure they've always been there but often we've not been able to hear them often over the general hum and hubbub of modern life. 

Meanwhile, in our beautiful island, as of TODAY we have 292 cases of COVID19 confirmed, 199 people have recovered and sadly 24 people have died with links to coronavirus.

I'm a journalist, so you might also expect me to report today on the world statistics ...  as of right now, in the UK 186,599 people have been confirmed with the virus, up 4,339 in the past 24 hours. Deaths stand at 28,446, up 315 on yesterday. Yes that daily figure seems to be falling at the moment, and 1,918 people have recovered. Across the globe there have been 3,462,682 deaths linked to coronavirus, up more than 76,000 in the last 24 hours. People who have recovered is 1,110,719 and the numbers who have died stands at 244,911 (up nearly 5,500 on yesterday).

I say 'statistics', but of course each person represents a life, a family, relationships. Every life lost is a tragedy. And, of course, people aren't just dying of COVID19. I've lost a couple of friends and acquaintances during these past weeks, of different long term conditions, and one of the awful things is that because of the restrictions on gatherings, we can't give them the send off they deserve.

But, one of the great things about this time in our lives is that it seems it's given us a new appreciation of people who make our world work. The health professionals and care workers, shop workers, postmen and women, the people who empty our bins. SO many people who until we entered this strange time, were invisible, undervalued, underpaid. Every Thursday evening at 8pm here in Jersey and across the wider British Isles, we stand in our streets and Clap for the Carers, showing our appreciation of all those people who nurse us when we're ill care for us, keep food on the shelves, help us stay in touch with each other and generally keep our world ticking over.  

We don't clap for the overpaid sports personalities and reality TV stars, the celebrities who (still) populate our TV screens, making money out of this situation by being paid to give us endless insights into how they're coping with lockdown in their posh homes and mansions! We clap for those who live in tiny homes, struggling to pay their bills.

We don't clap for the people who take home six figure salaries in the finance industry. We clap for the people who barely scrape a living in life.

We clap for what we have termed in the past  'the little people'. They are not little anymore. They are saving lives, putting their own lives at risk just so we can be safe and stay safe. 

And I pray that when this is all over we will continue to value those for whom we clap on a Thursday. That they will be able to negotiate better pay and better conditions. And that our 21st century British obsession with nonsense like celebrities who are famous for simply being famous and which currently dominates much of our culture, will disappear

And so we come to this weekend. Yesterday (May 2) some of the restrictions on movement were slightly raised here in Jersey. Now we are allowed to go out for four hours a day. We're allowed to meet others (just two) outside our own households. And our 'time out' can be for any purpose, not just exercise and shopping. Our Health Minister has warned that the change could lead to more deaths, but the government are already talking about relaxing some of the rules on the way restaurants can operate, and more. 

Yesterday and today I ventured out (shopping anda  short walk) and I've already noticed many more people out and about. People gathering in larger groups, especially young people. Although the government still advises 'social distancing' (staying more than 2metres apart) I saw many people not doing so. I read social media posts from people delighted that 'the Lockdown is over!'

It is NOT! 

It's just now we have our medical ducks in a row and will be able to cope with the upsurge in cases of COVID 19. We've seen a temporary 'Nightingale Hospital' go up in record time on a field near St Helier, our main town. It will house sick people in isolated wards. Cost? £14m! But I fear that the cost in lives will be even more devastating as people relax, mingle more and spread the dreaded coronavirus.

So how am I feeling today - Sunday May 3rd? Well, a little fearful for our island and it's people, many of whom right now are living with false hope.

And as for me and mine? We will remain locked in, socially isolated, wearing masks and gloves to go out, practising social distancing for a long while yet. Even if we slowly go slightly mad with the isolation. I'm a person of Christian faith, so that sustains me and gives me the optimism I need. I believe in prayer so I pray. And I practice some deep breathing and positive praying/thinking when it all becomes too much and I start to get a little panic attack.

But most of all, I remind myself that this time WILL pass.

It won't last forever.

Will it?

