Gina Collia-Suzuki's Blog (11)

Report for The Sea View Mercurial, by Bob Hackitt.



Pat Guppy, well-known local doer of charitable works and widow of Benjamin Arnold Guppy, may face charges of assault, according to local sources, following an attack upon Mrs Floss Littleworth, also a senior citizen of Sea View. The alleged attack took place on the morning of November 5th, this year, when Mrs Littleworth arrived at the graveside of Benjamin Arnold Guppy, to pay her last respects to the man who she claims was her… Continue

'An Interview with Pat Guppy' for 'Her Ladyshipness Magazine'

Questions posed by Hyacinth Bootley-Smythe



Q: You are very busy arranging for your husband's memorial and so forth. Are you still managing to maintain your charitable works?



A: Of course. Nothing will ever prevent me from being selfless and tending to those in need. I have, within the past fortnight, attended no less than three charity dinners and two luncheons, all in aid of bus shelter number six on Sea… Continue

'An Interview with Pat Guppy' for 'Her Ladyshipness Magazine'

Questions posed by Hyacinth Bootley-Smythe



Q: You chose to have a quiet funeral, with only family and close friends attending. Why was that?



A: Well, as you can imagine, I am such an incredibly popular and well-loved local personage that the guest list, had I not decided to make it a small affair, would have been hundreds of pages long. To give you some idea of how well-loved my dear Benjamin was, the local… Continue

'An Interview with Pat Guppy' for 'Her Ladyshipness Magazine'

Questions posed by Hyacinth Bootley-Smythe



Q: Firstly, I'd like to offer my condolences for the loss of your husband. Perhaps you could tell us a little about your husband?



A: Benjamin was a good and honest man, loved by everyone who knew him. He never took a drink in his life or raised his voice to a living soul. He was a good Christian man, very involved in the church and a doer of charitable works. Very… Continue

I spent years planning to write, thinking about writing, and talking about writing. What I didn't do for a very long time was actually write. What gave me the kick I needed to get me going? I almost died.



I was watching the X-Files one Sunday night, eating a brand of crisps that I'm not going to name, for fear of being sued (the reason will become clear as I go on), when I began to heat up. My lower legs began to itch, so I scratched them. Then my upper legs began to itch... my lower… Continue

Referring to my neighbours, Richard asked, here, 'Do you feel able to say what the worst thing they ever did was?'



I have a lot to work with, so this took some thought. I couldn't choose just one thing, so I went for three. Third place would have to go to my neighbours' attempts to squash me under the wheels of their car. Luckily I am agile enough to fling myself out of harm's… Continue

I've been an avid collector of antiques for a number of years, and one of the things you learn when you collect antiques is that one man's rubbish is another man's treasure. I'd never, however, taken this entirely literally until the first time I saw Mr N, my delightful neighbour, up to his elbows in the garbage bags that my husband had taken out to be picked up by the refuse collectors the following morning. With bare hands, and with shirt sleeves rolled up past his elbows, he sifted through… Continue

Yesterday, whilst waiting for the Brussels sprouts to boil, inhaling the aroma of a Quorn roast in the oven, and listening to Bing Crosby sing about peace on earth and good will towards men, I was visited by the ghost of Christmas past and he gave me cause to wince a little. It's not that Christmases have ever been entirely ruined by our nuisance neighbours in the past, but that was never for the want of trying on their part. Sufficiently malevolent all year round, they always favoured this… Continue

A friend asked several years ago, after commenting on a celebrity autobiography she'd been reading, if I would be willing to write my own life story. Having devoted my adult life to the study of Japanese art, spending most of my time with my nose in a book or hovering above a Japanese print, I considered it unlikely that my existence would be eventful enough to warrant lengthy disclosure to the entire world, and responded 'I should be so lucky, who'd read it?'



Less than six months… Continue

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who dropped by at the Utamaro Revealed book signing on Saturday. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Sarah and Annie Bavin, of the Willow Tree in Weston-super-Mare, for making me feel so welcome. It was a splendid day and I had a great time. It was lovely to have the signing at a venue where creativity is so actively encouraged and nurtured, and to take part in such lively discussion.

I will be at the Willow Tree in Weston-super-Mare (UK), between 2:30 and 4:30pm tomorrow (25th), signing copies of Utamaro Revealed. If you're in the area please do drop in. You're assured of a warm welcome from everyone at the Willow Tree, and I promise I don't bite (much). More details are available at the Utamaro Revealed web site.