Take a Chance on Me (31 page)

C
harlie clutched Jake's hand
. They stood together in St Peter's churchyard. The wind blew. It lifted the few dry leaves that were lying on the ground and rustled them. Charlie dropped to her knees by her daughter's headstone. ‘Daddy's coming to visit you next week when he comes up to stay with us. Baby Mark, your half-brother, is recovering from measles so he's not up to travelling at the moment. This is Jake. I've spoken a lot about him to you these last few weeks. He wanted to come and visit you today. You'd love him. He's kind, thoughtful and makes me happy.

‘We finished renovating the café. We're going to open it next week. There's still a room for children to play in and one for people to read. Jake's had a book published so we're going to put some copies of it in the reading room. The best room is the new dining room. It's especially for you. It's your room. I think about you every time I walk in there. It's as if part of you is still with us. You see, there are three happy parrots on one wall, like those you saw when we went to Tenerife, to the Loro Parque. They're flying about together in the trees, swooping over the never-ending sea, playing and whistling. They help people when they're sad. They remind them that things can get better even when it seems that they won't.' She stopped to clear the lump in her throat. ‘I miss you, sweetheart, but I know that you're in a peaceful place, a beautiful place, and you're surrounded by pretty little birds and they're all playing with you and singing to you. Here are another three to watch over you. Sleep well, my little angel.'

She unwrapped the pottery sculpture of the three parrots and placed it on the grave, stood up and smiled bravely at Jake. He took her hand once more.

They stood again in silence, and then as the wind picked up, Jake squeezed her hand and led her out of the churchyard. As the wind suddenly dropped, a small heart-shaped deep-red leaf tumbled onto on the grave of Amy Louise Blundell. Above it, a robin burst into song.

I
hope
you've enjoyed reading
Take a Chance on Me
. It was written very much from the heart as, many years ago, I had to spend an exceedingly long time in hospital stuck flat on my back on traction, with little to occupy me. Hospital radio saw me through that time. Even today, I can remember the comfort it brought to me and to others on my ward. Nowadays, with the advances in technology and iPods and the like, there are fewer radio stations in hospitals and those that are run by volunteers often require funding and are reliant on communities for support.

Hospital radio still provides a service for those who need company during their time in hospital and I hope this book brings them and the wonderful service they offer to the attention of the public.

I really loved the characters in this book, so much so I felt I should support Charlie by trying out all the challenges she tackles. As a consequence, I have tackled a zip wire and yes, I hate heights. I have also been to Archipelago restaurant and scoffed mealworms and locusts then gone zorbing immediately afterwards, which wasn't the wisest thing I have ever done. I also took research to new depths and dived with sharks just like Charlie.

I ought to put your mind at rest and say that there have been very few reported incidents of shark attacks off the English coast. I took Charlie's childhood experience from one of the rare occasions when a shark has been seen. In July 2008, off the coast of Sussex, two sixteen-year-old boys, Luke Jones and James Sequin, had a surprise visitor to the inflatable dinghy, when a three foot long starry smooth-hound shark leapt into their boat. Luckily neither boy was injured.

The idea for the kazoo came about after I heard a busker playing one at a London underground station. He was surprisingly musical and I noticed many of the passers-by smiled at him. I tried it myself in Derby town centre and had a similar result. If you ever need a laugh, buy a kazoo. It's ridiculously addictive. Try playing ‘Three Little Birds'
or ‘Always Look on The Bright Side of Life' and you too will make people smile.

The entire book is based on the idea of having a bucket list or a Carpe Diem list. I started one when I was approaching forty and top of the list was to write a book. Over a decade later and I have almost completed my initial list so I have begun another. You're never too young, or old, to make one. You don't need to fill it with wild ideas. They are personal goals and desires for you. Have a go. There are some ideas for you to think about at the bottom of this letter. Remember, life is for living.

Please do come and connect with me on social media sites. I am often to be found dispensing terrible jokes and humorous posts.