*The title of this blog post nods in the direction of a brilliant book called 'Love in the Time of Cholera' which is a novel by the Colombian Nobel prize winning author Gabriel García Márquz  (Spanish: El amor en los tiempos del cólera) … if you haven't read it … please do!

A Wedding Anniversary

June 16th!

I don't know about you but I'm pretty intrigued by dates. For every day in the calendar there will be something interesting that will have happened on that date, sometime in history.

For instance, did you know that it was on this day in 1890 that a child called Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in Lancashire in Northern England? He would grow up to be Stan Laurel, one of the greatest comic actors of all time, who with his partner Oliver Hardy appeared in over 100 films at a time when the movie business was just beginning.

Now, this is not a piece of information I was born with, or even learnt at school. No ... I looked up 'June 16th' on the internet and  got the information from one of the many websites that has this kind of stuff on it.  In this case it was On This Day.com

But something that's not on many, if any, sites is that this day - June 16th - is also an important one in the history of one of the global Christian movements, a church and charity organisation that today works with the disadvantaged and the marginalised in over 130 countries across the world - The Salvation Army

Because it was on this day - June 16th 1855 - that the founders of The Salvation Army, William Booth and Catherine Booth, were married at Stockwell Green Congregational Church in London. 

They had met a few years earlier, in 1852, at a tea party organised by a fellow Methodist who had taken William, who was a would-be preacher, under his wing. In the intervening years, William had travelled across the United Kingdom, preaching the Christian Good News as an itinerant independent evangelist but at last the couple found time in his busy schedule to be married. After a long struggle to find a church which would ordain him, the Methodist Church would become their home for a while. Then followed years when they both became known as touring independent preachers, until they finally found themselves back in London where, in 1865, they set up an organisation called The Christian Mission, which reached out to and shared the Christian message with some of the poorest communities in the British capital city.  

 In 1878 they changed their name to ' The Salvation Army' and soon the Christian movement would not just have centres and groups ('corps') in London, in England and the British Isles, but across the world.

From the day of their first meeting, during their long engagement and over the next 35 years of marriage William and Catherine wrote letters to each other and these letters are held today in the British Library in London. When I was asked by Lion Hudson Books to write a book to coincide with the 150th anniversary of The Salvation Army in 2015, I turned to these letters - hundreds of them - to build their story.

So - on this day - June 16th - I offer a short extract from that book  - 'William & Catherine' - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters.

This is my imagining of that day and a little of the narrative that follows in Chapter 7.

 

 

The sun emerged from behind the early summer clouds as Catherine and William stepped over the threshold of the Stockwell Green Congregational Church.

Catherine clutched her new husband’s hand, feeling small yet secure.

William looked down at Catherine’s sweet face and smiled. He could feel her shaking ever so slightly and a rush of protectiveness towards this woman overwhelmed him. He could hardly believe that, after all this time and so many obstacles, they were at last man and wife.

It had been a short and solemn service and blessing. Perfect.

Catherine had been pale and had spoken quietly, her voice quivering as she repeated her vows of love and obedience. In contrast, William had found that his voice, which he was accustomed to using to rather larger congregations, had rung loudly around the church. As his “I do!” echoed around the building it had provoked a little giggle from his beloved. Then, in the cavernous chapel, William and Catherine had knelt at the altar and pledged themselves to God and to each other.

Behind Catherine, William noticed that his father-in-law, John Mumford, and his sister Emma, the only witnesses to the solemn ceremony, were now exiting the building and squinting in the watery sunshine. For a moment he regretted the absence of the rest of his family. Of course, it was unlikely that Ann would attend, but he had hoped that his mother and her namesake, his sister Mary, all those miles away in Nottingham, might have been able to make it, even at such short notice. However, he and Catherine had been thrilled when Emma had sent word that they would be able to afford for her, at any rate, to attend. He knew Catherine’s day was also slightly saddened by the fact that her own mother had been disinclined to attend the ceremony, but, as he held Catherine’s little gloved hand in his, he felt a rush of love and appreciation for her commitment to him.

Catherine pulled her shawl closer around her neck and shoulders. She shivered again. Even with layers of petticoats under her skirts she still felt the chill of the day. Maybe she should, after all, have worn her coat. The few days of milder weather in May hadn’t lasted and it was still chilly, even for mid-June.

