Product placement is an interesting concept.  I've often said (joking, I think) that I should hand out copies of ABBW to friends and family and ask them to read the book ostentatiously in very public places - trains, planes and buses and proclaim what a great read it is!  A friend (who will remain anonymous because she is already totally incorrigible and needs no encouragement... you know who you are...) did precisely this at the local British Heart Foundation shop.  Went in, brandished the book at unsuspecting volunteer, waxed lyrical about signed copy of book by local writer, and managed to get it in the window wedged between Kenny Dalgliesh's biography and The Boys Book of Military Aircraft.  Something for everyone in there!I walked past it for several days wondering how long it would be before I cracked and went in with my £2 and bought it just in case nobody...

With Bhola on my mind - tickets for a November trip finally purchased - here are a random selection of photos from Bhola's Garden...One of the first storms of the season has brought down a tree onto the roof of one of the old school buildings - luckily no harm done and the wood will be used for fuel for cookingThe vegetable garden in Valumia continues to thrive, helping Chola's Children become more self-sufficient by the day!And Dinah, receiving gifts of embroidery all made by the girls in their sewing classes: pillow cases, cushion covers, napkins and bedspreads.  She'll bring them back to the UK and sell them to boost the funds of the charity Anne

Is there anything more thrilling for a writer than receiving a totally unsolicited email from someone who has enjoyed your book and taken the time to write and say so?  I suppose one of my niggling worries about ABBW was how a Bangladeshi reader might view it: patronising? making light of serious issues? totally alien?  I was hoping for the opposite reactions when I wrote it, and I'm delighted that Shishu, a Bangladeshi man who came across the e-book by accident, definitely found something that struck a chord...“Being born to Bangladeshi parents but only having spent the early part of my life in Bangladesh, I am as much of foreigner as you ever were. Your style of writing brought out every experience I have ever had in Bangladesh. Thank you for helping me relive those memories. Through your writings, I feel like I know you, a long-lost sister if you like. I never imagined a...

If you haven't already seen my friend and fellow writer, Michael Malone's, exemplary blog (if he wasn't such a nice guy I'd hate him for being so darn good at this) 'MAY CONTAIN NUTS' then now is the perfect time to follow the link and read his interview with me in which I tell all; yes, beans spilt, cats out of endless bags...*mickmal1.blogspot.com*Perhaps I exaggerate slightly.  Oh, how I wish there were an All to tell.

Is there anything more irritating in the blog/website/electronic world, than hitting on a site that looks vaguely interesting only to find it was last updated a good couple of months (or years) ago?  Hands up!  I've fallen into the trap and I'm guilty of exactly that; apologies to anyone who is trying to follow me - please don't give up, I'll try harder...The first royalties cheque is in for A Blonde Bengali Wife.  It's not going to change the world in Bhola but it will cover a few more meals.  Work over there is going on at a fast pace, the construction of the new workshop especially.  Today is Bangladesh's Independence Day and the children all took their places marching for the District Commissioner and the Chief of Police.  I'll look out some photographs for the next entry...Most exciting is that Dinah and I have set the dates for our next visit and come...