This was my first Joanne Hall book and it definitely won’t be my last.

There are spoilers within this review – you have been warned.

The Art of Forgetting is a coming of age tale with young Rhodri as the sole viewpoint character. As the heir to a far off throne, how Rhodri has come to live in the small village of Pencarith as a social pariah is a mystery, even to Rhodri himself who has an otherwise eidetic memory – an enviable talent, if I do say so myself. Those in Pencarith believe him to be Fae touched, not quite right in the head, and suffering from delusions of grandeur, so when the opportunity arises for him to join the Kings Third cavalry he jumps at the chance in the hope that he finds his forgotten place in the world.

Rhodri’s journey takes him to Northpoint, a coastal town in civil unrest where his training begins and he starts to learn of his past and the dreadful rumours surrounding his father: murderer, slaughter, woman beater. Much of the book is set here in Northpoint as Rhodri ages from boy to young man, learning his profession, history, his father and life in general, alongside his friends/recruits Aston, Jime, Nik and let’s not forget his nemesis, Dru.

In all honesty, I like my heroes to be heroes: completing valiant acts of courage with odds stacked against them. It took a long time for Rhodri to become, what I call, a hero, and for a while it really bugged me as there was no action to get behind. Instead I was following a boy who liked horses and was growing up with his fellow recruits, trying to fit in and find his place in the big wide world, drinking, learning and buying whores. The prospect of a Fae touched child, to me, was very appealing, and I let that lead me to believe that there would be more magic and mystery. Just after half way through, I resigned to the fact that this would not be the case in this book. I liked Rhodri, yes, but all I wanted him to do throughout this section book was ‘man-up.’

Rhodri’s sexuality also took me by surprise and, for a while, pushed him further from me. No, I’m not homophobic, I just found it difficult to relate to the desires expressed. And when Aston, Rhodri’s friend, turned out to be transgender – and secretly in love with Rhodri – I found myself wondering what the book was actually about. Would I ever find out who he was, or was this just a story about a homosexual cavalryman fighting discrimination?

Now is a good time to promote Jo’s writing ability. It may seem like I’m being a little harsh, but just bare with me.

Within these pages is a master class of writing ability. If you ever want to see how a sentence should be structured, how an emotion should be conveyed or how a chapter should be paced, then look no further. This is the book to refer to. For an amateur, such as myself, I was bowled over by how easy the book was to read, yet the images conveyed were clearer and more vivid than many other books I’ve read. It amazed me, and this exemplary command over the English language carried over to the speech with every character having their individual accents and levels of vocabulary. The detail was brilliant. It was this clever writing that swung my opinion. When discussing Rhodri’s bisexuality, Keir, the Horse Master whom Rhodri loves, says,

“…we can’t go against the way the stars made us.”

It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I saw through every word and act that had made me uncomfortable for what it actually was: self discovery. No, I couldn’t relate to the specifics of their relationship, but that one little line of expressed unconditional love was as powerful as any I’d personally experienced, and suddenly his journey made complete sense to me. This was a story about acceptance, and being who you were born to me, not folding under the pressures of society or what is expected. Whether or not Jo intended that level of impact at this specific point in the story is something only she will know, but for me it was an incredible moment of clarity.

Upon leaving Northpoint (and Keir), Rhodri encounters a water demon – finally, a bit of blood and guts – and is lead back home to his father’s castle. A girl from his past reveals a secret which changes Rhodri’s perception of the world around him and his heritage. Is the man that he thought was his father really a glorified kidnapper? Could Rhodri really be the only male heir to the dead king?

Towards the end of this story, before Rhodri can investigate further, the Kings Third are sent to war where Rhodri has to both protect and take life, and we are left wondering what will happen to Rhodri now that he has lost everything after abandoning his unit– a fantastic suspense question.

So, for all of my whining and uneasiness, The Art of Forgetting is a cleverly told story where our hero – that’s right, I said it, hero – is moulded into man of valour before our very eyes. He has become the hero I wanted him to be, he just took a different path.

I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2.

View all my reviews

I hope your projects are all running very smoothly! The work we have seen so far is great and we want you to keep posting as much as you so we can hear more about the fantastic work you are doing on the StAMP scheme. If any of you are struggling for content to write about in your posts then here’s some of the the things we are looking for:

How do you plan your mentoring work? What resources do you use?

How do you run the sessions or activities that you do?

what sort of reception you get from students who attend?

