'The Commodore's Dog' ... my next title?

As readers of my children’s books know, everything I write about is based, albeit very loosely, on events in real life. For example, it is a fact that the shipwreck in the first book, Past the Town of Tribulation & Straight on to Derring Do was based on my own experience of resting at sixty degrees on the English Stones! Today was one of those days that provide a rich vein of inspiration, a day when a writer is tempted to whip out a notebook every five minutes and jot down snippets of conversation. The Commodore’s Lunch marked the start of the sailing season for those intrepid enough to brave the brackish waters, where the River Severn meets the Bristol Channel. Under a sky, as blue as a pair of sailors’ trousers, we met in the long, white cottage that serves as our clubhouse, at the edge of the mighty river. Where better, than in the midst of an assembly of old sailors, to gather both the facts and fiction of adventures on the high seas… or low rivers, in our case! Stories about this water course are as old as time itself. After all, the name 'Severn' is derived from Sabrina, or Hafren in Welsh, and is based on the mythical story of a nymph who drowned in the river. Everywhere I looked today, I saw the events and locations of my stories: the lock gates, with the mighty River Severn beyond; the sailing boat, the Fiona, on which Grandma makes endless cups of tea; Boat Boy Bob’s little blue tender and the North pier where Billy O has his ‘Watch’. Sadly, no cats or pigs swam past … but then I did meet a Commodore’s dog!