Catherine turned to the Revd David Thomas, who had so kindly agreed to preside over this most sacred of ceremonies.

“Mr Thomas, thank you!” she announced, grasping his hand and shaking it wholeheartedly. No simpering little handshake for this gentleman. She remembered their previous debates and discussions about the place of women in church and society, and she knew he would expect this forwardness from her, even on this day.

Father Mumford was calling from the street. The Stockwell New Chapel was tucked away from the main thoroughfare and he had a cab waiting. William, Catherine, and Emma took their leave of the minister and made their way to the horsedrawn vehicle. It was but a short drive back home to Russell Street in Brixton, where, regardless of her unwillingness to attend the actual service, William was sure that Mrs Mumford would be waiting with some light refreshments. Whatever her views on the marriage, and he still wasn’t quite sure of her, she loved her daughter unconditionally and would, he was sure, come around.

William reached out his hand to Catherine. She grasped it and he helped her into the carriage. Whatever the future held now, they were one. The Lord would determine their way, and, whatever happened, they would face it together.

When William Booth married Catherine Mumford, they intended it to be a simple occasion, and it was. In common with many weddings of the time, theirs was a quiet ceremony in church, held in the morning. After the ceremony the couple would have signed the parish register in the vestry, the bride signing her maiden name for the very last time.

As was common then, the venue was the bride’s choice. This had been the subject of some discussion over the weeks, but despite her previous falling-out with the Revd Thomas over the matter of women’s equality Catherine still greatly admired him, and despite the fact that she and William had rejected Congregationalism, she knew the Stockwell Chapel and it was quite near home. They had to marry in a local church and other options fell through, but the choice of venue may have been a reason why Mrs Mumford decided not to attend the marriage of her only daughter. Mrs Booth Snr’s absence, along with that of William’s youngest sister, was almost undoubtedly for financial reasons. They and Emma still only scraped a living in a haberdasher’s shop in Nottingham.

The wedding ceremony would have been followed by a small family celebration at home, perhaps with a specially made cake or perhaps not; perhaps in the company of a few friends, but maybe not. This was certainly a wedding on a shoestring budget.

Although William had earlier intimated that they would both have new outfits for the wedding, it’s likely that they had better things on which to spend their meagre resources and the extravagance of new clothes may have been one step too far. "Sunday best” would have sufficed.

For the rich and well-to-do, marriage down the centuries had often been seen as a way of cementing helpful and even political alliances, and for the upper classes weddings afforded an opportunity to display their wealth. However, wearing white was not common for brides until it was made popular by Queen Victoria. When she married Prince Albert in 1840, some fifteen years before William and Catherine’s wedding day, she opted for a white dress and, following the wide publicity of the day, this was copied by those who could afford expensive white fabric.

But even if Catherine Mumford had been romantically inclined to emulate her queen in this matter, her purse and that of her parents, who still appeared to stagger from one financial disaster to another, would have disallowed it.

Very few couples other than those with money could really afford a proper “honeymoon”, but William had yearned for one, and had planned to take his bride “overseas” for that short “getting to know you” holiday. The reality was a week on the Isle of Wight, staying with friends. The couple then moved on for a mission campaign in Guernsey, from where Catherine wrote to her parents reporting crowds of people flocking to hear her husband but “not so many cases of conversion” as William had expected and hoped for.

Their return boat trip included a short stopover at the nearby and larger Channel Island of Jersey, but the voyage home to England left Catherine violently ill. Very soon she was to discover that she was expecting their first child, but she remained determined to be with William whenever possible. She had waited this long for her husband and now she hoped not to be apart from him for any length of time.

Theirs was to be an itinerant life. On his wedding day, William Booth gave his “home” address as Ardwick, Manchester, where he had lodged during his evangelistic work. He had very lately been confirmed by the Methodist New Connexion Conference in the post of evangelist with an annual salary of £100 for the year plus his travelling expenses.