What works well and what doesn’t work so well?

how many people turn up and do you work with the same students each week or new ones every session?

These are only a few ideas we can encourage you to write about. You can also copy and paste any plans or attach physical work such as pictures and videos, anything you do on your project is welcome to be shown on here!

For anyone who wishes to improve or find content to do with engaging students, teaching or creating sessions and how to use social networks such as our blog then please visit the Joint Information Systems Commitee (JISC) webiste. They specialise in the production and support of institutions using teaching resources to better engage the student population. Visit the following links and see what they have to offer:

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/topics/web2.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/engage-students-through-blogging/

I hope this helps you all and I look forward to your next posts. Everyone from overseas at North West thank you for your posts and hopefully we will continue getting more from you. If you all wish to use the content I have provided the link to or you wish to keep giving your own advice, experiences or resources that would be brilliant either way!

If anybody is having any trouble regarding anything to do with the initiative then please do not hesitate to contact me or Luke.

Kind regards,

The StAMP Team

I hoping to set up a Bristolcon related art event during the summer where we can showcase artists that will be attending the convention. More details to follow. I am also hoping to organize a few more art events here and there.

To be honest, Bristolcon is a literary convention and so we deal with a lot of writers. In this vein I am also organizing a number of readings and signings throughout the year. There will be a reading at Lunartique in St Nicks Market, on Corn Street, on 23rd Feb. Fran Jacobs will be reading some of her work and I will be reading something from Colinthology.

Then we are taking part in The Thunderbolts Word of Mouth event on Wednesday 6th March where Joanne Hall and Emma Newman will be reading from their books. So pop along for a pint and a fantastic tale.

There are a few more readings, signings and even a few book launches that need to be arranged. I will keep you posted.

To add balance, at least Foz Williams declared her nausea at the sight of naked male torsos. (I’m buttoning up my shirt now).

It makes sense. Instead of using the splendid projection and big screen system to demonstrate the offensive images, we were obliged to imagine armour shaped to accommodate FF breasts. Such armour surely invited swords, pikes and other stiff staves aimed at the chest area to channel themselves between the metalled orbs and up into the chin. The audience agreed this would be a consequence if real armour was made like that. It occurred to me that chest plates should have been designed more as the opposite – even an inside out chest plate: a metal ridge in front of her cleavage so that spears and other pointy weapons would deflect off to her side. Men too.

It is self-evident that halter-tops and mini-skirts afford little protection to the women wearing them. However, the point was made that many men faced by such a sight might be distracted long enough to be fatally smitten – in more ways than one! A cunning plan by les madams fatale. You can imagine the enemy sergeants shouting to their men, “Don’t look, don’t look at her.”

Yes, it is politically incorrect to illustrate books and film posters with scantily-dressed women, and was so even in the 1970s, so why do they do it? This wasn’t really discussed by the panel. Perhaps because the sex sells motive is too obvious. Yet it has to be said. I recall an episode of Frasier where Daphne moaned that “You men, you always use sex to get what you want.” Frasier replied, “No. Sex IS what we want.” Putting sex on book covers gets the publishers what they want, just as viewers go to watch Bond films, and Rhianna wears less with each album. Men and many women are hard-wired to be aroused by exposed flesh, but more than that, they find exhilarating the idea of women-who-fight. Just changing book covers to matt colours won’t change biology, only the sales figures. Having said that Fifty Shades of Grey didn’t have much of an erotic image on the cover. Not easy though for publishers to arrange the same level of word of mouth promotion, as EL James did through her Twilight forum entourage.

The irony is that the gallery section of BristolCon had several erotic images of women, some painted by women. Many of the books for sale also featured fleshy torsos, and they are beautiful, enhancing the beholder – except, presumably for the panellists.

It was pointed out that women soldiers do not need especially adapted apparel. They can squeeze into man-shaped armoured garb, and yes that would make them sensible on the real battlefield. Does fiction want to be that realistic? I doubt it. Fiction is about drama and OTT characters, not sexless automatons – on the whole. I wonder, though, how many contemporary fantasy novels display women in non-sensible armour? I struggle to find one on the shelves. Perhaps the panel is already redundant. Charlie Stross has cleavage on his most erotic novel Saturn’s Children (2009) cover, but she’s a main character but not really a traditional warrior.

