Book review...

Heart to Heart by Jodie Picoult - well, this was in many ways a typical Picoult recipe - chosing a contrversial ethical dilemma and creating a story around it. I found this read rather contrived however, and I am not sure that I feel the need to read any more Picoult. What she does, she does very successfully. I suppose similar to Dick Francis, she has a formula that sells.  This particular novel, though, had some rather peculiar religious threads running through it, which didn't really work for me, and I couldn't be moved by the book as probably I ought to have been.

Book review...

Mr Brigg's Hat by Kate Colquhoun - well I though this would be in a similar vein to a book I read last year about a peculiar and unsolved murder in Victorian times (can't recall the name of the book now or the author; hence why I am keeping a note this year of my reading!)  And I suppose in some ways it was. But it was not as gripping, and I kept reading just to see if the right person had stood accused. But it was a little bit of a slog to get through really, and I'm not convinced I'd read another by the same author. It did make me realise I suppose how well we do these days with crime detection and I wonder how many innocent in the past were sent to the gallows! - cheery thoughts..

Book review...

A long long way by Sabastian Barry - a tremendous read. The language is beautiful. It has to be said, I had to read the whole thing in a good Irish accent throughout in my head. It is also heart-breaking and is hard to read in places, with graphic and disturbing descriptions of the grim nature of war.
But probably the best of the fiction I have read this year so far.

up at the farm..

Had a lovely afternoon with Lynne and Faith up at the Victory outreach farm on Sunday, meeting all the animals. A lad called Steve introduced me to all the various creatures there - Adam and Eve the turkeys; Samson and Deleila the bull and cow; the 2 disgusting looking pigs whose names I can't recall!  Callie the ex racehorse is impressive and is moving to a field near the fourten locks in a couple of weeks where Lynne and Helen will be looking after her.  The view from the farm is stunning, looking out to Sugarloaf and Table mountain. The sun was shining and it had the feel of a little bit of heaven that afternoon.
Looking forward to a break soon.
I have been working too long without a mini holiday of any kind. I forget that after six weeks or so I need a break, starting to feel the grind and monotony of a job that usually I enthuse over. But I will have a lovely Easter W/E with a trip to Spring Harvest and the Blakes then at the weekend. And then Krakow a week or so later. Hoping the weather holds.... Will we pay for it later?!

Resolutions sliding...

So its weeks since I posted. And having resolved to keep some sort of blog I must not give up just because I have neglected it. A busy few weeks. Feeling like not enough hours in every day and not enough days in every week. Things begin to slip. The shopping doesn't get done. Cooking standards (lol) drop! Reading gets snatched in minutes each day and only a page or two get read. The gym doesn't feature. Headaches increase.
So the sun is shining and it seems summer has arrived early. The blossom in the garden is absolutley gorgeous (must photograph to remember). The potatoes are planted and I put in a few strawberries and have a few little baby veg plants in the greenhouse waiting to get into the bed when they are robust enough.
The "for sale" sign has gone up at the end of the driveway, so I've been doing a bit of "de-cluttering" around the place and trying to get the garden looking a bit tidy. Mixed feelings about it but it feels like the right thing at the moment and hoping Brent Knoll over the other side of town stays on the market for a while longer...

Book Update

Paris Enigma by Pablo de Santis -a rather strange little read. Not really my usual kind of choice in novel. Picked it up off the book-shelf at home; Stuart couldn't remember a thing about it having read it some time back. Couldn't really say it made much af an impact - readable but I won't be looking out for de Santis particularly. 12 detectives from around the world meet in Paris and find they have a few murders on their hands to solve...

We set off for Cambridge then and again a little stop en route for a cuppa. The Blakes seemed pleased to see us and we enjoyed meeting Treacle, the cockapoo (I know!) who is a rather lovely small, fluffy and very quiet thing who seems to be a bit of a blessing for Helen.
Stuart took Katy over to her friend Tony who had invited her for dinner (come at 7.30 and you won't be late for dinner; we might have to do the horses; then we will be free for the evening..) and turns out she does have a bit of a mansion. Relatively easy to find but it seems not so easy to return from and twas some great time later found his way back. Later took Bruce with him when collecting Katy (not a St Mary's girl) and found his navigational skills about as poor as having been on his own! lol!  I had a chance to have a good natter with Helen so we were ok.
Saturday morning then they took us for a chilly and blowy walk by the canal, after which we all deserved the cream tea in the cafe of course. On a bit of a schedule so left them early pm and got to our hotel near Oxford in time to swim and sauna before going out for a pub meal.
The hotel I had book was quite something - a massive build on top of a hill with the longest drive imaginable.
See photo below - more to come when I get my camera pics downloaded/uploaded or whatever. This was the hotel lobby which had a "self-playing" piano - very weird...
We missed a chance to see Oxford and Sunday went to Blenheim palace which, although impressive, would be very much better in the summer, as the grounds I think are probs the main thing, and this time of year were obviously not at their best and too chilly to be wandering far in.
All in all tho' a successful road trip I think, with supper in Cheltenham on the way home.

