Paradise Perspectives

True Anguilla Living with Expat and Author Trudy Nixon

December 14, 2023 The Traveling Island Girl Season 1 Episode 16
True Anguilla Living with Expat and Author Trudy Nixon
Paradise Perspectives
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Paradise Perspectives
True Anguilla Living with Expat and Author Trudy Nixon
Dec 14, 2023 Season 1 Episode 16
The Traveling Island Girl

Have you ever dreamt of moving to the Caribbean? Of course, you have. It's the ultimate dream of many.  Editor, writer,  pet mom, and my dearest friend Trudy Nixon, shares about what it's like to live that dream.
We also talk about her magazine True Anguilla, the new issue, which is now available, and we chat about her other passion: Writing. Trudy is the author of the Live, Love and Travel book series, a must-read for anyone heading to the Caribbean or for those who just want to imagine themselves here for a bit.

Trudy gives us a firsthand account of her life in Anguilla, sharing how she transitioned from the UK to this tropical paradise. We chat about her quaint garden studio, the Hummingbird, and get an exclusive glimpse into her latest issue of True Anguilla Magazine.

We explore the cultural differences between the UK and Anguilla. Together we examine the real-life implications of living in a different culture, throwing light on the importance of respecting and understanding these differences. The conversation sheds light on how Trudy's experiences in the Caribbean have shaped her characters and their stories in the novels as well.

I cannot wait for you to join us for an interesting journey into the Caribbean lifestyle with Trudy Nixon.

Get in contact with Trudy on Instagram or

Awaken your BEST LIFE  and join me, your host and island friend, Riselle at my island home St. Maarten for 5 amazing days of luxury, fun, wellness and  personal growth.

The Island Awakening Luxury Retreat is a retreat like no other and a unique way for you to dedicate some time to yourself in the company of like-minded people. Don't hesitate because space is limited. Visit the website to secure your spot.

Top Villas has the best selection of luxury villas in the best spots in the Caribbean. Visit Top Villas now to start planning your dream Island Getaway. 

Support the Show.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask me anything, let me assist you with your trip to the Caribbean or book a St. Maarten Island Tour with me as your personal guide.

Sign up for my newsletter and be the first to get the details about my retreats and updates on the islands.

Follow me for more Authentic Caribbean tales and tips on Instagram and watch my YouTube channel for even more free recommendations and suggestions

This podcast is only possible because of YOU. So, send in your questions about your upcoming Caribbean visit to booking@thetravelingislandgirl.com with the subject "Podcast Question" and I will answer them in future episodes.

If you want me to help you plan the best itinerary for St. Maarten, Statia, Saba, or Anguilla, book a consultation call with me here.



*I may get a commission if you purchase or book any product or service mentioned in my podcast episodes. Thank you.


Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Have you ever dreamt of moving to the Caribbean? Of course, you have. It's the ultimate dream of many.  Editor, writer,  pet mom, and my dearest friend Trudy Nixon, shares about what it's like to live that dream.
We also talk about her magazine True Anguilla, the new issue, which is now available, and we chat about her other passion: Writing. Trudy is the author of the Live, Love and Travel book series, a must-read for anyone heading to the Caribbean or for those who just want to imagine themselves here for a bit.

Trudy gives us a firsthand account of her life in Anguilla, sharing how she transitioned from the UK to this tropical paradise. We chat about her quaint garden studio, the Hummingbird, and get an exclusive glimpse into her latest issue of True Anguilla Magazine.

We explore the cultural differences between the UK and Anguilla. Together we examine the real-life implications of living in a different culture, throwing light on the importance of respecting and understanding these differences. The conversation sheds light on how Trudy's experiences in the Caribbean have shaped her characters and their stories in the novels as well.

I cannot wait for you to join us for an interesting journey into the Caribbean lifestyle with Trudy Nixon.

Get in contact with Trudy on Instagram or

Awaken your BEST LIFE  and join me, your host and island friend, Riselle at my island home St. Maarten for 5 amazing days of luxury, fun, wellness and  personal growth.

The Island Awakening Luxury Retreat is a retreat like no other and a unique way for you to dedicate some time to yourself in the company of like-minded people. Don't hesitate because space is limited. Visit the website to secure your spot.

Top Villas has the best selection of luxury villas in the best spots in the Caribbean. Visit Top Villas now to start planning your dream Island Getaway. 

Support the Show.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask me anything, let me assist you with your trip to the Caribbean or book a St. Maarten Island Tour with me as your personal guide.

Sign up for my newsletter and be the first to get the details about my retreats and updates on the islands.

Follow me for more Authentic Caribbean tales and tips on Instagram and watch my YouTube channel for even more free recommendations and suggestions

This podcast is only possible because of YOU. So, send in your questions about your upcoming Caribbean visit to booking@thetravelingislandgirl.com with the subject "Podcast Question" and I will answer them in future episodes.

If you want me to help you plan the best itinerary for St. Maarten, Statia, Saba, or Anguilla, book a consultation call with me here.



*I may get a commission if you purchase or book any product or service mentioned in my podcast episodes. Thank you.


Speaker 1:

But now I've been here 20 years and I still you know, I'm still negotiating things that I, you know. I still put my foot in it all the time without knowing it, and you realise how ingrained the way you were brought up is in. You know so certain sort of food, like food patterns or how I like to eat home. Now I know more. Now I could put myself in in people's feet. You know, I understand why people do what they do a bit more, but sometimes I still think that I'm playing tennis and everyone else is playing basketball.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to Paradise Perspectives, a podcast about Caribbean travel from the locals perspective, and get ready for some authentic Caribbean travel tips, recommendations and more from the people who live where you vacation, Straight from Paradise. I'm your host and island friend, rizal. The traveling island girl. My really good friend, trudy Nixon, is on the show today, and if you don't know who she is, allow me to introduce you. Trudy is the editor of Thruanguilla magazine, which is available everywhere on the islands of Anguilla and it's free. So if you are heading to Anguilla right now or you have plans of heading to Anguilla soon, you need to grab yourself a copy. The new issue just came out recently and obviously we're gonna talk about it.

Speaker 2:

Another thing we're gonna talk about is Trudy's other hats, and one of the hats that she wears is that of writer. She is the writer of the Live Love travel series of novels, and they are so much fun to read. Believe me, I'm addicted. Now, miss Nixon, here is also the proprietor of this charming gardening studio that I had the pleasure of staying in a few times, and the name of the garden studio is the hummingbird. So it's definitely something you need to check out if you're heading that way, and she is also the perfect person to talk to today and to take us or to whisk us away to Anguilla, really, and she's gonna tell us all about what true Caribbean living is like, because she's actually living that dream after having moved there from the UK years ago. So we're gonna tap it a little bit into that too.

