The WSG Delivery Tours have been majorly disrupted by tumbles down canal embankments, collisions with canal bridges and the need to self-isolate, but we’re back on the road!
Taking copies of WSG to friends, who we haven’t seen for far too long, and those who have been long lost (35 years), and to people we’ve never previously met (but have connected to through sharing WSG) has been such fun.
Last Thursday added another wonderful moment.
Our friend, Fi, had messaged to say that she would like to get her hands on a proper turny-page copy of WSG for her Mom, Joanie. She was hoping that I’d be able to send one to Suffolk in the post.
Rather brilliantly, having only ever been to Suffolk once in our lives, we had plans to go to Latitude, our first ever festival, which is at Henham Park near Southwold . . . i.e. Suffolk! Even better, our Airbnb (tenting / glamping / campervanning were not on the agenda) was only 25 minutes from Joanie’s and so I suggested that we drop off a book on our way.
Even better, when we shared our travel plans, it turned out that Fi would be arriving back in Suffolk the day before us, for her very first visit in two years. So plans were made and ETAs shared.
Fi’s Dad, Joanie’s husband, Geoff (‘Big G’) had Parkinson’s Disease and sadly passed away in November 2019. Because of this I was a little anxious about visiting a woman I had never met and giving her a book that I am certain will bring back painful memories, but meeting Joanie was a true joy. Much as I might have wanted to keep the conversation away from PD, Joanie steered the conversation straight at it and we talked about Geoff, and about our respective losses, and about caring for a loved one, and about the type of adored man he was and about the wonderful memories he had left her with.
Still, I was worried about her reading WSG and I told her so and her response made me float, “Mark, you’ve written about love and laughter and that’s what is important.”
As a postscript, we met up with our son, Alex, at Latitude, where he was playing with two different artists and I was finally able to sign his copy of Who Stole Grandma?, which was particularly special, because his Grandmother nurtured his musical giftedness and there I was signing his copy in front of the stage that he would perform on. She’d have loved that.
Mark Lanyon Storyteller 