To follow up from last month - we did get to Worcestershire, and it was bliss. There was no golden Labrador to greet us (sob), but there was - da dan! - a black one - a rescue Lab called Rowie Small-Ears, who leapt, cavorted, cuddled and all that jazz, and who actually sat when I told her to! We left Miss Leeloo Caswell in the capable hands of our friend Sophy, because we did not want to risk our beloved Burmese kitty falling prey to the foxes of the High Wood in Tenbury Wells. My sister-in-law is a dream. We had full breakfasts, three-course lunches and four-course dinners. And my brother-in-law is an expert at opening bottles of wine.

From Worcestershire to London. We stayed there with our friend Ciarán who is working extremely hard. Every time a movie preview comes on the telly, he is in it. ‘Get off our screens!’ we wail, whenever he comes on. We had a terrific evening with the kind of crying laughter that only comes when you meet up with old friends. I had arranged to meet my agent for lunch the following day, and had packed an impressive outfit. But alas! I had neglected to include the Ralph Lauren Boots of Power, which raise me up, as the song goes. They were originally priced at an obscene amount of euros, and I got them for a fraction of the price in a sale (best sartorial purchase ever). I ended up having to shop for shoes in the King’s Road because otherwise I’d have had to wear the trainers (the ones I’d mucked about in the fields of Worcestershire) to lunch on the Fulham Road: gasp! Mal said ‘NO!’ to the pretty (pricey) Missoni pumps I fancied, so I ended up with Natural Shoe Store shoes, and met up with lovely Charlotte looking rumpled but feeling comfortable, and had the best lunch ever.

After London, we repaired to the West of Ireland for a week of breathing easy. Because Sophy was not available to cat-sit, we brought Miss Leeloo Caswell with us. Cat lovers please bear with me. It is the first time we have ever confined a cat - well, we didn’t confine so much as restrain. She seemed really happy, actually, to be kept near us on the leash, and when we took her up the hill to visit the donkeys she growled at them, and looked snootily askance at the sheep. We didn’t swim - even though the water looked so inviting - we just lazed and ate and read and put on a LOT of weight.

Health update: I’ve recently had a meeting with my radiotherapist, and all is well. My final oncology consultation is next month. Ladies - all I can say is get your breasts checked. That mammogram saved my life.

Now I’m back in Real Life and working hard. One novel wrapped, the next one nesting (it’s the first thing I think about every morning when I wake up). A documentary - A Book With Me In It - is due to be aired on RTE 1 on Monday 30th April. I have another episode of Fair City to get cracking on, and I’m so looking forward to introducing Anita Shreve at the West Cork Literary Festival in July. Also, please check out Book Idol - it could be a really fun event.

I’ve been skyping Clara, who is currently scuba-diving in Okinawa with her lovely boyfriend, Ben. She’ll be back in Dublin in July, in time for another Murder Mystery party for my birthday. I hope that I’ll be able to tuck her in my pocket for a month or two before she skips off again, elusive as Tinkerbell.

You’re lovely - all of you. Your letters of support have been - well, so incredibly supportive! I’ll talk to you soon, and wish you all the very, very best.+

With love,

Kate

♥♥♥ 

PS: I would also like to commemorate here May Reynolds, my friend Hilary’s mother, who died recently. She was such a lady, and a stalwart keeper of the famous Gate Theatre’s box office for decades. RIP, lovely May.