Some copies of "Round and Round in Circles" by Peter Marsh made their escape from the binders and were sent to all the people who had ordered it as the result of our Christmas mailing (by post) which they would have received two or three days ago.

Orders for Grace McKee's "Où est le 'Ping'?" are also streaming in as a result of the mailing, and although the two books are very different many people have ordered both.

With the orders we got some nice letters, which was lovely. We pride ourselves on our genuine personal touch - our readers are important to us and we are really pleased to know their views of our books and their news about their own French homes, or the pursuit of their dream to own one. Two representative letters included the following:

"Since family circumstances presently prevent me visiting France regularly as I did in the past - your titles are the next best thing!" T.Y.R. Wallasey

"I never put your cheque (for £2 overpaid for his previous order) in my bank because I knew I would purchase another book from you, as they are a very good read..." B A H-L, Isle of Wight

19th November 1999

Anne and Jack attended the funeral at St Thomas's Church, Rudheath, Northwich, of their old friend Lenna Bickerton, who had died the previous weekend at the age of 83. She was the dearly-loved wife of James (Jim) Bickerton and a much-loved mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother. Donations were received for the Coronary Care Unit at Leighton Hospital, Crewe, where the staff had tried valiantly to save her life. In the end they decided that her heart was too weak to work on its own and the life support equipment was switched off, leaving her to pass away in peace.

The address by the Rev Paul Dawson was very moving as he paid tribute to someone who had struggled to reach her potential against overwhelming odds and had been greatly loved and respected locally. Destined for art school, Lenna had to go to work in the local biscuit factory instead, when her father lost his job with ICI. He set up a business as a greengrocer but did not have enough money to pay her fees for further education. From that point onwards she educated herself, reading voraciously and with discrimination. In her later years she learned to paint in oils and achieved local fame with her book of "Memories of a Cheshire Childhood". One year she was immensely proud to be chosen to receive the Royal Maundy Money from HM The Queen at a ceremony at Chester Cathedral. Her painting of a Lakeland scene, and a copy of her book, were displayed beside the coffin at her funeral.

She was devastated after Jim's death at the age of 85 in 1996 and often became depressed, unable to understand why she should live on alone after they had been so happy together since they met when she was 14 years old. "Memories of a Cheshire Childhood" kept her going at first and then she started to write the second installment (as yet unnamed) which was really 'Memories of a Cheshire Love Story' - dedicated to their courtship and the early years of their marriage, when they were idyllically happy. Her grand-daughter Lorna concluded the funeral service with a tribute to her granny and a reading from a notebook which the family had found after her death, in which she asked God to answer her prayers and take her to join her beloved Jim again. The mourners were asked to be happy that her prayer had been answered in a year when she had spread her wings by visiting the Loaders' house in France, her great-grandson in Norway, and finally her daughter in the Yorkshire Dales - only a few days before she was taken terminally ill.

14th November 1999

We were very saddened to hear of the death of Lenna Bickerton, who had a heart attack during the early hours of 11th November. She died in Leighton Hospital on the evening of November 14th after several more heart attacks. She had been a good friend for many years and will be sadly missed. It was the excellence of her writing and the fact that she had never been able to get it published which led Anne to start Léonie Press in the first place. Prior to the publication of "Memories of a Cheshire Childhood" there were only two copies - Lenna's and a bound typed copy in the local history archive of Northwich Library.

Her two daughters are going to complete the preparation of the manuscript of her latest book which she had almost finished so that it can be published as a tribute to her.

November 6th 1999

The first copies of "Où est le 'Ping'?" by Grace McKee available for sale.

November 1st 1999

The November issue of Living France contains an extract from "Only Fools Drink Water" in which Geoff Morris explains how his book came to have that title.