I mentioned the other day that Diana Birchall was coming to Oxford, and of course I wanted to meet up with her. We met on her previous visit to the UK (the current one is her 29th, I believe) and had a fun, fairly speedy chat with her. This time I was determined it would be a little longer.
I hoped I'd be able to attend a talk Diana was giving to various writers groups in Oxford, on her (utterly fascinating) career as a story analyst for a major Hollywood studio, as well as her grandmother Winnifred Eaton/Onoto Watanna's life. And, indeed, it turned out that I could - a rapt audience heard Diana's wonderful talk, and asked many questions.
But this was only Part A of my time with Diana. When we'd been emailing arrangements, Diana had said that she would love to see me on Saturday, but wouldn't be able to see me on Sunday. I railed and stormed, protested and raged - all behind a computer monitor, of course - and *insisted* that she come with me to Jane's Teas. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Diana would love it. Well, with that sort of storming, what could she do but capitulate?
If you haven't heard of Jane's Teas before, have a look at my first blog post about it - and the amusing story behind how we found it.
And Diana loved it, of course. She very kindly treated me and my housemate Debs to scones (for Debs) and the most delicious caramel and date cake (for me) - and herself had an enticing fish 'smokie'. And if this generosity weren't enough, Diana sent us home with some gorgeous-looking honey, and copies of her books about Winnfred Eaton and Emma's Mrs. Elton. Looking forward to them!
Such a wonderful place, and such a wonderful day out. The weather was beautiful, the cake was delicious, the company was literary and fun. A lovely Sunday! How was yours?
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