Sharing – valerie holmes, author

OAPSchat goes from strength to strength!

Published on December 9, 2016November 27, 2016 by valerieholmesauthor2 Comments

janlatest-1 — Catching up with Janice Rosser founder of OAPSchat!

Jan’s motto is ‘ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!’ which seems to be the way her brainchild, OAPSchat the community site targeted at over 55’s, is going.

So here is Jan to tell us about it…

Since you interviewed me in 2014, OAPSChat has grown and grown! In June 2014 I was delighted to be one of the recipients of The Independent on Sunday Top 100 Happy List Award. I wrote a blog for the website describing the experience.

My mother passed away on September 1st 2014 and fortunately Margaret my sister and I were both at her side when she died peacefully in my house.

Suddenly I was no longer a carer. Mum’s words to me when she was dying are still with me. “Make an even bigger success of the website love and bring people together to try and end loneliness. You and Margaret have looked after me so well and I have been really lucky having you both.”

Congratulations on The Independent on Sunday Top 100 Happy List Award, but I am very sorry that you lost your mum. She must have been very proud and appreciative of both you and Margaret and the loving care you took of her.

So…… since then, so much has happened. I have been on local radio twice, interviewed my folk hero Ralph McTell, along with Dr Mark Porter, the owner of Laithwaites Wines, and many more celebrities. I appeared in Wetherspoons magazine in March 2015.

I evaluate many products for companies and send out a monthly newsletter to over 480 people.

I have 126 wonderful contributors now and over 1130 articles for people to read and comment on. Ranked at just over 12,000 in UK website rankings as at 11/11/2016, 2016 is drawing to a close better and busier than ever.

So what do you plan for 2017?

My aim is to hopefully be in the top 5,000 UK websites and to be the most popular online community magazine. The purpose for starting the website was to help combat loneliness and bring together people from all walks of life to forge new friendships and online companionship. This has certainly happened, but there is still a long way to go. My ‘baby’ born in November 2013 is now a toddler at three years old this month and true to toddler behaviour is more demanding and growing at a rate that I never thought possible!

I hope you hit the 5,000 ranking!

I love what I do and have met and am meeting new people all the time. One never stops learning and almost every day I receive a new article or write about a different topic myself.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas Valerie and a Happy and Healthy New Year and thank you for inviting me back for an update.

It is inspiring to read about your progress with this extremely valuable site. I wish you, your family and OAPschat community a Merry Christmas and a very happy, prosperous and healthy 2017!

Click to read Jan’s original interview

Yorkshire Parkin

Published on November 11, 2014 by valerieholmesauthor9 Comments

My earliest memories from my young life in the small coastal town in North Yorkshire include running into my Aunty Mary’s house and smelling the fresh baking coming from her kitchen. She was a lovely lady who would bake a cake for anyone in need, simply as a gift to share, or to have something in to offer a visitor with a cup of tea.

She was not wealthy, her home was ordinary, but the feel of homeliness within it was something money cannot buy. Among her many recipes was my favourite chocolate cake with lovely icing that seemed to dissolve on your tongue as the cake melted away. The next memorable taste sensation, which I always associated with November, was her sumptuous ginger cake – Parkin.

This warming winter treat was rich in spices, sugar, ginger, oats and treacle. It was not for a calorie controlled diet, but for a comfort food that when warmed would leave you full for hours.

In my stories, cooks occasionally share their treats with the young miss of the households – like Hannah and Abigail. Parkin is often linked to Guy Fawkes night and bonfires, but to me it is a trip into nostalgia and many lovely visits to a lady who taught me the meaning of giving and a loving home.

Here is a simple recipe to follow from the BBC Good Food website.

Sharing Places – Part 4

Published on May 17, 2014 by valerieholmesauthor5 Comments

Whilst researching social history for my stories I visit some fascinating places. Here are some of the places that have triggered plots, created characters or inspired a mood or a desire to return to the keyboard and write.

4. Whitby, North Yorkshire, England.

Whitby Abbey, an iconic image on the headland.

One of my favourite places to explore on the North Yorkshire coast is the unique, atmospheric town of Whitby. This ancient port situated on the northeast coast of England is famous for many reasons.

St Hilda founded a double monastery (for monks and nuns) here in 657 AD, making it a valued seat of learning. The famous Synod of Whitby was held here in 664 AD.

Whitby became a famous whaling port with such famous seafaring names associated to it as the Scoresby‘s.

Whitby's 99 steps — The famous 99 steps, better going down than up!

The James Cook Museum is housed in the C17 house where he lived as an apprentice. It is an atmospheric place overlooking the River Esk. There is a large car park nearby so exploring this side of the harbour is not a problem if arriving by car. If you walk into the East side of the harbour from here you can wander through the old cobblestoned streets and explore the many yards and snickets.

Passing the old inns and market square you will reach the bottom of the famous 99 steps which lead up to the unique church of St Mary and then to the abbey beyond. The views across the harbour from here are magnificent.

St Mary's Church — The unique St Mary’s church in front of Whitby Abbey has pride of place on the horizon.

To experience staying in one of the original inns, The Whitehorse and Griffin has been lovingly restored and offers excellent food.

Whitby sporadically comes into my stories, either in passing as in Abigail Moor, or as a setting in itself, such as Amelia’s Knight, which is still to be released as an eBook.

Whatever your reason for visiting this fascinating location, being prepared to walk and explore its narrow alleyways, historic places, or the more usual shops and eateries on the west side of the harbour, then there is plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Whitby houses — A glimpse of the red pantile rooves that characterise bay town houses.

For excellent seafood and a great place to eat it, looking back across the harbour to the abbey is The Magpie.

Other places of interest in the area can be found on these helpful websites:

Sharing Places – Part 3

Published on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 by valerieholmesauthor3 Comments

3. Ormesby Hall, North Yorkshire, England.

This interesting Georgian mansion belonged to the Pennyman family for nearly four centuries and is now open to the public. It is nestled in its own grounds hidden away from the busy modern environment surrounding it.

I was delighted to be shown around the servant’s passageways when I visited. They thread through the house so that the daily running of the hall did not get in the way of the family who lived there.

The Victorian launderette is not as grand as the larger hall of Beningborough near York that gave rise to Chloe’s Friend, but the estate is a joy to walk around. You can visit the local church further up the lane and the stables which are used to this day by The Cleveland Mounted Police.

Also, there is a permanent exhibition for the model railway enthusiast and fine cakes in the tea room.

Sharing Places – Part 2

Published on March 26, 2014March 30, 2014 by valerieholmesauthorLeave a comment

2. Saltburn Gill, North Yorkshire, England.

A ten mile, fine sandy bay sweeps between Huntcliffe and the mouth of the River Tees on the once remote northeast coast of England. The town of Saltburn nestles in the shadow of the headland and has a fascinating historical connection with smuggling in the region.

I borrowed the location for some of my nineteenth century titles. Saltburn became ’Ebton’ and the headland ‘Stangcliffe’. The location of the actual Ship Inn was used as the heart of the old fishing village. The Saltburn Gill, which runs through an ancient natural oak and ash woodland behind Cat Nab, has a rich undergrowth of Holly and Hazel and a myriad of flowers and wild birds that vary throughout the seasons making it a vibrant and beautiful place to visit at any time of the year.

It was a route used in times past by smugglers and my version of it appears in such stories as Phoebe’s Challenge and many other titles of my back list, many are yet to be converted to their eBook format.