We should discount those mildly erotic fantasy novels with nymphettes in diaphanous negligee because they are not fighters in the battlefield sense. Similarly, we should not consider erotic vampire cover art for the same reason. Pity because Sam Stone is at least as sexy as her leading women. I recall Liz Williams’ Banner of Souls (2006). The cover art is of a spaceship but the protagonist is Dreams-of-War, the most feisty woman warrior I’ve met in a book. Her armour is so sensible it has artificial intelligence. Yet Dreams-of-War is sometimes obliged to reduce it to be skin deep, and for one encounter divests herself of everything but a knife – and then ashes and mud. Seductive, very clever and compelling. In other words the eroticism is mostly in our head even if many of us need triggers.

Most action women in contemporary SFF fiction tend to be sensibly dressed – such as Hit Girl in the Kick-Ass graphic comics and films yet seductive to view. We don’t need scanty apparel even though the human form is beautiful – even when not perfect, whatever that means.

I have written erotic scenes in all my fiction but would I want publishers to drape seductive women warriors on the cover? No, unless the novel was about Amazon Ninja Poledancers but I would pick such books off the shelf even if only to indulge in my hobby of collecting first sentences.

Breaking time-travelled news: Voted best SF novel 2012. ARIA has infectious amnesia! Kindle at http://amzn.to/11rseH3 details at http://bit.ly/HNYyq4

We had a very sucessful meeting to discuss what we as a group of kacademic mentors wished to achieve as a group working on giving support for mahara eportfolios to students.

We organised and ran our first workshop which I believe was a great sucess. Ceara and myself really enjoyed running the session and gained some great feedback from the students who attended and some even comented that they would be recommending the sessions to friends as they found them so useful. Deffinatly worth all the hard work put in to organise the session and rersoureces we wanted to have to help the students attending. As the session was such a success we organised several more sessions and have continued to run the equivilant of one weekly. All student that attended the sessions have also been emailed a selection of links to resources to continue their developmemnt of their portfolios. 

I have also been working on organising a help forum which will be posted on the eportfolio moodle page for student nurses in the hope that we can help students even if they can not get into university due to placement commitments etc.

It can be hard work at times especially being on placement at the same time but I’m really enjoying it so it all worthg it.

In your recent induction sessions you were provided with a handbook by us that gave you several components of information about the scheme and techniques that you can use to aid yourselves as academic mentors. I was hoping you would take a bit of time to give us some feedback on the handbook. I would like you to consider these questions when doing so:

1. What parts of the handbook do you find useful and would reccommend them for future copies?

2. What parts were not useful to you and need not be included next time?

3. Is there any content you think should be included for the future?

4. Are there any ways in which the layout could be improved? Think about color, content, format, size.

I appreciate all of your feedback and taking time out to answer these questions.

If anyone does not have a copy of the handbook I have attached a PDF file which you can download it from underneath this text.

Mentor Handbook

Best Wishes,

Jamie

If you are in the market for a loom with shafts—as opposed to an inkle, rigid heddle, or peg loom—check out Tom Knisley new DVD The Loom Owner’s Companion.  It is an awesome guide to learning the differences between jack, countermarch, and counterbalance looms.

Voted Handwoven‘s Teacher of the Year, Tom will keep you entertained as he walks you through the various looms and their features.

Warping With Jane

Chris puts his back into it while Jane Stafford (at left) and Andrea Marquis of Yarn Superhero look on.

Speaking of great teachers, Chris is just back from an awesome retreat on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia with Jane Stafford.  Sponsored by Louet, Chris spent four days learning all the marvels of the Louet loom line.  He and other dealers warped looms, swapped stories, and wallowed in the luxury of Jane’s impressive studio.  (I bet you can guess why Louet’s table loom is named Jane!)

If you are looking for a good learning experience check out our upcoming classes. We have some great teachers, including felter Leslie Samson and weaver Joanne Hall, lined up in the spring and fall, and of course our marvelous staff is always cooking up something interesting for you to learn.

Chris, Nancy, and the entire Woolery Team

Today some friends (Jo Hall and Heather Ashley) and I went to a really beautiful nature reserve near Glastonbury called Ham Wall. I can’t recommend it enough. Although I will say this for all those of you who are couch dwellers, wear lots of layers and  waterproof/hiking/ military boots and a decent pair of gloves. Just giving you a polite warning! It was freezing and really blowy!

