Valerie gave me a hard act to follow with her wonderful post about her story in the Whispers of Love boxed set. Sadly, my story has no goats!
It does though, have Cambridge, the beautiful and historic university city where my husband and I spent many hours together in our dating days.
Image by Robert Edwards via Wikimedia Commons
For a long time, I’ve wanted to write a story set there. My work in progress is not that story, but I did manage to sneak in some Cambridge scenes.
It’s such a beautiful city, especially in summer. The mellow stone of the ancient colleges. The lovely gardens and green lawns. Picnics on Grantchester Meadows. The outdoor restaurants lining the river. And punting.
The pretty River Cam winds through the town, and used to be the main trade route. In the low-lying fens, often boggy in summer and snow-covered in winter, river travel was far more reliable and safer than travel by carriage or cart on unpaved roads. So when the university colleges were established from the 1200s on, they were built backing onto the river to access the transport opportunities.
Image by Andrew Dunn via Wikimedia Commons
The best view of many of the medieval colleges is from the Backs, a stretch of river running from the Millpond to Magdalen College (be sure to pronounce this “Maudlin”, as locals do!). And the best way to travel the river is by punt, a flat-bottomed timber boat steered with a pole. Punting is one of those essential Cambridge things, but a tough thing to master. A punt isn’t rowed, it’s poled, and it’s surprisingly easy to drop the pole in the river, or for the person poling to fall into the river themselves!
Image by Evans1551 at English Wikipedia
If you ever visit Cambridge, I highly recommend punting as a delightful way to spend an hour on the river and get a different view of the town. You can even have a chauffeured punt, complete with strawberries and champagne!
When I needed some scenes set in Cambridge for Teapots & Tiaras, my story in the Whispers of Love set, of course my group of friends had to go punting! Here a snippet from the story (it’s not yet been to my editor, so may change in the final published version):
“You are not getting your hands on that pole.” Matthew shook his head. “I remember what happened last time you were let loose with a punt. Besides, I’ve been stuck in the office all day. I need some exercise.”
Anita laughed. “Dare I ask?”
“All I did was lose the pole here in the Mill Pond,” James protested. “An expected beginner’s mistake.”
“I’m guessing there’s more,” Beth teased, eyes alight as she smiled up at James.
No wonder Anita averted her eyes. The pair were so in love it hurt to watch.
Matthew glanced away, and snorted. “Right. He was so determined not to lose the pole a second time, he hung on when it got stuck, fell overboard, and caused a six boat pile-up under Silver Street Bridge.”
“Okay, okay, I concede. You get to punt.” James held up his hands in surrender and grinned. “Suits me. I relax with Anita and Beth, while you do all the work.”
Matthew laughed. “I knew there was a catch. But I’ll make you work too. You can do the tour guide spiel for Anita and Beth.”
Truth was, he preferred it that way.
Less contact with Anita. Until he knew what God’s will for his future was, his disorderly emotions needed tighter control. The way her touch sent his adrenaline levels soaring as he held the punt and took her hand to steady her while she climbed aboard proved it.
Beth and James sat in the front seat, facing him, while Anita sat in the rear seat. Only a foot or so away, but facing forward, with her back to him.
That worked.
Her voice and laugh were distraction enough, without seeing her smile, too.
He took his stance on the platform at the back of the punt, bending his knees and rocking the boat a little to get the feel for it and making sure his shoes had good grip on the deck, before he picked up the long heavy pole. After ribbing James, he’d best make sure he didn’t pull a similar stunt. He hadn’t punted for well over ten years.
Like riding a bicycle, his body didn’t forget. The old rhythm came back.
The hand-over-hand lift of the heavy wet pole from the water, then dropping it back down to the riverbed, letting it fall through his hands. Bending his knees as he walked his hands to the top of the pole, remembering to hold on, but not too tight. Pushing the boat through the water.
He negotiated the passage under Silver Street Bridge successfully, avoiding the notorious Queen’s Teeth, the concrete posts hidden under the water where James came unstuck last time, and gave his friend a thumbs up.
As James began pointing out the landmarks they passed, he continued the unhurried rhythm. Poling the boat was just the exercise he needed.
Warm sunshine. Steady repetitive movement. The satisfaction of the smooth glide forward along the river with each push. The gentle swish of the water against the boat. The beauty surrounding them as they passed the Mathematical Bridge, Kings College Chapel, Clare Gardens, and the other colleges along the Backs. An occasional smile at the antics of other punters.
It became almost meditative. Maybe he had no idea of what God’s will for him was because he’d forgotten to slow down enough to listen.
About Teapots & Tiaras (Love in Store Book #5)
When their best friends’ summer wedding in London pushes proud judgmental medical missionary Matthew Coalbrooke and bubbly shoe-aholic kitchenware saleswoman Anita Kiernan together, it’s dislike at first sight. But God has a bigger plan for them than they can possibly imagine.