Speaker 2:

Now, without giving out too much of the content of today's episode, here is my conversation with my friend, trudy. Take a listen. So another exciting episode here of Paradise Perspectives, and I know I say that all the time, but really, really, truly, I am so excited about today again because we are talking about one of my favorite Caribbean islands again and we're talking to one of my favorite people and that is my good friend, trudy Nixon. Now, trudy, like I said in the introduction, she is the editor of True Anguilla magazine, which you definitely need to get your hands on if you are ever thinking of visiting Anguilla. You can get them pretty much everywhere. Look, she's holding it up on the camera right now. So if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see the new cover, which, by the way, looks absolutely stunning.

Speaker 2:

And she's also the author of the Live Love Travel novel series, which is one of my favorite favorite book series to read and she's also the hostess with the most is. She's holding up the books right now. Oh my gosh, I love your book so much. But before we get into that, I need to also tell you guys that Trudy is also the hostess with the most is at the Hummingbird Charming. It's a charming garden studio which is one of my favorite places to stay at, and besides all of that, she's a dear, dear friend. So welcome to Paradise Perspective Trudy, I'm so glad that you were able to make it because you've been traveling a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I have, and thank you very much for having me. This is lovely, and we took quite a lot on video anyway, so it's kind of feels quite normal really.

Speaker 2:

Exactly it does. It does Like right now. I'm looking at the background and it's your place and it kind of like feels it. For me it feels like home because I've been visiting you so many times. So thank you so much for making the time. But also I know that you have a friend visiting from the UK, so I know you got some entertaining to do later, and also it is the beginning of the festive season and now that we're recording this, so let's dive right into the purpose of this episode. And it's not only because I wanted to talk to you, but also because I want my listening friend to hear all about not only Anguilla, the magazine, but also the books, the novels, which are one of my favorite things to read, like I said. So let's start first with a little introduction from yourself on each one of them. Can you tell us a little bit more about the latest issue of Truanguela magazine?

Speaker 1:

For sure. So Truanguela magazine is, I like to say, the essential guide to Anguilla and it's a tourist magazine, one of those tourist magazines you get given for free when you arrive on an island. But I like to say it's one with a difference. There's no stock photography, there's no standard content. Every year we come at it from a different angle and we present Anguilla to you in a very sort of deeply personal way. That's why it's called Truanguela. That obviously play on my name, because I'm always self-promoting. So this year's theme was is friends and family, which is great. So it means that every year I have an excuse to come out from a different angle and ask people to write articles for me and ask my great photography team to come up with new and beautiful photography for me. So I think we really you know, listen, yeah, it is amazing it's not my fridge, it is amazing.

Speaker 2:

For those of you who are listening on the podcast she's holding on the latest issue, and the photos are just great because it gives kind of like a background story to some of Anguilla's icons. I see there. I also see the oh, look at that, is that Banki?

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, that's a great story about Banki. It's not really about Banki, which is you know. I was trying to come up and things from a different angle. She's actually written by the editor of New York of the Washington Post, anne Gerhardt, who is a regular visitor to.

Speaker 2:

Anguilla and Anne is met, isn't she also a? Very? Yes, we've met and she's a big fan of the Hummingbird studio. Yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 1:

So she's the deputy managing editor of the Washington Post and she loves Anguilla.

Speaker 2:

Lovely person.

Speaker 1:

Years and years, and so I infezzled her into writing an article on her first experience of coming to Anguilla with her husband, michael, and one of the things that happened was walking along the beach and seeing this extraordinary Rondeau Voubei beach, as we know and then going up into this little kind of shat thing and then finding this musician of extraordinary talent, and that is, of course, you know, clement Banks, banki Banks, so it's very much a personal story rather than a Banky's.

Speaker 2:

A great musician that lives in Anguilla, kind of you must go to Right the standard, exactly, yeah, so for you listener, thank you again for tuning in, by the way, because this is an episode you really really must listen to, because we're getting inside information from Trudy herself here. And if you are not familiar with who Banky Banks is, he is a musician on the islands of Anguilla and he's been doing really, really amazing things, so that is who we're talking about at the moment. So, yes, I love that kind of like the back story of, but from somebody else's perspective, which, yeah, which is amazing, but also the cover. The cover is great because it's like two sisters right.

Speaker 1:

Yes, so the actual cover shows a horse and being led by a Rastafarian called Zambezi, and it's a very iconic site in Anguilla. A lot of people want to come and have this quiet, gentle ride along our incredible beaches.

Speaker 2:

And I did it so I can tell you, I can tell you from experience. It is a wonderful experience. Zambezi's horses are. They're so cute and they're so well maintained, I should say. But also I think that he loves. You could see how much he loves his horses and his daughters.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the two beautiful women on the horse are his daughters, mohinzi and Vanessa. And it's actually what inspired this cover shoot was. Vanessa wrote a great piece for me called Zambezi's Daughters, and it's all about how people greet you in Anguilla. It's the whole, which you know who you're for, right, I for Zambezi and people. What's been really interesting with this is people said to me I love that cover and I had no idea that Vanessa and Maury were sisters.

Speaker 1:

So, it was a kind of so, that's people that come here, and Vanessa is obviously a very, very talented writer.

Speaker 2:

Oh, she's amazing. She's amazing, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I've used her, I've worked with her before. She's a great poet but she also writes her own stuff. Vanessa explains she's really good. So she wrote that piece for me and Mohinzi is a swimwear designer. So I kind of got them on the beach and the pretence of them modeling their swimwear and I sneakily got a cover at the same time Amazing.

Speaker 2:

that is such a good story.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, try and keep it as secret as possible. So I had to kind of say, vanessa, if we were to use a photo like this on the cover. But I'm not saying it's going to be the cover because I have a number of options. Yes, you do so. Every year I try and do like a cover reveal and this one went down really, really well. And I think the theme I always cover the kind of skeleton for true anguilla is people, beaches and food. Because right from the beginning, when I did my initial research for the magazine, everyone says and they continue to say, the beaches bring people to Angola, because we have arguably the best beaches in the world. Yeah, I mean, let's just say definitely within the top three.

Speaker 2:

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I agree, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

We have consistently and broadly the best beaches. So much choice. But people come for the beaches, but they come back for the people and for the food, and that's why we have our 40 plus, visit people, et cetera. And that's not because they have to, it's not because not being funny, it's not because they bought a week in a timeshare. No, because we don't have them. You don't have timeshare. It's because they come back time after time and they explore different places, different beaches, and you know that for yourself from your experiences of coming. Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

The beaches are the ones that, the actual thing that attracts you to Angola the first time around. But you do definitely come back for the food and for the people. I've made so many lovely friends, you included, over the years that I've been visiting, and for me my visit to Angola started quite late, actually, because I've been living out some more time by that time. It has been, for it has to be like, for six, seven years before I actually took a day trip. And let me tell you something a day trip to Angola is not the same as when you go for two nights, three nights or whatever, because you don't get that interaction with the people until you actually stay there. And that is the amazing thing that Angola has to offer and that's why it's secretly one of the best destinations in the world not secretly very well known.