And finally, if you enjoyed reading
Take a Chance on Me
could I ask you to leave a review for this book, no matter how brief? It would mean such a lot.

To find out what I'm up to next, do sign up to my mailing list in the link below. Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

F
inally if you liked this
, you might also enjoy my previous book,
Life Swap
.

• @carolewy
  
• AuthorCarolEWyer
  

• Take an aerobatics lesson in a stunt plane
  
• Have a flying lesson in a small aeroplane
  
• Learn to fly a helicopter
  
• Have a hang-glider lesson
  
• Go heli-skiing
  
• Go microlighting
  
• Do a wing-walk
  
• Do a skydive
  
• Go indoor skydiving
  
• Go wacky racing (drive a bed, office desk or sofa)
  
• Test-drive a sports car
  
• Drive a fast car around a circuit
  
• Race in a Segway rally
  
• Drive a tank or military vehicle
  
• Go on a desert Jeep safari
  
• Do the human slingshot
  
• Go surfing
  
• Go hovercrafting
  
• Learn to sail
  
• Learn to windsurf
  
• Have a go at kayaking
  
• Go bungee jumping
  
• Abseil
  
• Take up cycling and follow the Tour de France
  
• Go paintballing
  
• Go go-karting
  
• Go skiing
  
• Go coasteering
  
• Go rock climbing
  
• Go ice climbing
  
• Go caving or potholing
  
• Go snowboarding
  
• Go jet-skiing
  
• Go on a skidoo
  
• Have a husky sled ride
  
• Stay the night in an ice hotel
  
• Go for a reindeer sleigh ride
  
• Go zorbing (sphering) down a hill
  
• Go aqua-zorbing or hydra-zorbing
  
• Go on a zero-gravity flight (and experience weightlessness)
  
• Ride in a dune buggy through a desert
  
• Ride a quad bike in the desert or up a mountain
  
• Go zip lining or extreme zip lining in Costa Rica through the rainforest tree canopy
  
• Go Hovercraft racing
  
• Go white-water rafting
  
• Go Zapcat racing – an extremely fast speedboat that bounces along on the water.
  
• Hold a snake
  
• Hold a monkey
  
• Hold a tarantula
  
• Run a half marathon
  
• Run a marathon
  
• Swim a mile
  
• Hike up a mountain
  
• Fly an airline-style jet simulator
  
• Fly in a seaplane
  
• Take a trip in a submarine
  
• Take out a hobby cat boat or go out on a catamaran
  
• Fly in a hot-air balloon
  
• Go on a cruise
  
• Go skinny-dipping
  
• Go ice fishing
  
• Go to Disney World
  
• Swim with a dolphin
  
• Go scuba-diving
  
• Swim with sharks/crocodiles
  
• Go snorkelling
  
• Go on a safari in Africa
  
• Swim or shower under a giant waterfall
  
• Ride on an elephant
  
• Ride on a camel
  
• Ride a horse along a deserted beach
  
• Serve Christmas Dinner to homeless people
  
• Learn self-defence
  
• Try fire-walking
  
• Take a pole-dancing class
  
• Try a Bollywood class
  
• Take up belly-dancing
  
• Try Hot Yoga or Bikram Yoga
  
• Learn a new language
  
• Learn sign language
  
• Go on a luxurious spa weekend
  
• Fly on a trapeze
  
• Take up juggling
  
• Try your hand at stand-up comedy
  
• Break a Guinness World Record
  
• Learn to play an instrument
  
• Learn to say ‘hello' in fifty different languages
  
• Go to the carnival in Venice
  
• Walk the Great Wall of China
  
• Visit Machu Pichu
  
• Climb the Eiffel Tower
  
• Go on the London Eye
  
• Try to visit each of the seven continents
  
• Visit every capital city in Europe
  
• See the Northern Lights
  
• Take part in a television show/quiz
  
• Ride in a limousine
  
• Learn to cook with a famous chef
  
• Hire a 1970s VW campervan and go off exploring
  
• Write a book and publish it