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Gloria or Belinda?

11/21/2011

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I've been doing a lot of research about the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) and HM Coast Guard, for the Cornish mystery I'm currently writing. Here is a link to an inspiring slide-show about the RNLI:
http://rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/rnli_history/rnli_through_time/

_Above, an RNLI D-class inshore lifeboat, similar to the one stationed in Port Isaac in Eleanor's time, and below, the present Port Isaac lifeboat.
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Photo credit: RNLI/Bob Bulgin
_Here's a video of one in action. No wonder Megan felt queasy.

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/press_centre/videos/video_detail?articleid=321838&category=&region=&listing=
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Photo credit: RNLI Tynemouth
And a larger all-weather boat  from Padstow, seen launching here:

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Credit: RNLI, Padstow
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This is the Oakley class all-weather boat that was in use at Padstow at the time of my story
_I have to name the two boats. I'm calling the all-weather boat the Daisy D.  I started out naming the inshore inflatable the Gloria, but then I thought maybe she should be Belinda, to go with Daisy.

What do you think? Is it too obvious? Too cutesy? Or a nice reminder of the Daisy Dalrymple series and Daisy's stepdaughter? Do please leave a comment and let me know your opinion.
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Here's a pic I've just found of an inflatable inshore boat used in 1972.




Photo credit: RNLI
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Cornish village?

07/22/2010

2 Comments

 
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In my peregrinations up and down the West Coast, talking about and signing A Colourful Death, a number of people have commented on the charming picture of a Cornish village on the cover. I have to tell them it looks nothing like any Cornish village I've ever seen. Most of the building appear to be built of brick, a material seldom used in Cornwall, with its wealth of granite and slate. As you can see in this pic of Boscastle, natural stone, sometimes whitewashed, is the building material of choice.

Assuming the cover art is intended to represent one of Nick's slashed paintings, I have to conclude he must have been visiting another part of the country--Dorset perhaps--when he painted it!
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An "ope" (foot-passage) in Port Isaac.

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