Long lost Filofax notes become a published book

Whenever people see my Filofax, the usual reaction I get is 'I had one of those' to which I always reply, 'Have you still got it?'.

This normally sends them off in a bit of a tailspin and rooting through their desk to find their Filofax. While I'm drinking my coffee, they normally reappear brandishing their treasured Filofax, asking me which model it is.

Well, you're not going to believe this, but our friend, Denise, who we have been staying with in the UK this last week took one look at my A5 Malden and said not 'I had one of those', but 'I've still got one of those. I used the notes and diary to write my book about my adventures as a single English girl in Bavaria.'

I smiled and asked politely if I could see it. Then she went off to rummage through her desk while I had a beer!

What Denise then appeared with was a 1990s personal size Filofax. I've not identified it yet in terms of which model it is, but I was more interested in what this book was she'd written from the notes within her old Filofax.

I looked through her pages and pages of notes; they told an interesting story in their own right. The Filofax looks like new, but it had travelled many kilometres in her bag over the years, just like a travel companion and a friend, always there when she needed to jot down some notes.

During the writing of the book, Denise told me she frequently referred to the notes in her Filofax. When the book came back from the editors, Denise had her Filofax notes to hand to make sure the tales and her notes hadn't become distorted in the editing process. She explained the Filofax had become more than just a diary, but had built up into a precious reference book, neatly organised. If she'd lost it, she said she would have thrown herself off one of those Bavarian mountains.

The book starts off in 1973 and travels through Denise's life to about 2005 and it is a very funny read. I've not had a chance to finish it yet, but I will do over the next few weeks. As a small 'plug', the book (from Bad to Wurst by Denise Barnes) is available on Amazon in UK, US and Germany in print and Kindle formats. There is also a website, which I'm in the process of updating for her!