Speaker 2:

So, I think, is that what caught you in its web and kind of like made? You decide to stay Because you are, now you are now, how long have you been calling Angola home? I think it's been 20. I think you're going down 21 now.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yeah, 20 years. I think I came here, I think I first stepped off the boat, like 21 years ago. I think it's coming up for 20 years. Anyone who knows me knows I've got number dyslexia. I can't remember, but it's in the 20s, it's coming up to the 20s. I think they put that in my article, so obviously in a piece of flagrant self promotion which I do on a regular basis.

Speaker 2:

Well, you wear so many hats, so you have to.

Speaker 1:

You're not only the editor of.

Speaker 2:

Toregola, you're so much more interested in that. So, yeah, you're sure. Yes, I'm a writer creative director, publisher.

Speaker 1:

Luckily, I have an amazing team now. It used to be kind of just me and one of the designers. Now I have more. I call in more writers. I have an article lined up for you to write for me next year. I'm really thinking about next year. You see, I have more kind of freelancers and writers and I also have Super Lily, oh Lily is special treat.

Speaker 2:

Lily is. I call Lily the second Trudy. She is a little bit more than your right hand woman. She is Lily is everything, yes.

Speaker 1:

She's an amazing girl. I call her Super Lily. The hilarious thing is that both we're born one day apart.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's true, you just celebrated your birthday, by the way, yeah, yeah. And she was saying she was like oh, trudy, I don't mind, I'm going off to do she's doing her holiday thing. So I'm like girl, we've been working very hard. Neither of us are looking at anything or doing anything for a week. It's our birthday week, yes, so. So she's good, so she's been involved. She helps me. We have over a hundred advertisers in the magazine. We really do have incredible support from the community at all levels. You know big hotels through to very small businesses. So managing that and making sure everybody gets because we do something that's very unique, I believe in that as long as an advertiser gives us time, comes on board, we actually write something specifically about that advertiser, give them editorial exposure as well as the advertising. So it's, it's very much you can read through and you get a perspective on. You know it's going to be kind of my perspective on that place, but it's yeah, but not always because you do have other writers as well, like Shalicia.

Speaker 1:

Shalicia.

Speaker 2:

Shalicia does a great job too. Yeah, shalicia has been on the show. She's been on the podcast. She was the first one that I spoke to about Annabella. So if you want to go back to the beginning of when Paradise Perspective started, you can take a lesson. Of course, I'm going to link it in the show notes so that you can go back to that episode and hear it from Shalicia's perspective.

Speaker 1:

Yes, she's a. She's worked with me on a number of issues now. She's a great writer. She's doing extraordinarily good things for the island with her social media presence as kind of everyone's angle, a bestie, a dream to work with, really. So this is this is one of the other things I'm very proud of. We produce, you know, we produce the magazine here on Island.

Speaker 2:

We use local talent and I'm not a fan of the visit, yeah absolutely.

Speaker 1:

I was just going to talk about Kevin and Devin and the team at KShark Media who do majority of the photography, but then we also have photography from like Pink, mako and the other company you know, Marsim. Some stuff of theirs is then, and, and and I'm not, I am being a bit contentious here, but a lot of the destination magazines you will see are created in the UK or in the USA, and they might commission a local writer to do a bit of stuff, but really the sales is all that's done on Island.

Speaker 2:

Having having written for a magazine, yeah, having written for a magazine like that, I can tell you that and this is not I don't mean it in any horrific part Absolutely I like what they're doing as well. But you can see that if it's coming from abroad their storyline they don't really give the writers a lot of leeway and telling their story. It's more. It needs to be concise to what they think sells and then so it becomes a very touristic or touristy piece of magazine. But then that is so, so beautiful about Truangula because it goes a little bit deeper and when you're going through the magazine it's not just ads, ads, ads, ads, ads. It has real content and it's got juicy meat inside. You know, when you open it up it's got like true stories and great perspectives from different people and I love how much you highlight the local talent of Anguilla, which Anguilla is known for.

Speaker 2:

At this point, if you've never been, definitely make sure that you can get a little bit of that. When you hear oh, what am I looking at? I am looking at a spread of food. Oh, my gosh which is another talent of Anguilla, by the way, the food there is amazing. I know as a Martin, we call ourselves the gourmet capital of the Caribbean. I think we're being yeah, I don't want to say this out loud, as I'm getting like pitchforks outside my door.

Speaker 1:

No, don't say it, don't say it.

Speaker 2:

I'm not going to say it.

Speaker 1:

Don't say it. It's like I'm not going to say that I love coming to Zimbabwe to eat the food you can't. I love the food here, but I love the food in Zimbabwe. So we have the best of both worlds because we can pop back and forward between those two.

Speaker 2:

That's the beauty of this right 30 minutes by ferry and we're in each other's country, which is amazing. So, speaking of the country in Gwilla and you, coming from the UK, what is a little bit of your background? Because you were born and raised in the UK.

Speaker 1:

Can you share a?

Speaker 2:

little bit about that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, of course. Grew up on a farm in the countryside in Wiltshire, went to university in Lancaster in the cold northwest and then immediately moved to the big city.

Speaker 2:

That must have been a shock coming from a farmer's daughter.

Speaker 1:

I was a very odd little farmer's daughter. I liked art galleries and punk rock and I went on the minus strike. I wasn't really, but I loved it. I loved where I grew up. I had an amazing life in the country, but I was always I want to go and work at the Tate Gallery or I wanted to be an artie for artie person. I ended up moving to London in major recession and, of course, couldn't work in an artie for art gallery but ended up working in all sorts of things. I worked a very new estate agent for a while until, in the way of the world these things happen. A friend of a friend said there's a job coming up at this arts organisation called Absa. Maybe you'd like to go and talk. I know the person that's leaving the job and they're looking for somebody to start. I would say that was the start for me of having a very creative, interesting career.

Speaker 1:

I worked for Absa for a number of years. I met a lot of very cool artists and interesting people. I still have friends from that era and I got to commission amazing artists. I got to learn how to manage events. I learned a lot about hosting a party. I did all sorts of interesting things. One of the things I did was manage the graphics and the design stuff. Through that, I got headhunted by one of the design agencies that I worked with called Rufus Leonard, and I worked for them for some time. They were a leading design agency and the thing they did, which was extraordinary, was they were on top of the wave of taking brands online. Believe it or not, back in the late 1990s, nobody knew what the internet was. They didn't know about taking their brands online.

Speaker 1:

I worked with an amazing company. They took a lot of the big brands in the UK. They created their first brand-focused website. I actually became very knowledgeable about intaking brands online. I was involved in some of the BBC British telecoms doing their brand migration onto the internet. That was all very interesting. It was a time when everything was like the world west that side of things, because everyone knew the potential but there was no such thing as smartphones at the time. Everyone was doing it on dial-up or whatever. No Wi-Fi.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my gosh, remember those days, my gosh, the dial-up.

