Thank you for your interest: the only reward that I will get is the appreciation of other people for the book. Am doing my best with it. Last September I started doing the diagrams, having to draw them by hand because they are far too complex for me to manage on a computer. The worst area maps take up to 40 hours each.
Started with those for the Cromford - Ball Eye area - Wapping area (Chapter 4). Have now reached those for Chapter 10 (Seven Rakes). The previous Masson chapter 9 required 8 diagrams alone. The maps should be sensational for anyone really interested in the subject. Large areas of workings (and hundreds of thousands of tons of fluorspar) have been missed by previous generations.
Unfortunately, my very active days are over and I shall just have to hand over to others now. Am drawing all the maps on A3 sheets altho' this cramps some a bit. I have only got an A4 scanner but a friend (yes, you Andrew Hall) has an A3 one and has kindly offered to help. Getting on for 40 diagrams in all. The editor says it will cost £100 a piece to have fold out maps - I have offered to fund that myself and have agreed to help fund the publication. Such works are simply not commercial and I will just be very grateful to PDMHS and the editor and team to get it sorted while I am still on the right side of the daisies.
I understand publication is towards the end of the year but I am not sure if I can manage my end for that schedule. Have still got to sort out illustrations with Lynn Willies and sort out copyrights, some of which are going to be problematic. Since Trevor Ford told me in 1978 to do it as a PhD, the whole project has been round my neck like the ancient mariner's albatross.