How can we be almost at the end of 2024 already? The months have flown by. Life is still busy but those of you who write to me telling me to slowdown will be relieved to hear that I have indeed slowed down a little this year. Not from choice, but a slowdown, nonetheless.
At the end of July, I had a knee arthroplasty, or a total knee replacement to you and me. On the right side as it happens. My surgeon wrapped up his recommendation by telling me that I was now old enough for a lasting cure for a footballing injury I had incurred playing on astroturf in Kent in 1990. The operation itself was straightforward but 3 days after returning home I collapsed with what turned out to be blood clots on my lungs. A quick dash to the local A & E followed by 4 days flat on a bed whilst plugged into a heart monitor and my knee was forgotten. Until I tried to walk out of the hospital on the Friday afternoon and could barely move my right knee which had seized up during the interim. Cue lashings of physiotherapy and a machine to automatically bend my knee which looked and felt like it had a previous life in a torture chamber - as shown above. But 4 months later and my right leg has seldom felt better - I have since twisted my left ankle but that's a story for another day.
A much more fun event took place a few weeks before the operation when I was interviewed by Peter Stewart on the Planet Reigate podcast. As the name suggests it's a local podcast highlighting all that is good about my local area. I sneaked in during a quiet week to talk about my most recent book, The Cave of Death, which as readers will recall starts with a dead body discovered in the Barons' Cave under Reigate town centre. Peter and I recorded the interview sitting on top of the cave.
Rather than bang on about my own books, here's a suggestion of books you could buy for friends as last-minute Christmas gifts. Top of the list is a new author Alexander Ducharme with Dark Pools. It's a long time since I read such a captivating debut novel. Dark Pools is a love story, a thriller and a case study of human manipulation all round into one. I'd also recommend Ann Cleeves with The Long Call and Niki (NJ) Mackay with The Quiet Dead. Both are excellent.
I haven't wished anyone a happy Christmas yet, but it's that time of year, so .. wishing a wonderful Christmas to all those who celebrate. I know it can be a tough time of year for some people. From me, Scott Bee, Ron McTierney and indeed the whole gang. Scott will be spending Christmas with his headphones on listening to Bruce's most recent album, while Ron will be in the pub.
But both will be back in 2025 in the next Scott Bee cosy crime thriller; A Ticket to Murder.
Today's musical accompaniment is The Visitors by Abba. It was their 8th and for a while final, studio album released in November 1980. The title track opens with an ominous synthesiser, a distinct departure from their earlier light pop of Dancing Queen et al. It includes tracks protesting against the persecution of political dissidents in the former Soviet Union. And yes it is Abba, arguably at their finest.
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