Tag Archives: Channel Islands

September 8, 2011 · 2:58 pm

To Kindle or not to Kindle – What changed my mind?

This week my debut novel ‘Riduna’ has been launched on Kindle.

After my last post on Kindle ‘ Can you snuggle in bed with a Kindle?’ I had such fun reading the responses, but why have I changed my mind – or have I?

I have agreed for ‘Riduna’ to go on Kindle because:

  • The paperback version has been out for a couple of years
  • I have been convinced that there are now people who only buy e books due to lack of space at home; they commute and it’s easy to carry; it’s easy to access a multitude of books………..
  • I have tirelessly promoted bookshops thoughout the campaign so far and will continue to do so, regardless of this step. I simply love bookshops!

Riduna is the Roman name for Alderney, Channel Islands, UK and the novel is set in late Victorian times. If you like social history and enjoy a good saga then click on the link below:

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June 30, 2011 · 1:33 pm

Why do I love Alderney?

I am going to finish my present holiday theme and try to answer a question a lady posed to me at the end of my talk at Flitwick Library.

 ‘Jersey has its Jersey cows and rich cream and Guernsey its WW2 history, so what makes Alderney special?’

A tough question. Alderney doesn’t have countless museums, forts and galleries to visit but its museum is very interesting, with an array of artifacts telling the island’s story and it is surrounded by magestic fortresses which overlook each inlet and sandy beach. 

There are no ‘attractions’ like the Pearl Centre, stately homes or flower farms and yet the variety of trips offerred by The Wildlife Trust to the visitor to experience Alderney’s sealife, wild life and natural history are varied and both fascinating and enjoyable. Watch out for their puffin webcam on the Visit Alderney website. For those who love to fish, walk or swim in the sea it’s a beautiful island, not to mention to enjoy good local food and the friendly ambiance of the community.

So, what do I love about Alderney which makes me return time and time again? What puts a tear in my eye as the Auringy Trislander leaves on my day of departure and I face returning to a world of traffic jams, noise and pollution and hypermarkets when it takes you ages to do your shop?

That’s just it!  Alderney, unlike Jersey and Guernsey which boast of so much (and rightly so) is a place to escape the rat race, to abandon stress, to amble about with no fear of traffic or road rage, just a gentle pace of life where I can leave the world behind. It’s just so lovely and it’s only a hop away!

Corblets Bay

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March 10, 2011 · 12:52 pm

Poignant Parallels – The Wanderlust of Islanders

Are you an islander full of wanderlust or are you just content to live on your island home? Are you living on an island watching planes go by and wondering where they are going to, imagining places the other side of the water or on mysterious distant shores? Do you hallucinate a Big Mac or dream of John Lewis Department Store? (mind you the best burger I ever tasted was at the burger van near Alderney harbour which also sells delicious fresh fruit smoothies to wash down their island reared meat!)

 There is a weird dichotomy between those islanders who hate to leave the island of their birth and those who can’t wait to do so.  Unknowingly I explored this conflict in my novel Riduna, but soon realised that this is as true for today’s islanders as it was in Harriet and Edward’s time (the main hero and heroine of my novel) This desire to explore the world to see what it has to offer and the frustrations at home of isolation and lack of perceived opportunities. And what happens to those who are left behind?

I don’t know whether you watched or are watching the series Island Parish, but what struck me is the universal truth that islanders are a resilient and resourceful bunch of folk, ever creating and recreating opportunities for themselves. They seem to be able to tap into resources from deep within and have an ever optimistic view of life.

Maybe it’s because deep down they appreciate that they live in paradise. After all, it’s what many of us here on the mainland dream of. A place without traffic jams, supermarket queues or large urban industrial estates.

Which are you? Full of wanderlust- content with your island home- or dreaming of living on that paradise isle somewhere?

© Diana Jackson March 10th 2011

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