Dear friends,  

Thank you so much for supporting The Green Hill. Every pledge means a great deal as this project is so close to my heart. 

A couple of days ago I walked along the South Devon coast from Wembury to Heybrook Bay and on to a little cove I call Felix's Lagoon. As we arrived in Wembury the little valley down to the sea was white with frost. The sea was like a millpond and the sun was shining and the world felt beautiful. The coast path here is very close to the water and we saw oyster catchers hopping among the rocks and reefs below. We also heard the watery, quavering call of the curlew. 

Felix's Lagoon is a small inlet that fills up with water at high tide. It is bordered by an enormous, smooth slab of rock which slopes down into the water - perfect for sunbathing on in the summer. Alex and I found it a few weeks after Felix died in 2017. We wanted to walk somewhere new, that had no memories. I was entranced by the beauty of this place, with its gin-clear water and, because of its beauty, I decided to name it after Felix. Now, every time I visit, it feels like a small act of memorial. 

This is the kind of thing I am exploring in The Green Hill. I am thinking about the things we can do, however small, to make life better when something terrible has happened. 

So far I am up to Chapter 7, with at least 5 (probably more) to go. Places featured include the Dart Estuary, Sharpham Meadow, Buckfast Abbey, Cadair Idris mountain in Snowdonia, Shell Island in North Wales, Black Pool on the Dart, Ryders Hill on Dartmoor, East Prawle (Devon's most southerly village), Teignmouth and of course Felix's Lagoon. 

Having your support is helping me keep going with the writing and is so very appreciated. 

Here's wishing us all a wonderful 2021. 

Sophie