Author: Judy Leigh
A Grand Old Time is another book by Judy Leigh, a UK author writing about senior people and their lives, which is so unusual and so, so, so beautiful. I absolutely love the messages Leigh sends with her stories. Life is not over until it’s over, and we can always change things and live well. In her other books, (The Old Girls’ Network, The Vintage Village Bake Off, The Golden Gals’ French Adventure, The Golden Oldies’ Book Club), we met many different seniors changing their lives in their 70s by moving to India (Aurora, my favourite character so far), finding love, forming new friendships, and finding new communities. In Grand Old Time, Leigh gives us a story from Evie, who ends up in a care home in Dublin following the death of her husband she married very young. She escapes the care home and travels to Liverpool for shopping, then to France for a holiday.
In France, she ends up meeting and befriending a young couple of two women who moved to France from the UK to start a bed and breakfast. She then buys a campervan and travels further in France, where she meets an owner of the Irish pub, and becomes a part of the community, including meeting a nice French gentleman and starting something new.
Whilst we follow this story of Evie, her son, Brendan, also travels around France following his mother, trying to bring her back to Dublin. We also learn about his troubled marriage with Maura, who joins him on a trip, and how easy it is to slip into silence and misunderstanding when one side, in this case, the son, who is a lot like his late father used to be, does not communicate and leaves things unsaid.
A lovely story of life and second chances that spans across generations. Also, a story of never being too late to travel and do something new.
Thank you for reading!