Astonishingly kind

Researching The Regiment’s Woman took about three years and I was unable to visit a lot of the places I wrote about. However, throughout that time I was blown away by the kindness of complete strangers I met on the internet who were only too pleased to help me.

One lady volunteered to take time out to drive around the village of Chapel Down and take photos for me.
Another gentleman was very helpful with information about the transportation of military horses.

My biggest surprise however, was about the Greenwich observatory. I went there when I was a teenager and remembered that the observatory sat on a high hill overlooking the Thames. The grass drop-off was so steep at the top that it was possible to lay on the grass and not been seen by people on the path at the top.

I wanted to write a scene in the book where Janetta makes out with her soldier on that slope hidden from view. However I was worried that my memory had failed me, and that it was impossible to be hidden on the slope. Would my readers see this flaw?

So I wrote to the observatory explaining my problem and several days later I received an astonishing reply. Apparently the office staff had volunteered to go outside on their lunch break and test this theory out for me. Happily my memory hadn’t failed me and I included the scene in the book.

I’ve been left with this image of these wonderful people cuddling on the grass and calling out, “can you see us now?”