Speaker 1:

But long story short good money, good life. But I hit my mid-30s I was like, hmm, all my friends were having kids. I was like Miss Career, woman and Youngster. I was travelling all the time to enjoy myself. I did some travelling and I ended up in the Caribbean for a holiday. That was it. I got off the plane in Tobago and I just went. This is where I need to live. That's it. That's kind of it. I came back to Tobago a few times, loved it. Then, with my friend Sheila, I came on a trip up to this part of the Caribbean and we got off the plane and we met up in St Martin. We got on something called the Windjammer Cruise.

Speaker 2:

Oh gosh, I think I haven't heard about the Windjammer, and forever Do they still exist actually.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean, it was amazing.

Speaker 1:

We were the only Brits on the boat all Americans and Canadians. They thought we were Patsy and Adina from absolutely fabulous. We travelled around this area and I had a plan, which was whichever island we visited on the Windjammer that I liked the most, I would get off and have a week there before I flew to Caracas to see some friends in Caracas and then back to Tobago. I was on a six week. That was the longest time I'd ever taken off. The island I loved the most was Anguilla, and I came back for a week and that was it. I decided I wanted to live here.

Speaker 2:

Now I have to ask how was Anguilla 20 years ago? I kind of remember, because, again, I haven't really visited for the first time until well after a while living in Timurantin.

Speaker 1:

Honestly, it wasn't a huge amount different, to be honest. I mean, I would say the biggest difference is that we have a couple of major big hotels. But Malihana was there, katchaluka was there, I stayed in the Arrawak that's where I stayed, which is like a little 15 bedroom room in Island Harbour and staying there, I met my best friend, sue, who is still my best friend today.

Speaker 1:

Right, yes, the show bay didn't have semi, but it did have another property at the end. Manoa wasn't as big as it is now, but it was there in another form.

Speaker 2:

Manoa was there already.

Speaker 1:

It was for a long time. There was something called show bay hotels, the show bay hotel. When I came then that turned into Koo and Koo turned into the Manoa. Okay, there's different things like the medical schools. Come on board. We have the four seasons, which is obviously much by far away. The biggest hotel, the place I would say that's changed the most, is Meads Bay. When I came 20 years ago, show bay east was the busy beach, as it were. That was the one that had all the fanfare and it had three or four bars that you could go. You do your sunset rum drinking soka dancing crock along the beach.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Meads Bay at the time had smaller, discrete hotels, like it had Karimar and Nathan's Cove and it had Blanchards was there, Franjipani was there, but no straw hat. But now Blanchards put the beach shack in. You've got straw hat on that beach. You've got Ocean Echo, the new Savvy Beach, and you've got Tranquility Beach. Yes, you've got properties like Tranquility Beach, New Meads Bay Villas, so that whole beach has become a very desirable strip. Meads Bay Right, Because it's not a strip. If anyone's seen it if you would most people would come and think it's like. I mean, I was on there. I was down there yesterday. It was deserted, you know, to a premium piece. But if there is a place where you can, you know there are two or three areas in Angola where you could possibly stay in your hotel and not hire a car and walk to a range of restaurants. So Meads Bay is one of those.

Speaker 2:

Now, yeah, Meads Bay is definitely one of those and you can walk over the beach to pretty much everything that's there. So it's a nice stroll as well. But I have to say it's like I have to laugh a little bit when you said that you know it is, it has. It's not the busy beach as it was, because busy in Angola still means not busy. I'm comparing busy St Martin beaches to busy Angola beaches and it's just completely opposite Angola beaches. You can sit there, even on a Sunday, which is, of course, the most popular beach day, and yes, you'll you'll see some people, but it is still not completely busy. It's never busy, it's just and that's what I love so much about going there. You'll have that tranquility that pretty much I haven't experienced in a lot of other places.

Speaker 1:

So yes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So going back now to when you just got to Angola, I want to talk to you a little bit because I remember something that happened a few years ago around this time, and Sue, your friend, was there as well, and we were saying, trying to remember, this is also when your friend from the UK was visiting, so it must be like two, three years ago, and I remember we had this, something that we were talking about, and you were absolutely like, oh my gosh, that is so. It was so shocking to you that people from the Caribbean would do this. So I wanted to kind of like talk a little bit about the differences. You remember what I'm talking about are you?

Speaker 1:

I'm trying to remember what that particular item is. You know I always like ask you those questions. Yes To Caribbean people. Do this result?

Speaker 2:

But it was so funny because, as a person who has completely integrated into the culture of Angola, into that Caribbean culture and that is so obvious in your books, which we're going to talk about later you have, you are also it's still, there are still things in the Caribbean that shock you. I mean, like you're the best Soka dancer. I know I mean you love Soka and I'm from the Caribbean. We went on a vacation together and Soka came up and we went to the Soka thing and Trudy was dancing and I was just kind of like moving my hips side to side and I'm like this is embarrassing, I'm getting just this. This UK person is completely better than me at dancing.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely not. I do love it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, you do. Okay, so we were talking, we were in the pool, I remember, and we were talking about how, when you have a buffet of some kind at a birthday party or whatnot because you guys had set up something together with Lily Lily was having her birthday celebrated at the same time, like you said, and there was this buffet and everybody was, you know we were talking about at the end of a Caribbean buffet, there's nothing left because people, just, you know, stock up everything and they go wrapped up in the foil that it came, that it was presented on. It's just one of those things and you were like almost horrified, like oh my gosh, people are taking everything.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I know that was one of the girls. Yeah, that was right back in when I first came not long ago and a friend of mine had a lovely housewarming party and I just watched in horror as people came in, didn't hang around for the party, made themselves six plates even went into the cooler and took a cold drink out of the cooler and then bug it off. In the UK you'd have to hang around for a bit.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know, I can tell you that even I still feel guilty about not hanging around, about not hanging around. So I still hang around a little bit, but my hanging around after the food has been served, which is probably why, when you go to a Caribbean party, the food isn't served until much later. Yes, they want you to get as much of the party sense as possible, but that is like so and it's not like that in all Caribbean islands. But definitely I have seen it here on Simart and I've seen it in Curacao a little bit and yeah, you see it in the Gula as well. But has there been any of those other things that you're like, oh, wow, this is so, so different from where I come from.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean honestly, I think one. I'm just going to say it's a privilege to live in another culture. You know, I'm so glad that I did that. I have done that. I used to say 10 years ago well, you know, I've managed to change from the UK to you know, I've happily absorbed this. I could do it anywhere else. Now I'm like no, I'm like I could, but why would I? Because I can visit other places, but I found my home, you know. But yes, I will say that when I first came to Anguilla, what attracted me was I immediately felt at home and people would say things like oh yeah, you know you're Anguillian now because you've been here three times, or something like that, and they were lovely.