As he had proudly informed his fiancée just a few weeks before their marriage, “This, of course, is an advance of £30 or £40 on the young man’s salary.” He was to be employed directly by the Annual Conference rather than by any circuit, and this greatly pleased him and Catherine because it meant that he was not under the governance of local church leaders.

After Guernsey he already had invitations to visit (among other places) York and Chester. As always, finances occupied his mind. He reported to Catherine that he had had to pay £5 for his Beneficent Fund Subscription but he hoped to receive £6 for preaching in London, so he had it covered.

Although they had no permanent home to move into once the wedding and honeymoon were over, William hoped to continue with his evangelism while Catherine would continue to live with her parents and join him whenever possible.

 

Hope you've enjoyed reading this little extract from what was my first book. I've written a few more since then but am still so proud of this one!

If you want to find out more or even buy a copy please feel free to go to the 'Books' Page of my website - https://www.cathylefeuvre.com/pages/cathys-books.html - or to any of the online sale sites, especially the Lion Hudson site for this book.

Thanks so much!

Have a great day!

 

 

Happy New Year everyone!

Now, I don't really do New Year's Resolutions any more but I do have some aims for the months ahead which I hope to achieve, including this one ... I need to keep the creative juices flowing ...

I would say I'll promise to blog more on this site, but I don't want to commit to something and then fall off the wagon.

However, thanks for sticking with me thus far and ... I guess ...

Watch this space!

Monday Blog Hop – talking writing

I recently received an invitation to take part in something called the "Monday Blog Hop". Writers ask others to blog on given themes and then post them on their own sites. I was invited by Amy Boucher Pye and so my blog (below) appears on her website today....thought I'd also share it on my site. I should be hosting Debbie Duncan's blog next week....

Thanks to Amy (Boucher Pye) for nominating me for the Monday Blog Tour. It’s been great getting to know Amy these past few months, since we first met in her home in North London over lunch and a very long chat. Amy is the editor for my latest book, which I’m co-authoring with Debbie Duncan…but more of that later!

As with the other Monday blog hoppers before me, I’ve been presented with a series of questions to answer. Just between us, this is a little strange for me. I’ve been a journalist for thirty odd years, off and on, so I’m usually the one asking the questions.

However … here goes!

What I am working on?

Right now? I’m researching and writing a new book for Lion Hudson publishers which is due to be completed by early autumn and is scheduled for publication next spring. It means I’m spending half my time in Victorian England.

It feels really strange seeing those words in print – ‘I’m researching and writing a book’ – because I think ever since I can remember I’ve had stories in my head and have been telling stories – to my teddies, my dollies, school mates in the dorm (I went to boarding school) and then various nieces, nephews, godchildren and anyone else who would listen. Ever since I can remember I’ve yearned to be a ‘writer’, an ‘author’, but secretly I was always a little scared to take that leap of faith. Although I don’t consider myself a natural crowd pleaser, I suppose I was always worried about whether I would cut the mustard. What would people think of my writing, my ‘ambition’? Would people think me arrogant? If I made my ‘dream life’ a reality would it all come crashing down?  And then where would I be?

So, I became a journalist! Local newspapers, local radio then news and current affairs reporting and presenting in regional television and a career as a producer in network TV where I worked mostly in ‘religious’ broadcasting. Finally I found myself in PR and working for The Salvation Army UK church and charity organization – The Salvation Army also happens to be my church of choice. I was Head of Media in charge of a press office, reputation management and so much more.

I was writing. Every day. I wrote news stories and reports and TV and radio scripts. I wrote press releases and official business reports. I helped others to write. I learned to write with purpose. And in my ‘spare time’ I still scribbled my stories and poems, and scripts for church plays and presentations, and started and sometimes completed numerous stories, novels and books. I was shortlisted in a national Children’s Short Story competition and began to think “maybe I CAN DO THIS!”

To cut a long story short, finally, five years ago I took a deep breath and stepped  out in faith and quit my full-time job. Within months of going freelance, I was commissioned by Lion Hudson publishers to produce a book about The Salvation Army in advance of the Christian movement’s 150^th anniversary next year – 2015. I said ‘Yes!” Obviously.

