Sunday, July 18, 2010

My Welsh Waterstones Tour: Stop 4- Llandudno

Yesterday, the British summer weather returned to the traditional rain, clouds and cool breeze. I shivered in my linen dress, duped by a couple of weeks of sunshine.


Even though Llandudno is just an hour away by car I decided to take the train. It is a route strewn with romantic-looking and ancient castles (built by an English king endeavouring to keep the Welsh subservient) and mountains, becoming wilder, higher and more beautiful towards the west.


Llandudno shelters beside a headland of limestone called the Great Orme. There are railways and cable-runs to the top, which is a dome of grass thrillingly exposed to the wind and sea, and riddled with ancient mines for valuable metals.


Beneath it a busy town with elegant wide streets links two sandy beaches; one I remember classified as 'clean', the other not so, but can never remember which one, and so steer clear of both of them just in case.


Waterstones fronts a small shopping mall. My imminent arrival announced on billboard and poster


then inside my books on display.


I started my computer and immediately a couple of people came up and watched my films. A couple of local newspapers had been kind enough to feature my event, and this had brought people in even before I'd arrived. I much enjoyed myself talking to customers - some of whom had their own very interesting stories to tell.

The staff said I could stay as long as I liked (since it seemed to be going quite well), and in the end had only six books left which I was invited to sign.


Then, after a much-welcome cup of coffee in the cafe above I made my way back to the station (one of the most weird I've ever come across, a roof only over a small fraction of it, and a road right next to the platform) and swapped stories with a seagull.

4 Comments:

Blogger Angie said...

Congratulation on your success!!! I hope the next events you'll do will be as successful if not more!

Thank you for having us around this weekend!

I have uploaded some pictures of the ring and place where we got engaged.

Sun Jul 18, 09:46:00 pm  
Blogger Clare Dudman said...

Thanks Angie - looking forward to seeing you lots more...

Sun Jul 18, 10:39:00 pm  
Anonymous Carola Huttmann said...

Hi Clare ~

I've only just seen your comment on my Bookmunch review of your book -- thank you.

A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees filled a gap in my historical knowledge. I was unaware of the Welsh settling in Patagonia and have enjoyed reading up more about this area of history since finishing your novel.

Wishing you continuing success for your book tour.

Mon Jul 19, 07:47:00 am  
Blogger Clare Dudman said...

Hello Carola - yes, it's quite astonishing what the colonists did then, and what they accomplished. It's generally known in Wales, but not very much at all outside of that.

Mon Jul 19, 08:02:00 am  

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