Speaker 1:

But now I've been here 20 years and I still, you know, I'm still negotiating things that I, you know, I still put my foot in it all the time without knowing it, and you realize how ingrained the way you were brought up is in. You know so certain sort of food, like food patterns, how I like to eat home. Now I know more. Now I could put myself in in people's feet. You know, I understand why people do what they do a bit more, but sometimes I still think that I'm playing tennis and everyone else is playing basketball or whatever, because I don't always know the rules. Okay, I'm quite often far too early to something. Still, I can't help myself. It's like oh really, no, it's not going to stop for two hours, and I know that logically. Yes, you know that.

Speaker 2:

But just still, you still get there at five minutes to eight when the event is scheduled for eight o'clock. But yeah, that is, that is one of those things I could totally imagine. But I struggle with it as well, Because I think my upbringing was very Dutch, with my parents knowing that we were going to be you know that we were going to go off to the Netherlands to study after high school. They well prepared us for the life in the Netherlands, so my mom insisted, for example, on, you know, speaking Dutch with us at home until three o'clock after homework was done. You know things like that, so I too have that ingrained in me. That they're. You know that when you go somewhere, you've got to be on time, and so that is still something that I too have. You know, you get there and it's like but there's nobody here.

Speaker 2:

When you were, you were going by the rules, so to say, and everybody else was clearly on their own set of rules. So, yes, I can imagine, but but it's isn't it so lovely, though, that you could, that you get to call Anguilla home and that you've and that's what I love about what you, what, who you are you completely integrate it into the society and, yeah, it is something that I really admire that you were able to do. There's a lot of people who weren't and that aren't able to stay that long Because the Caribbean always seems from afar it seems like idyllic, but once you're living in it it's not that pretty. Once you're living in it, there's a lot of things that a lot of people won't be able to have to know.

Speaker 1:

We always talk about things like Fantasy Island and everybody comes and I've written a little bit about this and some of my books and I did the reading with you guys says there is a certain type of person that come here and they usually send me retired or they buy and they think that they can just be in a place and go to the beach all the time and you just can't go to the beach. I still go to the beach a lot yes you do, I love it.

Speaker 2:

Much more than an average local person.

Speaker 1:

But I work, yeah, and people. But why wouldn't I? It would be like me going to live in Florence and not going to look art. That's ridiculous. I moved to the Caribbean because it was lovely and warm and all of the people were great. But also I've wanted this outdoor lifestyle. I wanted to be able to go to the beach, I wanted to play. I love that. I live an indoor, outdoor balance. So why wouldn't I want to go to the beach when you have the best of something in the world literally I can just wave at you over there but there's the beaches there.

Speaker 1:

I don't go every day. I don't walk my dogs on the beach every day or walk every day, but I could, and sometimes I tell myself off for not doing it. But what I can't do is go to the beach every day, like some people do who come and start drinking at lunch time and have lunch at every day and that turns into going for Sunday and dinner Because it's holiday there on holiday as far as they can see, even if they live here and that's lovely. But you can't sustain it. You can't do it. You can't sustain it financially a lot of people you can't sustain it emotionally if you're with somebody who doesn't want to go to the beach every day, so you might have somebody that's at home.

Speaker 1:

So I think my saving grace for Anguilla or not my saving grace, what I will always be grateful for is the first job I had when I came. Well, second job because I did some bartending, but my first job was a brilliant job. I was lucky enough to become the executive director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and I did that for three and a half years. I got to work with government and I got to work with the tourism community. I got to work with real people on the island in every part of the industry, from the the young chefs that I was working with on the culinary team through to having meetings with the chief minister.

Speaker 1:

So I and I always say I never forget my first day, I tend and the person that was handing over to me or my board said, okay, so you're going to go to a steering meeting today. I said, oh, yeah, okay, okay, what's that? You're going to a steering committee meeting for the foundation formation of Anguilla's first culinary and hospitality school. And I was like, well, I know a lot about that, I don't know anything at all, so I turn up to this because they have to have a representative from the hotel associations. So I thought, well, I can listen, that's fine, I'm this is cool Walked into this boardroom with literally all Anguillas upper, you know, the PS education, the PS finance. It was like big, big people and everyone was like very polite. And then Mr Ray, who was the chair of the committee, said can we all stand to say a prayer? I might just want to A prayer In London. There's no way you can't.

Speaker 2:

There's no way you could do that, and in Netherlands it's the same thing. No way.

Speaker 1:

A prayer in which particular denomination? You know? A prayer for what? And I just sort of. So we had a prayer to bless the meeting and to bless the formation of the current and I just thought put your head down, Judy, listen and try and learn from this. You know, that is so funny, but I was, I don't know, but I but it was a fantastic, that was a great committee.

Speaker 1:

I made some very good contacts and friends on there and I think that's the difference. I came here and I've had to work the whole. I didn't come here to retire, even though I'm easily young enough to do that. I came here to work and I'm going to carry on working because that's the way I can live here and I think that is a difference. You know, yes, you can move to the Caribbean, but I would suggest, if you're not working and it's not the easiest thing to get a job here, that's for certain, you know that but if you're going to move to the Caribbean, have a project. You know. Write a book, learn to paint, you know. You learn to code, do whatever, don't just come and expect to live on vacation, Drink some punch.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh yes, no, that definitely my liver cannot sustain that, I can tell you that. But, yes, but I have that feeling like, indeed, like you say that everybody that has this kind of like they feel like it's idyllic, it's because they think they can live as if they were on vacation when they're here. And then you get into things like the internet's not as fast as what you're used to, or, yes, you can go to the beach every day and drink rum punches, but, yeah, you can't do that every single day. It's gonna get one to me. It's gonna get boring. Your liver is not gonna be happy with you. You're all around health. It's gonna be decreasing.

Speaker 2:

You know this is so much more, but I've heard and I did an article on my blog on this topic about the reasons why people quit the Caribbean after a while, and you see a lot of people that come here. They buy a house and they're living the dream, so to say. They're always walking around with one of those like cooler things in their hands with like, exactly like one of those that's really showing right now. Like one of those what do you call those? Like those reusable little fancy cups, and there's always vodka or rum in it.

Speaker 1:

Yes, exactly.

Speaker 2:

So they're always walking around with those and they're hopping from bar to bar and then after a while, especially if there's something happening that they cannot wrap their brains around, like a hurricane for instance, all of them are the first ones to leave. So there are so many things that come with Caribbean living that a lot of people don't pay attention to. And, dad, Judy, is what I so admire how you actually portrayed that in your novels as well. So with that introduction, yes, I love that. It is so from a local's perspective. You can read this and we've had that at the reading that you had here in Samaritan how so many of my local friends were like, wow, okay, this is not just a Brit coming down and trying to explain to us how you know she's much better, because you do get that a lot People that come down and I was like, oh yeah, no, I'm much better than these island people. I'm gonna explain to them how this thing, you know how things work and how I can do it so much better. But you explained in the book so much of a local's perspective. That was so beautiful.