Of course, I still work in PR, journalism, broadcasting and training to pay the bills but the creative writing has developed beyond my wildest dreams even if it doesn’t yet pay much. I’m learning to live on trust. Sometimes it’s touch-and-go at the end of the month, but God has been good. More writing projects/books are coming in and doors have opened for some paid work which keeps me afloat, is extraordinarily interesting and has introduced me to new friends and opportunities. There’s a passage from the Bible which has popped up time and again over the past years and I live with the words in my heart – ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jeremiah Ch 29 v 11 NIV)

In September 2013 my first book was published. William and Catherine, the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters (Monarch books).

The second book is on the horizon. This autumn Debbie (Deborah) Duncan and I will publish a book called Life Lines – which is basically an online/email ‘conversation’ between two fictional friends, both Christians, both of a ‘certain age’, one married with family, one single. This started out as a fun project based on conversations Debbie and I had while commuting together into London. We live near each other at the moment so when travelling into work we often shared a vehicle to the station and took the train together into the city. We swapped life stories and laughed so much we decided to write something down in the form of a fictional story of friendship. And, thanks to Authentic Media and the magnificent Amy Boucher Pye we have a book which, we hope, will make people laugh but will also provide moments of reflection as we all think about why we do what we do, as Christians, women, and friends. Life Lines has been great fun to write and we’re very excited about its upcoming publication.

As I said at the start of this question, I’m currently researching and writing my next book for Lion. It’s the story of a scandalous and intriguing court case in Victorian England – a court case which highlighted an evil of the times and ultimately helped to change the course of history. It means I’m spending a good deal of my time in Victorian England and the Old Bailey. Fascinating!

Why do I write what I do?

WHY do I write? Because it’s my living and my passion. Simple!

I write every day – either for magazines (articles) or clients (ghost writing/press and media/reports/social media). I have also thoroughly enjoyed writing devotional material – Bible Reading Notes – for Scripture Union’s Closer to God series over the past three years which has also encouraged me to delve more deeply myself into God’s word.

Over the past three years I’ve also learned to build basic websites and I write (sometimes rather intermittently) on my own website and  blog and daily on my own social media networks (various Facebook sites, and Twitter @CathyLeFeuvre). I also write articles for various online sites, like Hub Pages, which is good fun and keeps my tight writing skills up to spec.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

The publication of William and Catherine was very special for this first-time author. Experiencing my first book launch last September, seeing my book in bookshops, and featured on online sales sites like Amazon, attending promotional events and actually signing copies and running events/evenings/afternoons where I talk about the Booths and how the book came about is a great honour. Next weekend (Sat May 31^st  - 10am) I’ll be speaking at the Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature. What a buzz!

The fact that I’ve been first commissioned to write ‘serious’ historical-based narratives is great for me because it’s well within my skillset as a journalist. I love to research! I’m current loving my digging around into life in the under-belly of Victorian society!

But even with my ‘serious’ work I aim to make it ‘user friendly’ and to incorporate my creative writing skills whenever possible. William and Catherine is a biography of the founders of The Salvation Army, William and Catherine Booth. But the word ‘biography’ sometimes puts people off reading, so I wanted to come at it from a different perspective. I leave the very serious, theological stuff to others more learned than myself. As the full title of the book implies, I used the personal letters of William and Catherine Booth to build their story. The letters are held in trust in the British Library and I loved spending time in the library in London pouring over the hand-written notes and letters which they exchanged over nearly 40 years, from their first meeting until Catherine’s death in 1890. What a privilege to read their inner-most thoughts and to experience something of the deep love they shared for God and each other over a lifetime.

Alongside edited extracts from the Booth letters I also included historical narrative – explaining their lives and times, the background to what they are saying in the letters. But, in addition, I included ‘creative’ cameos, little stories in which I attempted to draw the reader into the Booth’s world. Many of these stories included information I’d gleaned through research, except it was presented from either William and Catherine’s or other perspectives. People have been kind enough to say that William and Catherine has helped them to get to know the founders of this great international Christian movement, which today impacts millions of lives across the world, as ‘real’ human beings. That’s what I wanted and I’m aiming for my next Lion book to incorporate similar elements – extracts from contemporaneous documents, historical narrative and explanation and ‘creative stories’ to help transport my readers back to 1885 and Victorian London.

