Meet Mavis and Dot

 

Your New Best Friends

 

I am delighted to welcome Angela Petch and her charming, amusing, wonderful story of Mavis and Dot. You will get to know these two ladies, as we have a special excerpt and my review for you. Look for the Author’s Bio and of course the buy links! Mavis and Dot would make a lovely gift for your friends and family, and even yourself!

A warm slice of life, funny, feel-good, yet poignant. Introducing two eccentric ladies who form an unlikely friendship. Meet Mavis and Dot – two colourful, retired ladies who live in Worthington-on-Sea, where there are charity shops galore. Apart from bargain hunting, they manage to tangle themselves in escapades involving illegal immigrants, night clubs, nude modelling, errant toupees and more. And then there’s Mal, the lovable dog who nobody else wants.

A gently humorous, often side-splitting, heart-warming snapshot of two memorable characters with past secrets and passions. Escape for a couple of hours into this snapshot of a faded, British seaside town. You’ll laugh and cry but probably laugh more.” This book is quirky and individual, and has great pathos…[it] will resonate with a lot of readers.” Gill Kaye – Editor of Ingenu(e).

Written with a light touch in memory of a dear friend who passed away from ovarian cancer, Angela Petch’s seaside tale is a departure from her successful Tuscan novels.

All profits from the sale of the books will go towards research into the cure for cancer.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

 

 

Excerpt By Author Angela Petch

 

I thought I’d explain about beach huts, which feature in “Mavis and Dot”.  They’re a very British seaside institution and, although nowadays they look like little more than small, painted garden sheds, they can fetch tens of thousands of pounds in certain coveted beach locations.

They started really as wheeled huts in the 1730s when horses dragged the huts into the sea, whilst bathers changed inside into their costumes. In those earlier times, men and women were strictly segregated at different points along the coast. Modesty prevailed. Huts were on wheels until the 1930s and then sunbathing took over from sea bathing and stationary huts became very popular.

Beach huts nowadays are used as shelters from wind, for changing, for storing deck chairs and beach paraphernalia. You can use a kettle for your cuppa and a little stove for easy cooking, but you are not allowed to sleep in there. Some local authorities let them out for an annual fee and there is usually a waiting list. Or you could be a proud (and envied) beach hut owner. Walk along the British promenades and admire some of the customisations:  Here is an excerpt from an out-take of “Mavis and Dot”.

“Mavis wiped the steam from the bus window and peered at a row of beach huts while more passengers boarded. She thought that if she was ever lucky enough to be an owner, she would paint her hut with large purple and yellow dots instead of conventional stripes. And sew bright bunting to flutter above the door. Maybe she would add a window vane to the roof in the shape of a gull and…”

     Mavis and Dot borrow a friend’s beach hut and Dot suspects somebody is using it at night. In Chapter Fourteen she carries out a night vigil, in the company of her faithful dog, Mal.

“It was so pleasing having a dog. Mal didn’t argue back or ask why on earth the pair of them should be lying down in a boat at this time of night, wrapped in a blanket. She ordered him to stay next to her and he was quite happy to obey. Mal was like a hot water bottle along her side and Dot lay there, quiet and cosy, listening to the repetitive sound of the sea sucking in and out, tugging shingle in its wake, stone scraping against stone. It was a chilly, clear night and she gazed at the star-scratched sky. Her eyes began to close and then she remembered why she had come. Abandoning the idea of her flask, she undid the top of the whisky bottle and took a warming swig of spirit before settling down again. Mal snored alongside her.

She was thinking about going home when she heard voices coming from the direction of the huts. Mal stirred and growled and Dot whispered to him to shush. She sat up far enough to peep over the edge of the boat. Somebody else had a torch too and she watched as the figures of two people, one far shorter than the other, used the beam as they approached Humphrey’s Hut.

The taller figure fiddled with the padlock and then both people entered, leaving the door slightly ajar. Then a match flared, lighting up what Dot realised must be the little primus stove she and Mavis used for boiling water for cups of tea.

‘Well, well, well,’ she whispered to Mal, ‘the cheek. That man is making tea on our premises.’”