We had arrived in time to wander around the reserve snapping a few photos before the starlings came in to roost. We all gathered in the pre-determined area and waited for about 20 mins. Then all of a sudden a small group of them flew over, then another group, and another. Then the groups began to merge and become bigger groups. They danced around so gracefully, to-ing and fro-ing with the wind, before starting to settle down into the reeds for the night. It was amazing! And totally worth leaving my couch for.

I didn’t get a lot of pics of the starlings as I was too busy watching them, and to be honest, my fingers had stopped working at this point so pressing the button would have been difficult. However, I do have a few shots of the reserve.

I’m not one who usually harps on about environmental thingums and such, but the RSPB are doing a massive job. This reserve was not here 16 years ago, it was a peat bog. Now it is home to countless animals and birds and is helping to save some species from extinction. They can also boast that of the 19 Giant White Egret’s in the UK, they have 3 making their home here. So please go to their website and see what you can do to help them save more species.

Art of Forgetting is a brilliant tale of discovery and equality, of the evils of humankind and of what is truly the right thing to do. All Rhodri had wanted was to regain his birth-right, to be reunited with his family, to finally know his mother. His journey is a long one and takes him from his home and into a foreign land, and in true Joanne Hall style, to a lot of pain, misery, misunderstanding, death, and finally release.

There is another side to this book that is not immediately apparent but which should be read by everyone, every adult and every child, in the hope that it will teach a little tolerance. Here is a story of racial hatred and sexual intolerance, here is a story of ignorance and misunderstanding. I hope it teaches people to think about their attitude towards that which we do not understand and maybe then we can make our world a better place to live.

Another brilliant masterpiece from a truly great writer. Now will someone please publish it!!!

I feel like writing this review will give it all away, but it is inevitable. Joanne Hall is such a writer that even though you know in your heart of hearts how it has to end, she can still shock and surprise. A war raged and there were many deaths and you felt for the fallen, your heart is heavy when the Hawkman holds his little charge in his hands and you shed a tear for the loss of a good friend.

However, in true fashion for this writer, there are MANY unanswered questions. Although you know this is the end of the trilogy you are left wanting much more. What of the witch who plotted to kill a young boy? What of the baby prince? What of our Telesian friends? What happens next?

Here we have a writer who does not do conclusions, but instead keeps us hounding at her door begging for more.

On a personal note to the author:- Dear Gods woman how is it your not famous and batting crazy fans like me out of your way so you can get on with the next book?

I saw this on Heirath’s page, read her story, and felt the need to say a few things.

Firstly, I have suffered from depression since I was 13. Back then I thought, ‘Oh, come on, I’m a teenager! It’ll blow over.’ 19 years later it still hasn’t blown over. The problems I had then were that we had sold our house in Nottingham, a beautiful place and the only one I’ve ever considered ‘home’, and we moved to Cheshire. To a piece of land we hoped to build a house, a town smaller than I’d ever lived in before, full of people I didn’t know. I had also recently ‘entered womanhood’ and my body was changing.

My sister and I were sent to the local school, which was a hell hole of the highest order. My form tutor was evil and had no time for me, the other kids assumed I knew everything because apparently I had a posh accent and were thus not pleased when they found they couldn’t copy my work.

Eventually my parents took us out of that school (about two terms into the year) and put us in another school which was, academically, infinitely better. Unfortunately, we were the new kids, not just of a new year but half way through. We were still strangers in a strange land, having been brought up in a large city. We did not make friends easily, I often joke that even the outcasts didn’t want me. I was never fashionable, I was a little chubby, thank the heavens I didn’t wear glasses or I may not have survived at all.

I got my own back, in a way, and I hope you all smile when you read this. As unsporty as I was, I’ve never been very patient with silly girls who couldn’t decide which of their friends was deserving of a pass in hockey. The whistle had blown and I had duly given them a few seconds leeway, before running in and batting the ball to any one of my team mates, I didn’t care who caught it. The look on her face was priceless as she appealed to the PE teacher with no luck. I take my victories where I can get them.

School was finished with and it was unlikely I would have to deal with any of them again, time for college. And for bullying from the tutors. One in particular. He singled me out as the bane of his existence, and I failed miserably. By the time I was 17 I had barely survived school, dropped out of college and had my heart trampled on by a man ten years my senior. I turned to drugs, weed at first, then a bit of coke, before becoming party central with pills, speed and acid. I also slept with whoever would have me, I didn’t care, it wasn’t even about the sex. For a short time, someone wanted me and that was enough. I was 22 by the time I realised this life was going to kill me and I managed to walk away from it.

