about the author

Celia Louise Paris grew up on a farm in Somerset during the 1950s. She was fortunate to attend a school in her small village and, inspired by her music teacher, went on to study for a London University Bachelor of Music Degree. Teaching first at an ILEA comprehensive school and then at a convent in Dorset, she left just before the birth of daughter number one in 1985. Celia, her husband, and their three daughters have moved house fourteen times, perhaps the most unusual was to live on a boat in Essex. For the last six years, the couple have lived in France.

about the book

The author always enjoyed a sense of freedom, whether roaming around the Somerset countryside as a child or later on, living offshore with her husband and three daughters on a boat. She considers nothing strictly ‘out of bounds’, and for seventy years no-one has stopped her in her tracks. Thank You for My Dinner really sums up the dichotomy of her life – an upbringing steeped in Victorian-based principles and the free license to go her own way, which was generous even by twenty-first century standards.This is the story of Celia’s early life coupled with a trip down the river, never completely grown up, always looking for adventure, not anticipating danger, but keeping a sense of fun and a smile through various struggles – and surviving enough to say ‘thank you’ at the end.

Reviews

news

Clock-wise or Keeping up with the Times!

I have previously mentioned that my husband has a new hobby – well, it has entered a bigger time scale with widened knowledge and more adventurous ideas....Our house is now a ticking box – full of tin ........

Rule of 3

Having lived for more than half a century in the world of music, I am very familiar with the triad and the crucial role it plays in musical language. However, I've just been finding out about the impo ........

National Poetry Day and the first day of Spring, March 21st 2023

To acknowledge and celebrate both these important days, I thought it would be an appropriate moment to post a little poem with accompanying sketch that I put together about 6 years ago during our ti ........

blogs

Onwards and Upwards

It's turning out to be quite a year for scaling heights - and some small physical, and perhaps even mental, goals and ambitions achieved en route...Starting off at the very top of the British Isles lo ........

Poems in the Pipeline

March 21st 2024As well as marking the first day of Spring, March 21st is now established as World Poetry Day – so a good day to dust off those poetry books, read a poem or two, have a go at writin ........

Ditches and Streams

I've always enjoyed mucking about in gullies and ditches – from my early days living on the farm at Bratton, where I used to spend several hours walking along small streams, under bridges and past ........

contact

Austin Macauley are one of the fastest-growing publishers, striving hard to give authors the best chance of succeeding in an increasingly crowded market. With headquarters in London, New York and Sharjah, Austin Macauley Publishers™ have established themselves as an energetic and innovative independent trade publishers.

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