Wild Blackberries launched in style in Christchurch

UBS Canterbury were hosts last week to the launch of Rosie Belton's appealing new food memoir, Wild Blackberries.

Author Rosie Belton and publisher Melanie Laville-Moore.

And here is an excerpt the author's launch address:

The gestation of this book was long and severely disrupted because of events taking place here in Canterbury from September 2010.  Writing began in late 2007. Following the onset of the quakes and their aftermath there was a suspension of more than two years with the MS only finding its present form during late 2012.

How exciting for me when in May 2013 I received an acceptance message from Allen & Unwin, through my commissioning editor Nicola McCloy.  Nic   you are not here tonight but you were a huge part of the early progress of this book so thank you Nic.

  Now one year later, here it is.

Always a bit of a diarist, I was tempted one day to open the tin trunk in my wardrobe upstairs at ‘Ribbonwood’ and look back on my old notebooks for inspiration.  This time though, I wanted not to be writing about obstacles and painful matters.  I wanted to celebrate my life. I might not be doing a lot of actual travel anymore, my life might have tamed down considerably, but I could enjoy the reflections and journeys through the memories in the words on the pages.

It was cause for celebration that I was getting better each year, that I still had the love and support of my partner and friend, the children were doing well in the world, the garden was still beautiful and producing food and the wonderful grandchildren were continuing to arrive.  Governors Bay was always beautiful in all its moods and I was going to travel again soon back to much loved places in the world.

2008-2010 saw me involved in researching my diary entries and writing about the memories they evoked and travelling again.  A major interest emerging over the decades was food- eating, preparing, sharing and living with passion.  I made the decision to focus my writing on the events over the years, remembered because of their food associations.

By early 2009 my ramblings were ready to be tested out on trusted mentors.  Previous editor Anna Rogers was one of these people, and of course dear friend Margaret Mahy who continued throughout the process to encourage the words and share in the eating. She would have loved to have been here tonight.

I was well on the way with developing this project when our lives were more than turned upside down.  Like so many thousands of others, my life was engulfed and days consumed by the  demands of coping with a constantly changing physical environment and with the ensuing EQC and insurance claims and shifting, cleaning up, packing and unpacking.

  When the shaking slowed significantly, I turned back to the happy story, the warmth of writing and cooking and cooking and writing.  A way of bringing joy into my life again, and something I could share so well with those close to me, as we ate our way through so many food offerings.

Allen & Unwin - NZ$36.99

‘… this book is not simply a good cooking book (which it is) but a great, and in many ways unexpected pleasure, to read in all sorts of ways. Read on! Cook on! Eat on! Be part of a universal human need, experience and art.’
—Margaret Mahy

And here is The Bookman's earlier review.