Speaker 2:

So let's talk about your novels. So the first one, of course, I'm getting a complete mind blank. One of my favorites that would be it Endless Turquoise, Endless Turquoise. So Endless Turquoise then introduces us to the two main characters, and then you're followed up with deepest Aqua, and can I get a drum roll? You are now about to release the third book in the series, and I am so excited because you leave us every time on not exactly a cliffhanger, but just like we want to know more about what is going on, and so we're always looking forward to the next book, and I am so, so happy that you are now finalizing the third book. So tell us, I'm giving the floor to you.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So Endless Turquoise is the kind of one really to start, but all three you could pick up and read without reading the others. But Endless Turquoise kind of sets up a premise and it tells the story of two women, completely separate women who arrive on a Caribbean island on the same day. And the Caribbean island is a fictional Caribbean island called Zephyr, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Anguilla but has a strong kind of sprinkling of St Martin and a little bit of Nevis and a bit of. There's some stuff that could be transferred to most Caribbean islands.

Speaker 1:

But one of the things I've always loved about living where I live here is that it's so easy to become part, to go to those other islands and experience those other islands. So it tells the story of Tracy, who's in her mid-40s and a successful business woman, who is coming to the Caribbean under duress really. She's found out something really kind of shocking about her mother and is coming to investigate that secret and while she's there she ends up having like the time of her life. You know, accidentally she stays at a small local hotel, she meets, makes friends, she talks to people, she has a brilliant, brilliant time and it kind of she sort of falls in love, basically, with the island and the place, and then disaster strikes. But I would tell you any more, but all feeling.

Speaker 1:

The other character, charlotte, is young and beautiful but strangely kind of not confident in her own beauty and abilities. And she but she's on honeymoon and should be having an amazing time, but her husband is acting strangely and again disaster strikes for her after a certain amount of days on the island. So both of them then return to whence they came from, which is the UK, where they figure out, kind of what they need to do to make life better for themselves. So very much a kind of voyage of discovery with a lot of Caribbean kind of stuff in it, and what I've attempted to do is, you know, set up some. I think you're fine. There's some assumptions that are made at the beginning about Caribbean people and about how people interact in the Caribbean, and I try and break those down by turn some of those assumptions on their head by the time they go.

Speaker 1:

The second book is set in the Caribbean and it follows on the story of one of them who has fallen in love with the Caribbean person, and it talks about and I had a lot of fun writing this one it talks about the reality of falling in love, holiday romance and actually moving into a community. So if you want to know a little bit more about what life is like for an ex-patriot coming and living on an island. It's a bit more. It takes you, I say, dive deeper. It takes you into that bit. And then the third one, true Blue, which is it takes the story of the other girl and who has discovered a very happy life for herself as a result of her trip to Zephyr, sorted some things out. She knows what she's going to do but and everything is great, apart from one sort of blur on the horizon which is that her best friend forever is behaving kind of strangely and she wants to know what's going on. She's also trying to create her own romance and her own happy ending for herself, because she's got everything else sorted out in her life.

Speaker 1:

And this story brings in elements of the Zephyr and it ties up a number of things. But what it really is is it's about this female friendship between these two girls who've been best friends since they were 12, but are now, as young professionals, are now sort of struggling, and it's whether or not they're amazing friendship. And also there's a third wheel in there. It's sort of like a love triangle. There is a man who is the brother of one of them and the boss of the other one and the dynamics between that kind of triangle and it's really a book about.

Speaker 1:

It's about friendship, it's about first love, giving first love a second chance and it's about how siblings can love each other but also there can also be some jealousy and stuff like that involved. So that's that story and that is actually set, not in the Caribbean that one is set in references the Caribbean because some of the characters cross over. But it's actually set in the UK, in Wiltshire, because I actually found that a lot of my readers of Endless Turquoise, especially my Caribbean readers, loved the Wiltshire setting, loved the.

Speaker 2:

British countryside setting.

Speaker 1:

They were like I love the pub, I love this, I love, I loved all of that. So I'm like and some of my American readers as well Really, that is so surprising, actually.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they're like oh, I'm completely in love with Zephyr and all of the Zephyr characters but yeah that is so interesting.

Speaker 1:

We loved it when they went when the Zephyr character went to the English pub and you know. So there's a bit of that. There is a little de Zephyr in it, and then there's lots of there's the travel element, because I love to write about travel experiences, and the travel element is that the two girls end up going to Mallorca and then ultimately one of, and ultimately on to Greece. So there's there's a travel story as well.

Speaker 1:

Well, there's still another island, not Caribbean island, but you are still sticking them to some other island, so that's great, exactly, and, and the next one in the series will undoubtedly, you know, return to Zephyr, but in some ways, because the characters I have so many characters now, I have all sorts of stories to go on.

Speaker 2:

And also you kind of left us hanging on on one very big thing at the end of Deepest Aqua.

Speaker 2:

So I'm really hoping that you kind of like not wrap it up completely, because by now I'm completely obsessed with most of the characters, so I want us to keep on going as much as you can for as long as you can.

Speaker 2:

So really it's, but I think just so the listener could know it's what I love about Trudy's books is that they are not only a great holiday read when you're already on the island and you're like whatever island or vacation that you are thinking about, it's not only a beach read or a pool read, but it is also great for when you're, like in the winter, right now, sitting by the fire, you want to kind of like reminisce on your days in the Caribbean, or if you're preparing to go to the Caribbean, or also if you've never been and you don't have any plans. But you wonder what it's like. So it really is for everyone, and that's what I love about these books, and it is. It gives you an honest look at how the Caribbean works, and that is the thing that I think is so special about your books, because we've all read other books about the Caribbean written by somebody who's not from the islands, that then try but to get it wrong. And I think in your case.

Speaker 2:

You've got so many things that I'm even like, oh, you know the season changes, so how we experience it on the island, for instance, it's you know how high season versus low season what does it mean for the islanders? And you know a closure of restaurants and hotels during the off season. I mean, it's just brilliantly written, it really is. Thank you, yeah, not just because you're my friend and the mother to my, to my godchildren which, by the way, Trudy is that's another hat that she wears. She's an amazing pet mom and I am lucky to be the godmother of these pet children.

Speaker 1:

You are, my goodness, they love it. So funny. I am one of my development re developmental readers, for the third book said to me this book you can. You could tell that the author of this book clearly loves glamorous destinations and rescue pets.

Speaker 2:

Well, which is just an essential part of who you are really you know rescue and pets, and those four that you have at home are just darlings. But I have a question, and I think you and I have had this conversation before, obviously but is there a reason why you have decided to have a fictional island or islands because you're referring to two that are fictional, if I'm not mistaken but then places like in Greece, mallorca you're still keeping the actual identity of those places.

Speaker 1:

I think it's a reason. Yeah, I think so, with the Mallorca and the Mekinos Park. It's very there's a touch of reality in that that you know there are certain places I wanted the characters to kind of go and experience and you'll see there's a story that ends up from the first book, that ends up in that needs to finish where it finishes, which is a kind of matter to do.