About Whispers of Love
WHISPERS OF LOVE: 12 Christian Romance Novels
Over 2000 pages of ALL NEW contemporary Christian romance novels from bestselling authors for only 99c! Preorder your sweet summer reading now before this spectacular limited time offer disappears forever!
Available on Amazon, Apple iBooks, Nook, and Kobo
I’m wondering, what’s been your most memorable date involving water? (Bonus points if someone fell in!)
USA Today bestselling author Autumn Macarthur writes romances full of faith and hope, celebrating God's love as well as a man and a woman finding their happily ever after. She prays they’ll warm your heart and make you smile. An Australian transplanted to Britain, Autumn lives just north of London with her lovely English husband and three demanding cats, in a very small house with a teensy tiny garden. She loves talking to readers, so please get in touch! And get a free Christian romance novella when you sign up for her reader newsletter at http://bit.ly/Autumnsubscribe
I can certainly see why you’d want to write a story set in Cambridge, Autumn. What a beautiful place. I’d love to visit sometime!
I’m really looking forward to reading all of the stories in WHISPERS OF LOVE.
Oh my, so many stories to keep adding to my wish list! Thanks for writing great, clean stories. The pictures of Cambridge are great- have to add a visit to my bucket list…!!
So lovely! I can’t wait. Honestly, the idea of 12 books in one box scares me a little (it’s just so many!) but I preordered it because of yours and Val’s and a couple of others.
They poled in Cambridge on The Amazing Race a few seasons ago and there were many falls into the river. It was both hilarious (the falling) and beautiful (the scenery).
Since I cannot swim I prefer to stay on land whenever possible, but at a college church retreat I had a canoe trip that almost landed us in the water. Three of us in a canoe in the middle of an inland lake, when from the tip of the canoe three little mice came out for a peak. My girl friend freaked (screaming & flailing) and my boy friend paddled us back to shore as fast as can be. If we would have tipped, I would have freaked. Every year Ann, received a cute ceramic mouse for Christmas. That was my last canoe trip.
Your Love in Store books were all amazing. I can’t wait to read this one (pre-ordered my copy already and now I keep wondering which book I’ll end up reading first–I never read in the order they come in the book). It sounds like it could just be my favorite if I didn’t felt such a strong personal connection with Zoe and Gabe’s story. I do love being near/in the water, but no memorable / fun stories.
I purchased Whispers of Love on April 26. Looking forward to reading it.
I take water aerobics twice a week but I can’t swim and the water never gets higher than my upper chest. No date disasters with water, that I can remember.
What a beautiful place, Autumn! Thank you for sharing the pictures with us. Of course, I pre-ordered my copy of WHISPERS OF LOVE because some of my favorite ladies are in this boxed set. WOW! So much talent in one place, I can’t wait to read them all! :)
The setting sounds beautiful. I’m looking forward to the set. I read so fast that 1000 pages sounds wonderful :-).
My most memorable water trip was white water rafting with a church group. My future husband was on the same trip, but we didn’t know each other then.
A big guy fell over board as we were rushing straight to a rock we had been warned repeatedly to not hit. Seconds before we would have hit the rock at a high speed from the rapids, I grabbed the back of his belt and hauled him back in the raft. Nobody, including me, could believe I did it. He would have been crushed between the raft and the large boulder. I think the angels were helping. After we made it around the boulder, the raft flipped and we all ended up in the water. I’ve avoided rapids ever since!
Thanks for sharing a setting from your wonderful country.
Now you’re making me think you should have put a goat in Cambridge. I mean, really! I can’t wait to read Teapots and Tiaras! I love your British settings.
Pre-ordered Whispers of Loves already! Can’t wait to read your story! Most memorable date involving water. Hmm. Well, this date was around water, not so much involving it, but it was very memorable. My date and I had gone to a nearby pond to feed the ducks. We were peacefully tossing bread pieces to the ducks when some very aggressive geese joined in. As we started to walk away (because things were getting a little crazy), the geese started chasing after us so we ended up running like mad to get to the car and get ourselves shut in away from those crazy animals.
What gorgeous pictures! I’d love to visit Cambridge. I’ve been to parts of England and it was so beautiful and fun to visit. I can’t think of any dates involving water right now. We do have a beautiful blue lake about an hour away from us, and I love the stream that runs through our cabin property. There are trout in it. Thanks for the post. Your book sounds wonderful!
It should be a great set, Jill! I’m looking forward to reading the other stories too!
Definitely add a visit, if you get the chance, Wemble! It’s a wonderful city :)
LOL, preorder Whispers of Love and you get to add TWELVE stories to that TBR pile ;)
Yes, twelve! I hope you enjoy them all, Elizabeth (and that you get some nice peaceful time to read that many stories!).
I must Google The Amazing Race and see if I can see a clip. Punting is not something to try to do fast! Yes, the Backs are beautiful, the town centre is beautiful, there’s a lot to love in Cambridge.
Thank you for sharing such a fun story, Renate! It made me smile. So glad your friend didn’t tip the canoe!