I met a man who I love and who loves me (damned fool that he is). I have removed myself from the drugs and have been clean for the last 8 years. But life has given me constant twists and turns. My sister did not fare as well as me and died after years of self abuse and overdoses in 2005. It ripped our family apart. My mother also died in 2009 from a blood clot in her brain, and a year after that I lost my first child at 31 weeks pregnant.

If that wasn’t rock bottom then I don’t know what could be. I wallowed a little, everyone told me I had the right, I got angry telling them I didn’t want the right, I wanted to get on with my life. And on with it I am. I’m back at college doing an access course, and I’m pregnant again, in constant communication with my doctor, my midwife and anyone who will listen to ensure everything goes smoothly. I am now 32 and I have begun to get my life back together. It’s a constant struggle and sometimes I want to stop fighting and give up, but that is not an option for me.

There is lots of help out there for you, most of it is sitting next to you right now. your friends and family will always be there for you, never forget that.

Lydia and Alex have found each other again and are on a journey to be reunited with their son, but Valery has other plans, and what he did gave me night terrors. In this book there is adventure and intrigue and at least three love triangles, but there is never a dull moment.

Here we also get to meet some of the Old Ones and we discover more about the history of the world. We are taken on a long journey through much of the New Kingdom and for once our hero has chosen to put his family before his people, which makes a refreshing change, it is only because of Valery’s actions that have put Alex in an impossible position that he is now being forced to act.

Unputdownable, horrific, and brilliant!

Another note to the author, Joey, keep up the bloody terrifying work because these books are getting better and more twisted as I read each one!! It’s rare you get to have such strong feelings towards the characters, more often than not you finish the book and forget what happened, not so with you!

Dear god’s I hope he gets torn apart by the last of the Deepdene witches!!

The main characters, although act a little young for their age and station, are well rounded and loveable. You find yourself wishing with all your heart that they have a good ending and that love will conquer all, but Joanne has already put them through som much pain and struggle and the situation is impossible, if they marry then war will be brought down on an already tird and money strapped kingdom which just wont survive.

This book is filled with intrigue, love, hate, death and betrayal. It is unputdownable and heartbreaking. Joanne Hall is a truly fantastic writer.

On a personal note to the author herself, Joey, Lydia and Alex did not deserve what you put them through! They should have had a good ending, but then would I be so desperate to know if there is a sequel where all this gets resolved? Probably not. You have written a story unlike most others in that the characters are believable and things don’t always go to plan, or the way they should. My only hope now is that Valery’s penis is removed with a blunt, rusty blade, followed slowly by his internal organs! He deserves much worse.

DETAILS:
Hierath – In this thrilling fantasy novel, the world stands on the brink of peace, the first peace for a thousand years. A fragile alliance has been formed between the New Kingdom and Telesia, and they have agreed in principle to set aside their centuries-old quarrel over land and culture. The deal has been forged by the efforts of Alex, the peace-loving newcomer to the throne. But things are about to change… Alex meets and falls in love with Lydia, a fisher’s daughter from the east, to the displeasure of both his family and his friends. His aunt has already arranged for the alliance with Telesia to become a permanent and marital one, and the sudden arrival of Lydia throws all her carefully laid plans into jeopardy. And then an horrific act of betrayal plunges the world once more to the brink of war…

The Feline Queen is a collection of short stories by Joanne Hall, to be published by Wolfsinger in the next few weeks.

Prosecutors said they were investigating claims that Joanne Hall, 49, died during a drunken row with husband Robert.

He is then alleged to have burned her body before burying her ashes in concrete.

Police in Brittany arrested the 55-year-old and he appeared before magistrates yesterday when he was remanded in custody.

The Halls, who have three children, are believed to have moved to the region around a decade ago and rented out their property to tourists.

With 15 bedrooms, Chateau de Fretay in Fougeres, near Rennes, is advertised on websites as featuring a nine-hole golf course, parkland, lakes and a go-karting circuit, and costs visitors more than £5,000 a week in high season.

At the time of Mrs Hall’s suspected death on Friday, the site was undergoing renovation work to build gites and a golf course.

Catherine Denis, from the prosecutor’s office in Rennes, told a press conference that police responded to a call from the Hall family at the weekend.

“There was a drunken argument with his wife, during which she fell,” she said.

According to Mrs Denis, Mr Hall spoke to police about building a mausoleum as part of a “pact” with his wife.

She added that the remains found at the house had not yet been formally identified.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are aware of an incident in France involving two British nationals.