I’m also still writing creative stories although finding time can be a challenge. I have a couple of full length children’s stories which I hope one day will also be out there in the world. Re-writing is a big thing with me and these are being re-written quite a lot at the moment! And, of course, there is Life Lines.

I don’t really have a master plan on what type of books/writing I want to be ‘known’ for but I don’t particularly want to get ‘pigeon-holed’. I know some ‘experts’ say one should become known for one particular ‘genre’ but now I’ve started (almost) full time writing I find the ideas come thick and fast and the opportunities for different kinds of writing just keep opening up. Those stories which have always been inside my head are now being allowed to have lives of their own.

How does my writing process work?

Sometimes I’m rather tied up with working for clients as part of the ‘day job’ but I always try to write something ‘creative’ every day even if it’s just some notes on my latest project or an online piece.  I do try to ‘timetable’ my activities, to ensure that all essential work is completed on time. I even have a whiteboard! But ultimately when there’s a deadline looming or the creative juices are flowing I can, like most writers, spend many hours in front of the computer, with the obligatory short breaks. I think my longest stint was 18 hours before I had to lie down for a bit.

I work mostly from home and have my ‘office’ in my little ‘Spare ‘Oom’. It’s not always as tidy as I’d like it to be, especially when I have all my research laid out on the spare bed, so sometimes I set up on the kitchen table, from where I have a good window view to the gardens below. When I have a writing project to complete, I try not to get too distracted by squirrels, birds, social media and emails. I heard recently from an eminent pastor and theologian that one is 20% less efficient when ‘multi-tasking’ and certainly when completing William and Catherine I learned to switch off my email. Thus I avoided being suddenly distracted by an in-coming ‘ping’ on my computer which alerted me to a message and sucked the next hour out of my life when I should have been working. I check emails during ‘breaks’ and, as I learned to do during my fulltime journalism days, I try to prioritise my responses. However, I do sometimes listen online to music and to the radio (my ‘home station’ BBC Jersey is my favoured station of choice, along with BBC Radio 4) especially when I’m researching.

By Waddington. Reproduced by permission

I find being outside helps to clear my thoughts … The rhythm of walking somehow helps me to sort out any writing issues. While stepping out I find I can see more clearly where the structure of my story needs to go or how a character might want to speak to my reader.

When working on a big writing project, I often find myself stopping to chat to God…I guess it’s praying…especially when the words won’t come or I get myself into a fix. When I was a child The Chronicles of Narnia were among my favourite books. You might have picked that up from the ‘Spare ‘Oom’ reference (Mr Tumnus/The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). CS Lewis is one of my favourite writers. Many years ago I became aware of a quote attributed to him – “The world does not need more Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature” – and this has lived with me and is part of my motivation. Not all my writing is ‘overtly Christian’ but I very much see my writing and would-be creativity as part of my faith life and I give it to God every day, for him to use.

So that’s me. Now, to continue the blog tour, I have to nominate two more writers. Of course I nominate my fabulous friend and writing partner Debbie Duncan, and I'm Dr Bex Lewis (Codec Durham) has also agreed. Click on their names to take you to there posts, and I'll also be reposting here on this site.

'William and Catherine' - book promotion continues!

 

At The Salvation Army Territorial (national) Congress held in Glasgow in Nov 2013 there were live webcasts of the three main 'meetings' or sessions, and wrapped around those were live programmes introducing themes for the weekend, including interviews of those taking part.
On Sunday morning (Nov 3) presenter Major Martin Hill interviewed me about my first book whose central characters are the founders of The Salvation Army - William  and Catherine Booth. I was at Congress signing copies of her book and talking to people about it!
'William and Catherine - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters' is published by Lion Hudson and is a Monarch book 
The letters of William and Catherine are held in trust for the Booth family at the British Library in London and for the book I edited the letters and included some other personal and public writings and memoirs of these remarkable people. I also included historical narrative and created short stories which further bring to life this passionate, spiritual and loving couple.