That is definitely something that needs to go in a book one day.
It will be hard to choose with this set, so many stories to choose from! Mine is a very different story to Zoe and Gabe’s, but I do hope you’ll enjoy it!
Phew, Gail, so glad you have no watery date disasters if you can’t swim! I hope you enjoy all the stories in Whispers!
The town really is lovely, Debra. :)
It’s been an amazing privilege working with the other authors in the set. Gotta love boxed sets!
O.o
Oh my, that sounds like divine intervention. God gives us the strength when we need it. I can see why you want to keep away from rapids now!
So much beauty here, Merrillee (like every country, of course, if you look in the right places). Today has been one of those rare perfect English spring days. Hubby and I sat for a while in the peaceful gardens of a thousand year old church. The cherries and crab apples are blossoming, the grass is full of daisies and bluebells, just lovely! God showing Himself through His creation. :)
I wish I’d thought to put a goat in it too, Valerie. He he, still doing edits, not too late ;)
No animals in this one, sadly, though I do have a cute toddler. And there’s a pet pig in another story that might get released later this year.
I can’t wait to read more of your Pansy’s antics.
LOL, Julie, though I’m sure it wasn’t too funny as it happened! We had something very similar on one of our early dates. Those geese can get seriously aggressive!
Oh Winnie, your cabin sounds so lovely! I hope you get to enjoy many happy summer days there!
Oh my, Autumn, I can’t wait for my copy of Whispers! So many enticing reads. And I have always wanted to visit Cambridge. So much beauty and history. Sigh.
I have been tipped out of a canoe may years ago when another canoe rammed us… intentionally. It wasn’t on a date but a youth group outing. Such a formative, wonderful time in my life, attending that youth group…
I hope you get to visit Cambridge someday, Narelle!
Oh, youth groups! I still remember mine. So much fun and so much learning about God, and life, too. :) It was probably a good thing we never did any events including water!
Just wanted to pop in and say that I visited lovely Cambridge when I studied in London for a term way back when. It was absolutely gorgeous there, and I loved every minute. I collected tea towels from my various travels (something inexpensive for a college student to collect, and I’ve never used them), and I still have my towel from Cambridge. I’m hoping to go back at some point. I honestly don’t remember a date involving water, but I have plenty of memories with my husband involving water, including Niagara Falls (now that’s a LOT of water, and no, we didn’t go IN but under the Falls on the boat). :) So happy we’re in the Whispers of Love set together, Autumn, and can’t wait to read everyone’s stories. Blessings.
Wow, Niagara Falls would be amazing! I didn’t realise there are boats at the lower end.
Yes, the set will be wonderful! :)
Yep, the Maid of the Mist. Here’s a link if you’d like to see/read a little more. Blessings!
http://www.maidofthemist.com/
That would have been some boat ride! Thanks for the link. Another one for my bucket list, I think!
My husband’s not a water guy, but I remember one anniversary trip we took. We went to Leavenworth WA (Austrian themed town) and was just enjoying taking a drive outside of town. There was a sign for river rafting along the side of the road. Well, I’m a fish when it comes to water & was thinking how fun would it be to go rafting, knowing my husband would never go for it! We drove further along the road and stopped at one of the apple orchards there. He happened to mention the sign and asked if I wanted to do that…well, I was plenty shocked & quickly took him up on his offer before he changed his mind! We drove back to talk with the people who were running it and found out it they had tours for the next day & it includes a BBQ lunch afterward. Of course we couldn’t pass up an adventure (well me anyway!). Off we went the next day….on a mildly wild ride, a 3 on their scale (1-5 where 1 is tame and 5 is you’re in for the ride of your lives and almost surely get dumped!). There was only one spot that was a little tricky and definitely had the white-water thing going for it where the river spills over these huge boulders….our raft almost got stuck in a cave!! And we ALMOST got dumped…oh but it was SOOOOOO fun :-) Even my guy loved it, surprisingly & wants to go again someday :-)
That’s the only date we had involving water unless you count the times we took our kids to the aquarium when they were little…lol! I’d love to try punting (probably opt for guided), sounds like a lot of fun and a relaxing day with the love of my life! Anywhere in the water is a good for me :-)
Woo-ee! That sounds like an adrenaline fuelled ride, Trixi! So glad your man enjoyed it too. That’s true love for sure for him to even suggest it!
And I should mention, the river rafting was a guided tour with experts who “steer” the raft and are highly trained professionals. We just helped with the paddling while our guide called out instructions. Our group had 4 other people who were from Sweden and they were so fun! Lots of laughter ensued :-)
Maybe next time, see if he’ll try a level 4 ride with you? ;)
Autumn, lovely post :) I’d love to visit Cambridge and punting sounds like a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to reading the stories in Whispers of Love.
If you are ever in the UK, Cambridge is worth a visit. A quick train ride from London :)
What a beautiful place! Now I want to go more than ever. ?
I hope you can travel there someday, Linda! :)