Speaker 2:

You're probably trying to like really choose your words wisely, because you don't want to give too much of the book.

Speaker 1:

But I believe that what? Because with Zephyr, I think what happened for me is that when I moved to the Caribbean for the first five or six years, I was working for the Hotel Association. I was living and working in Anguilla, which is, as you know, a pretty small community. I had the privilege of being able to travel as the executive director to a number of other islands and I started seeing patterns that were repeated. I may or may not have had romantic partners in a couple of different islands and I saw things that were similar and some things that were very different.

Speaker 1:

So I spent quite a lot of time in St Lucia. I spent quite a lot of time in the Dominican Republic. I spent you know, obviously spent plenty of time in the D in St Martin, and I'm not lumping, because we all know the French islands are very different to the Dutch islands, are very different to the Spanish islands, the American islands, you know it's very different. But there are some things that can. And so I think with Zephyr, because it's a tiny community, I wanted to. I didn't want to cause any kind of challenges with people saying oh she's taking a pop at this.

Speaker 1:

that, yeah, that I wanted to create a character in destination that felt real, but I wasn't, for example, particularly bigging up a particular restaurant or a bar. So in Angus, Turquoise there's a. There's a character who goes all the way through. Who's who I love, who's called Chicks and he is an entrepreneur.

Speaker 2:

Everybody loves Chicks.

Speaker 1:

Oh, chicks is great and what he is, as we know, he's. You know, he's kind of like the best bit of every fantastic Caribbean bartender I've ever met, if you know what I mean. He's entrepreneurial, he's charming, he loves the ladies, he, he, but he's, he's a true gentleman. He creates, you know, these unique Caribbean beach bars that we've all been, you know. So Martin has them, angola has them, you know we have a unique and spectacular beach bar on nearly every one of our beaches, so each person has one of those is favorite. So I don't want it to be Alan at Prickly Pear, you know, I just didn't want it. I needed Chicks to be almost like a Superman of he's, you know, and we learn all about him.

Speaker 2:

All of these, bartenders that you've met. Can I put them all together?

Speaker 1:

Sort of put them all together and then also throw in this thing, which is so you. You know, when you live in a big city, yes, there's loads of entrepreneurs and business people. You know that in London. But in Angola and the current St Martin, you really know about it because you're like, okay, here's this guy that's selling mea drink here, but he's also importing cars and he's also got the license for the FedEx and he's also supporting by families through, you know, a farming business down the road. You know.

Speaker 1:

So he I didn't want to point my finger at one person, but I just wanted to to point my to create a character that was Caribbean had had the challenges of a lot of Caribbean people growing up in the 60s and 70s, you know, being adopted out, not living with distant family rather than their mother. You know all of all of all of those things that we kind of. And the best thing for me was when a friend of mine, caribbean friend of mine she read Deepest Aqua and she started reading the backstory for Chickson. She went that could have been my father's, that was my father's story, and I'd made it, you know, based on conversations.

Speaker 2:

Not even knowing her father.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I didn't know. I knew her father, but I didn't know his. I didn't. Everybody knows her father. Yeah, like, like in the in the in the you know, like I say there's, you know, if you were to go and I'm sure you can do the same in St Martin, but I could put five, I could say five names of bartenders in Anguilla. Now that literally, between those five names I would say two million people would know who they are.

Speaker 1:

Wow Because they're so famous in their own territory. And then that's without thinking about somebody like what's his name in Nevis and you know the killer.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, yes, foxy's, what's, his name again?

Speaker 1:

BVR. Yes, you know, these people are. They're massive superstars in their own.

Speaker 2:

Yes, in their own, in their own right. Yes and yes, absolutely, that is so. I've never really thought of it that way, but that is so true. Yeah, that is so true. These are people that whose names constantly come up in every chat group about the Caribbean. Ever.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And in magazines and in blogs and blogs and yeah, you name it their mentions.

Speaker 1:

They're famous, they're truly famous for that hospitality. So that was that fascinating. You know and you talk to a lot of people in hospitality here, some of our popular restaurants and bars and things. They've traveled all over the world to friends, houses and places in the States, in the UK, all over, due to their phenomenal hospitality that they've shown to people that have come here on holiday.

Speaker 1:

You know, and it's like they make you know, they're like they have friends. They have friends everywhere. They can go visit because they've treated them so well when they've come to the island.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, that's true.

Speaker 2:

That's true, so I've seen that after the hurricane a lot. We've seen that so many of them were. You know people that they have served once or twice when these people were on vacation have sent down tickets. Come stay with us. I know you don't have much left after the hurricane, but please come and recover by our place. It was so wonderful to see how many people loved the Caribbean island so much that they were quick to help you know and to assist and that made lifelong friends when you're here. So yeah, myself included, I get that all the time. I have friends all over the world because of who I am, because of what I do. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah. So I think that's a very long way of saying I didn't want to necessarily have. So there's a couple of real people in there, you know, like I say, my friends Sue and Alan they're no longer at Prickly Pear, but I just because that was such a formative experience for me, I needed to put it in there and I wanted just an amazing setting for that part of the book. And then there is another place which is obviously very similar to Silickey, in Anguilla. But apart from that.

Speaker 1:

I think there's somewhere that's very you know, there's St Martin Place. There's a lot of thoughts that you and I think, from what I can gather, people like guessing where things are.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I did for sure. And I even enjoyed like oh, I think I think you're referring to this and this or that and that, and then. So yeah, that's like. But the whole thing is also if you've been to these islands, you kind of like can imagine it more when you're reading the book, then you can actually you can set the setting in your head, you know of what is going on and you don't have to use much of your imagination, because you've already been to a place that is very similar to what is being described.

Speaker 2:

So, it makes it all a little bit more real. So that's what I absolutely adore about the books. And then you know, having visited, you know parts of very few, not a lot. I do need to go back to the UK, but I can get a little feeling of that as well. But now that we've discussed the two previous ones and now you have deep sorry, it's true blue, blue coming out now, yeah, yeah, true blue. Okay, so true blue, can you already tell us when we can expect it on the shelves and that we can hurry to your Amazon the thing you're going to have it on Amazon as well?

Speaker 1:

I'll have it for the first, definitely for the first three months or so, albeit it's exclusively on Amazon for the ebook and the paperback, and I will have copies in Anguilla and in St Martin. As you know, thanks to you and other my other lovely friends, I have quite a good. You know, you can pick up hard copies of the books in St Martin and I'll have them all over the place in Anguilla.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I have the two in the back of me and I'm just waiting to just add the other one to my collection, and these two were signed by you, so these are my favorite favorite copies, obviously, and I'm looking forward to having the third one on my show very, very soon.

Speaker 1:

I will hopefully put the third one up for pre-order in the next before Christmas, my plan so.