“We have approached next of kin to offer consular assistance.”

Hospital radiographer Gavin Hall, 33, drugged and then suffocated his three-year-old daughter Amelia at the family home in Irchester, Northants, in the early hours of November 29.

Murdered: Amelia Hall

Hall fed Amelia anti-depressant pills to make her drowsy before smothering her with a rag soaked with the anaesthetic chemical chloroform. He then went on to make an unsuccessful attempt to kill himself.

Millie, as she was known, died just two days before her fourth birthday. Her mother Joanne found her under a duvet on the living room floor that morning.

MORE: Four years not enough, says mum

Hall was convicted by a jury at Northampton Crown Court after a six-day trial.

Hall suffered an “emotional disturbance” after reading sordid emails passed between his wife and the married district judge six weeks before the killing, after discovering she was having an affair.

Joanne Hall – she has since reverted to her maiden name of Rainsley – met the married father through a sex contact website for married people in September last year.

The pair had sent each other naked pictures and described in graphic detail fantasies of what they wanted to do with each other.

In their first contact over the internet the judge, identified only as “James” in court, suggested the possibility of a threesome.

After repeated email conversations between the pair, detailing their sexual fantasies, they arranged to meet in Northampton at the end of September – while he was on a residential legal course.

Defence counsel Nicholas Atkinson QC said Hall demanded to read all the emails after discovering the affair in the middle of October last year. Despite constant reassurances that the fling was over, the court heard, the judge and Hall’s wife continued to have contact behind his back.

Off work on sick leave and prescribed anti-depressants, Hall, 33, fed Millie one of those pills to make her drowsy in the early hours of November 29 last year.

He claimed she had told him repeatedly that she wanted to “come with daddy”. They enjoyed a moment “like Romeo and Juliet”, he added, where they sat and cuddled for over an hour before he smothered her with a rag soaked with the chemical.

Millie’s mother Joanne found the youngster under a duvet on the living room floor that morning.

Hall had tried to kill himself with the chloroform and had cuts in his neck, thighs and arms.

Although he said in court he had no memory of the night, Hall sent lengthy text messages to his wife and her lover to explain the death and why he had tried to kill himself.

One text, sent to Joanne at 2.57am, said: “I loved you. Millie asked to stay with me. I’ve dealt with your deceit for two months, now you have the rest of your life to deal with the consequences.”

Shortly before 4am he again texted his wife: “Goodbye, Millie sends her love. She died at 3.32am. Love till death us do part I said and this is what I meant.”

Gavin Hall drugged three-year-old Amelia, known as Millie, with anti-depressants and then smothered her with a chloroform-soaked rag six weeks after finding sexually explicit emails between wife Joanne and her lover – a married solicitor and part-time judge known only as “James”.

Amelia Hall.

Millie died just two days before her fourth birthday. Her mother found her lying next to the family’s two pet cats under a duvet on the living room floor in what the trial judge described as a “scene of horror” designed to punish.

The hospital radiographer was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years after a jury at Northampton Crown Court rejected his plea that he was suffering a mental breakdown at the time.

Judge Charles Wide QC told him that Millie’s murder was a planned and premeditated attack carried out after Hall discovered the “extraordinarily sexually explicit” emails between his wife and her lover.

Joanne Hall – who has since reverted to her maiden name of Rainsley – began her affair with the lawyer in September last year, two months before the killing. They sent a number of explicit emails to each other – emails which Hall forced her to let him read when he uncovered their affair in the middle of October.

On Sunday, November 27 last year – two days before Millie’s murder – Hall killed the couple’s two cats with chloroform and hid them in a bin bag in the garden shed. And the senior police officer investigating the murder said that he believed it was only a text message and phone call from Joanne that night that stopped Hall killing Millie, her younger sister Lucy and himself.

Superintendent John Jones said: “I have little doubt that that text message saved little Lucy’s life. I am convinced he meant to kill both cats, both his daughters and create the hideous tableau the judge mentioned.”

Off work on sick leave and prescribed anti-depressants, Hall, 33, fed Millie one of those pills to make her drowsy in the early hours of November 29.

Millie’s mother Joanne was comforted by her parents as the judge jailed her former husband. Speaking after the hearing she refused to mention her former husband by name but paid tribute to her “beautiful little girl”, saying: “Millie will always be remembered as a happy, lively and beautiful little girl and I am proud to have been her mum.”