Next cruise, next book

Accepting the title of my blog is My Life in Ships, I suppose there haven't been that many ships in my life lately.  However, now the tickets have arrived for my next cruise, that will change soon ... and I cannot wait. I will be sailing on Adonia for the first time.  Whilst I have visited the ship twice in the course of our research for the P&O 175 book, I have't actually sailed on her before so am really looking forward to the experience. Many of her crew are ex-Artemis so it will be nice to see familiar faces. I do prefer smaller ships as I like the more personal experience you get on board.  It is to the Western Mediterranean, but her size means we will be visiting many places not reached by the mega cruise ships, such as Sete and Port Mahon.  I spotted an all-day excursion from Sete to Carcassonne, a place referred to with affection by my father who delivered ambulances in the Spanish Civil War, so am excited about seeing it for real. The other ports i think we will just wander ashore and explore independently, although in Rome, I am not sure I am brave enough to take the train from Civitavecchia!

And the other other part of today's title - my next book!  Aside from writing maritime history books with Andrew, I also write local history books about my home town. The first of these was way back in 1987, and since then I have produced another 14 or so. My latest one, due to hit the shops in April, is Weston-super-Mare Then & Now. This is a hardback with old photos (in sepia) paired with the same view today in full colour. I always find these fascinating to do, and can spend hours pouring over the old views and seeing what has changed - usually quite a lot, but occasionally suprisingly little!  I am looking forward to promoting this in local bookshops throughout April. Hopefully it will inspire a few people to see Weston in a new light.