Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford on blind dates writer s block and meeting Alan Bennett - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Celebrity Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford on blind dates writer s block and meeting Alan Bennett By You Magazine - December 8, 2017 Novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford This painting of our first dog is by Christine Merrill, who is a successful animal painter. I called the dog Gemmy because I had a Gemini mother and father and Bob, my husband, is a Gemini. Gemmy was a Scorpio, though. I had been trying to write a novel for a few years and I would get to a certain spot and stop. Then, in my late 30s, I asked myself about the sort of novel I wanted to write. That summer, I gave my agent 150 pages of A Woman of Substance and sold the book, which was published in 1979. I am now writing my 33rd novel. My father joined the Navy underage and lost a leg in the First World War. At first, when the gangrene set in, he refused to have it amputated – he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to dance any more. Most people didn’t know that he had an artificial leg; they just thought he had a limp. I’ve always collected good antiques. These two porcelain vases that I found in a shop in London’s Shepherd Market were made by Doulton, before it even became Royal Doulton. I met Bob on a blind date in London, set up by my neighbours at the time, screenwriter Jack Davies and his wife Dorothy. He sat down beside me at lunch and we haven’t stopped talking since. We will have been married 54 years this Christmas. When I need to pop out – to the hairdresser or on an errand – and I can’t be bothered to get ready properly, I just put on this red lipstick and some sunglasses. They are always in my bag. I vividly remember being in the air raid shelter with my mother and listening for my father’s uneven footsteps coming down the garden, because he would have been in the pub, having a pint. I gave away a lot of my mother’s things after she died, but kept this china boy that had been on the mantelpiece at home. As a movie producer, Bob has a good eye – be it for rooms, clothes or jewellery. He bought me these earrings, choker and bracelet from David Morris in London. I only wear the whole set on special occasions. A friend gave me these two toy dogs when our bichon frises Chammi and Beaji were alive. Sometimes, when I see them sitting on the sofa, I think they are real. I grew up in Upper Armley in Leeds and went to the same primary school as Alan Bennett. Neither of us remembered the other, but we met again when we received our honorary doctorates from Leeds University. It’s funny that two successful writers went to the same school. Barbara’s latest novel, Secrets of Cavendon, is published by HarperCollins, price £16.99. To order a copy for £13.59 (a 20 per cent discount) until 17 December, visit you-bookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640; p&p is free on orders over £15. By Jane Mulkerrins RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR 50 of the best celebrity Halloween costumes of all time Shirley Ballas ‘ Strictly gave me back my hope’ Davina McCall discusses how men can help women going through the menopause Popular in Celebrity TV chef Gino D Acampo on Sardinia Sophia Loren and scary salads May 25, 2017 The Evergreen Goddess Exercise guru Diana Moran on looking fit and July 10, 2017 More more Julianne Moore November 13, 2017 Author Jill Mansell on designer notebooks commissioning art and the family January 16, 2018 EMOTIONAL TIES Kelly Hoppen on vodka vintage finds and being a April 4, 2018 ‘ I have no regrets’ Millie Mackintosh on divorce debt and reuniting May 20, 2018 EMOTIONAL TIES TV presenter and tennis player Annabel Croft shares her July 1, 2018 Stella Parton ‘ Dolly and I have always been close’ August 12, 2018 Anna Friel on getting jeered in the street shared parenting with September 23, 2018 Queen of primetime Charlotte Riley on juggling rising stardom with pregnancy October 21, 2018 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved