Before the Frost is a sensitive collection of poems, written in, and about, old age. There are poems of love, loss and the fear of loss; of hope, despair, loneliness and resignation. Some are unashamedly romantic but realism is never far away. Some are funny but sometimes there is an underlying sadness, whilst darker ones often have a quirky twist at the end. Some are observations of everyday life - all the encounters have actually happened. And some describe places dear to the author's heart, such as Malta and her beloved Stockholm. Heather's ideas come out of thin air: a line from a printed page; lines jotted down on paper bags; lines composed in her head whilst on the bus into town; and thoughts that pull her from bed in the middle of the night to put down words before they get away. A self-professed Luddite, the only tools she uses to compose her poems are sheets of paper and a biro (her only concession to technology), but not quite a quill pen and ink! Before the Frost is inspired by Heather's dear friend, who she met on the Maltese island of Gozo; a kindred spirit who has proved to her that inside every old person is a young one struggling to escape - sometimes successfully. No one understands old age until it happens to them, but we can all learn to laugh at our own loss of mobility, our failing mind and body, and learn the importance of carrying on regardless. Uplifting and thought-provoking, Before the Frost will appeal to those wishing to reflect on their own lives.