Lopsided

It hardly seems possible that a year has passed since the last Leeds LitFest, which had actual, real, live events. At one of those, Monique Roffey, read from her novel The Mermaid of Black Conch, as part of a celebration of Peepal Tree Press, a small Leeds based independent publisher. Roll forward a year and she was being interviewed in an online event, her novel having won last year's prestigious Costa Book Award. Often these online events can be a bit flat, but this one was excellent. She comes across as a remarkable woman. It's was a fascinating interview.

That meant that it was after 3 pm by the time I got out for a bike ride, but the delay allowed me to find a bit of sunshine. It was colder than the last time I went out on the bike, but I felt a lot warmer for wearing more layers. The legs are slowly getting stronger.

It's getting harder and harder to find original takes on my regular ride up the Dale to Burnsall and back. This tree is a new one.