Nerves got the better of me at the talk I delivered for Sight Matters’ annual Author Breakfast at the Comis Hotel.

The event was to raise money for the charity, which does wonderful work on the Isle of Man helping visually impaired people. This was the biggest audience I have faced to date. I thought I’d talk a bit about my past life as a journalist before getting to the books, but my mind was already in the 19th century as I began to speak.

‘I came to live in the Isle of Man from Sheffield in 1888…’ I began. The audience laughed, and I relaxed. It would be fine, and it was.

The lovely owners of the Bridge bookshops in Ramsey and Port Erin – Harry and Angela, pictured – came along to sell my titles and, gratifying, went home with an empty box. Thank you to everybody who bought a book – some bought the entire series for Christmas gifts – and stopped to chat about their Sheffield connections.

I’m always amazed by the links we have to each other, once you dig a little into the past.