 

I’ve never owned a beach hut, but I love to walk along the promenade near our house in West Sussex and nose at people’s huts. People customise them and give them names and I once wrote a rap solely using the eccentric titles. 

Beach hut rap.

Linga Longa

Lazy days

Idle hours

In the kips.

Bally-hi

Chez la petite maison

With buddies

And two buoys.

 Chadleypop

At Dogger Bank

For, ‘ere we be:

A very Happy Hut.

Our Beachy Shed

Is Priceless.

We can Sea for Miles

In our Mess–Hut:

Nearly Home.

Mother’s ruin?

Or Grandma’s Folly?

Old fashioned fun at 364

Dewdrop Inn!

Angela Petch © 2009.

 

“This is not the sort of behavior we expect at Worthington-on-Sea Bridge Club.”

 

With that, we are introduced to Mavis and Dot. These two are now at the top of my “favorite characters” list.

 

Mavis is a retired school nurse. She daydreams about her bucket list and is keen on afternoon dalliances. She confuses words- wait until you read about her mix-up with the word fornicator. She also has her own sense of style. Her ensemble of a “Lime green frock with a sequined bolero, gold evening gloves, nifty pink hat and veil to cover her curlers, and silver boots” leads to quite an evening as Mavis meets a new friend. We will learn that her daffiness is good-hearted.

 

Dot herself seems a bit like the flotsam that she likes to prowl through at the local thrift shops. She was raised in Africa and still refers to her parents as pater and mater. She commits social gaffes and seems to be the more rigid and cold of the two, but again, we will discover that she has a heart, too. “There are lots of things in life I shouldn’t have done, but there are far more I should have done.”

 

Mavis and Dot are new to their seaside community and they meet at a local bridge club. A hilarious card game makes them unlikely allies. Joined by their need for strong cups of tea, they manage to bridge their differences, cope with the ups and downs of life, and win our hearts.

 

Author Angela Petch has created two rich and delightful characters and then she lets them go. You will howl at times at their antics and you will want to hug them and help them dry their tears, too. The author’s writing is well-paced and spot-on. The backstory is interesting and well presented.

 

The humor is delightful and never forced, and there are some interesting twists and turns, too, for contrast. Mavis and Dot meet other characters who are as lovable and eccentric as they are; all of them are well-rounded- not a stereotype in the bunch.

 

At end of the book- which comes much too soon- Dot sums it up for us.

“She thought about the unpredictability of life; how bad could be softened by good; how old clichés, like “never give up” were so true.”

 

I agree Dot, and I would add- thank you for showing us how important it is to find ways to love and connect with those who may need some love and encouragement.

 

Readers, you will savor the charming story and the delightful drawings.  Happy News: the author tells us that this is “The end- or maybe the beginning…” Yes, Author Petch- please give us more Mavis and Dot.                                 -Jena C. Henry

 

Author Bio

A prize-winning author, Angela Petch lives half the year in West Sussex and the summer months in a remote valley in the Tuscan Apennines. She recently signed a two-book deal with Bookouture for her Tuscan novels and “Mavis and Dot” is a temporary departure from her usual genre.She has travelled all her life: born in Germany, she spent six years as a child living in Rome, worked in Amsterdam after finishing her degree in Italian, moved to Italy for her job, then to Tanzania for three years. Her head is full of stories and she always carries a pen and note-book to capture more ideas.

In May 2017, Angela Petch won PRIMA’S monthly short story competition and recently had a dozen stories published by The People’s Friend magazine.

“Mavis and Dot” was written in memory of a dear friend who lost her battle with ovarian cancer. All profits from sales of the book will go towards research into a cure for cancer.

 

LINKS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaJaneClarePetch/

Twitter: @Angela_Petch

Website: https://angelapetchsblogsite.wordpress.com

TUSCAN NOVELS

“Tuscan Roots” (to be reissued by Bookouture in 2019) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tuscan-Roots-tangle-Italian-Apennines-ebook/dp/B01DDQDMDE/

“Now and Then in Tuscany” – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-Then-Tuscany-Italian-journeys-ebook/dp/B06Y8Y17MG

MAVIS AND DOT

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JM3KJSB