It’s strange the things you overhear sometimes.  A friend told me today about a particular gem she’d heard at the railway station.  Two women were chatting while waiting for their train and began discussing what they were planning to do as an Easter break.

“We thought we might go down to Wiltshire for a few days,” said one.

“Oh, where?” said the other.  “There’s some nice places down there.  Will you go to Devizes or Chippenham?”

“Neither,” said the first lady.  We’ve heard there’s a place called Saltbury.  It’s small, but it’s supposed to be very pretty.”

“You mean Salisbury?” said her friend.

“No, no, we know that one.  This is definitely Saltbury.”

Well, well, has someone been reading the Saltbury Chronicles?  I promise you there’s no such town in our Wiltshire, which is a shame, because it’s such a lovely spot.  As we all know, the books take place in a different universe which is very like ours, but just that little bit kinder.  The town and all my characters are every bit as real as you and me of course.  They just exist in their Universe, Saltbury’s universe, and not in ours. And although it does have a main line railway station, with regular trains to London (for some you have to change at Barchester), don’t expect to find them listed in current UK timetables.