Speaker 1:

I'm working on my editors just sent me back some corrections, so I'm just working on that how to get pre-read and then I'll upload it. So I'm really hoping, because of course it's silly season now. Everyone's busy. I can't really ask people to do too much work for me over Christmas, so it will be in January as early. Hopefully that will be a nice time to everybody, will be looking for some sunshine. But anyone who hasn't read the other two because it's definitely I'm kind of quite excited for people to be able to now go one, two, three press. I want the next book. I want the next book.

Speaker 2:

Right, exactly Because I have a lot of people saying when's it coming?

Speaker 1:

when's it coming? And I've even got people saying I'm going back and rereading the first two so I know what to expect.

Speaker 2:

Oh yes, absolutely yeah, I can imagine, but they're very easy to read but still very entertaining. These books are super entertaining, with a few shocking elements here and there, which gets your attention and keeps your attention. So definitely worth your while. I'm going to leave a link in whatever. I leave the links. Right now my mind is going blank because I'm already kind of like imagining myself on the beaches of Van Gwilla, but I'm going to add the link so that you can go to the Amazon link for it and order number one, which is, of course, endless Turquoise. Number two, deepest Aqua, and hopefully very, very soon in January, you'll be able to order number three, which is true. Thank you, I'm so excited because I've seen you in your process, so that's why I'm so excited to read this as well.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, thank you so much, trudy but before I let you go? Where can everybody find you, other than, of course, going to truanguelacom, where it's, of course, the digital version of her magazine?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, well, I am very easy to find online, so you can find me at TrudyNixoncom. All my social media is Trudy at TrudyNixon. I'm lucky to have a name that not that many people have, so I got all of the proprietary TrudyNixon. Or you can put Trudy Anguilla in Google. It's Trudy with Y. Yeah, that's kind of it. And if you are in Anguilla, hit me up. I can often be found enjoying myself in one of our bars or restaurants. I work from home a lot of the time, but I also work from my alternative office, which is called Straw Hat. So if you're in Anguilla and you go to Straw Hat and you see a blonde sitting in the corner with a computer, that's me. Most probably it's her. And I do work from other bars and restaurants because I get my inspiration from seeing people talking to people about their experiences here in Anguilla.

Speaker 2:

That's fantastic and, of course, if you want to know a little bit more about Trudy's how she got to live in Anguilla and how her life has changed, and all of that a little bit more of a personal story of hers you can read that now on Truangulacom, correct.

Speaker 1:

Yes, there's a little bit or if you're planning to go to. Yeah, well, one of the things.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you were saying.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, one of the things we do in Truangula is we have a section called Living the Dream, which is a little bit about buying houses and the options for living and working here. So I have my story. As I say, blatant self-promotion, but I also give you some very good instructions on who to talk to and how to find out more about either setting up a business, the different options if you want to just come here and be a digital nomad. If you want to come here and set up a business and I can put you know that will put you in touch with the right people, trustworthy people, incredible professional people, because that's what we have here. We have an amazing business community and you know there's no shortcuts. You have to do it legally, you have to do it right, but you can do it and it's.

Speaker 2:

And it is, and it is. It's definitely. I mean, it's not a simple procedure either, but you, if you really this is what you want to do, then there are people that can help you get there. So thank you for that, Trudy again, and thank you so much for all the information that you share with us all the time. I see your love for Angela on your necklace and I have mine, because it's a courtesy from Sand and Salton.

Speaker 2:

I got my little I got. I picked this one. This pendant has sand from Shobey because it's got such a significant score for me. But I was, I was. I think I'm gonna have to go back for one for Meats Bay, because I do love Meats Bay so much and Strawhead has, through you, become one of my favorite restaurants there too. So, yes, thank you again and I hope to see you very, very soon. I cannot wait to see the babies again. They're probably. I've missed them. I hope they miss me too. They miss you and you. And yes, and to just all my friends there and Nenguola, thank you so much for picking the time, and you are the last episode you should. I picked my one of my truest friends, you know, I have to say true.

Speaker 1:

Nice friend.

Speaker 2:

One of my truest friends to be. Yeah right, one of my truest friends. I have to pick you for the last episode of season one, so thank you again for that as well. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

And congratulations to you have a good holiday season. Yeah, thank you, rizal. Thank you, congratulations to you on a great podcast, doing something for people that really want to know the real, what really goes on here, and you do an amazing job every day.

Speaker 2:

Thank you Promoting.

Speaker 1:

Saint Martin. Oh, that's been a lot. And promoting Anguilla.

Speaker 2:

There you have it, my friend, the last episode of my very first season of Parallels Perspectives. I cannot believe it. I want to thank you, first and foremost, from the bottom of my heart, for leaving a review, for downloading the episodes and, of course, for allowing me to whisper sweet Caribbean things into your ear for the past six months. I am so, so grateful for you, and I could not be doing this without your continued support. So thank you for that as well. Parallels Perspectives will be back on Thursday, january 11th with a brand new season, so that means you know what I mean, right? It's more Caribbean destinations, more locals perspectives and more travel tips for you, so you can experience the islands in a more authentic way. Now, if you are interested in learning a little bit more about Trudy Nixon, about the books, about well, her novels, I should say and about the hummingbird whether you can stay there or not or you just want to pick her brain and find out what it's like to really move from the mainland, as we call it, down to the Caribbean. So if you are having those dreams too, then maybe this is the right person for you to talk to so you can reach her, and I've made sure to link all of her details down in the show notes. So after you're hearing me blah, blah, blah here, you can head on over there and check it out, and you can also, of course, I'm gonna leave a link to that too, to through Anguilla Magazine online, so that you can read that little blurb that she or that somebody has written about her, about what it's like as an expat living in Anguilla. And if you have a particular island that you are planning to visit in 2024, or maybe you're just interested in knowing more about the island or a specific person on an island or whatever it is really that fits into what it's what Paradise Perspective stands for, then please, please, please, go ahead and send me an email to booking at thetravelingislandgirlcom. I will make sure to find a local friend there so that friend can explain a thing or two to us, like we say here.

Speaker 2:

So all that is really left for me to say is happy holidays. I will surely be eating my belly full this season, because it's what we are really good here here in the Caribbean, and there are so many exciting events and food and drinks to experience. So tune in on January 11th. That's actually why I need this little break, because I need to like process and I'll be like eating my belly full. Oh my God, so much goodness coming my way. I am so excited. I bet you are as well. So really make sure you're back here January 11th. That's gonna be on a Thursday. Happy holidays. I love you really from the bottom of my heart. Thank you again. I'm Resell, the traveling island girl, leaving you again with the sound of the ocean Just to tempt you into buying that ticket already. So see you down in the Caribbean very soon. Bye.

An Interview With Trudy Nixon
Truanguela Magazine and Anguilla Explained
Career Journey and Love for Anguilla
Caribbean Cultural Integration and Differences
Life in the Caribbean
Discussion on Trudy's Caribbean-Themed Novels
Caribbean Hospitality and Creating Characters
Book Release and Expat Life