Last weekend away...

So, we enjoyed a good but busy W/E and I haven't got around to blogging about it yet.
Too cold by half to consider the road trip in Eliza yet so we set off in Stuart's hire car (some young lass having driven into him and scraped the avensis down the entire length of passenger side). We arrived with Gary in Kenilworth on Thursday evening having stopped off in Ross on Wye - usually sail right past and admire the Church spire and river from a distance. Quite a quaint little place in parts. Perused the book sections of the second hand shops, picking up a couple of novels each. Had a lovely cake and cuppa in a rather nice tea shop and bought a very good bottle of red of a little Scottish man (portabello, Edinburgh) to take to Gary.  Gary seemed on reasonable form, although I thought he looked older (don't we all) possibly cos he was in worky clothes not usual jeans. Anyway we later picked up Sue (fresh back from a Nile cruise the previous night) and went to eat out at a pub in Lemmington - food surprisingly excerllent -had a risotto-like jambourini - surf and turf food and spicey too. Music a bit loud but enjoyable evening. Then stayed over and had wholemeal toast and jam for breakfast - nom!

Friday evening...

Friday evening...by the fire, with my novels, Sheba asleep beside me...Pink martini in the CD player and Gin and tonic in my hand....awaiting the delivery of the curry. Headache improving as the evening goes on. Work fading, weekend looming. Can't get much better. Other than perhaps the posibility of a holiday on the horizon...not happening any time soon. So I'll enjoy the "mini-break" of this eve...

Recent viewing...

As I have just finished the book I decided to watch the film - Never Let me go -  How gloomy.Ii think I may have annoyed the other 2 in the room vaguely by anticipating what was to come and commenting on every deviation from the book...wooops. Anyhow,  bit bleak, tru to the book I guess, and leaves you feeling a little sad. Again tho', not enough ups and downs throughout the film to really draw you in and "feel" for the characters...

Best TV at the moment has got to be Borgen - winning hands down, no contest. Last night was the finale - in 2 parts, as usual. So we have saved the final part for tonight. It really is slick, compulsive, a roller-coaster and gripping.  Hoping we will continue to be treated to these sub-titled Scandanavian dramas on a Saturday night cos I am hooked and will need to watch the box set of The Killing part one if there isn't another one showing from next week!

Book update

"Why Me?" by Bob Servant is a ridiculous read, and takes a couple of hours really to get through. A crazy man who has managed to publish more than one book filled with his email correspondance to the sort of on-line criminals who "subtly" try to get money sent to them under various pretexts. A bit of fun and I did laugh out loud on occasion.
Think it was a Christmas pressie for Stuart from one of my sibs...

A quiet weekend...

So, Katy was up in Birmingham this weekend, hopefully enjoying some "quality time" with big sister. The snow arrived half-way through the W/E - didn't really stop, here, on Saturday, and Birmingham looked to be even more heavily hit - they even brought out the yellow ball (I know!) for the football going on there - on the TV it looked like playing in a blizzard....  Not that we were watching football, because it was the opening weekend of the Six Nations.  Scotland did their usual thing against England Saurday, for the opening game of the competition, losing the home game in a scrappy try-less fashion.
I had planned to be out during the games, but snow put a stop to my Cardiff boot-shopping trip. Ordered some on -line instead - isn't it quite ridiculous that you can order boots one day and they arrive in at your local store before midday the following day...
So I met with Julie & Alyson for "brunch" Saturday late am. Just to have a natter. Julie has planned that we "girls" meet for brunch or cake and coffee on the first Saturday of each month - nice idea - she wants us to be like the "sex in the city" girls ...I know very little about that programme but I think I get the sentiment and seems a good thing to do...although probs not much sex talk to discuss...probs more the lives of our young people and our own mid-life crises. Anyway we'll go for it and hopefully next month one or two of the others will be free too.
Snow all melted away by end of the W/E. Church more or less "cancelled" this morn due to the car park being inaccesible/treacheres etc and phonecalls to all discouraging any heroics to attend. So a day at home "catching up" (mis-nomer?) and not getting to the gym.  Tomorrow eve free for that instead.

Heard them in the fields before I saw them. The first day for the lambs to be out. They are TINY!  And do they not get chilly? 'Twas a frosty misty morning and the little 'uns were a gambling...

Book update

"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishijuro... left me feeling a bit flat. Reading it was like listening to a symphony with no dynamics and no change in tempo. An interesting premis - although a bit "sci fi" for me really; but a bit gloomy. Gonna watch the film next....

Thoroughly enjoying weekly vlogs from Smoe - Friday is always a good day but now it is vlogging day and Katy kindly lets us "in" on the vlog viewing which is always an amusement.
Probably should get around to returning a vlog...need to incorporate a vlog slot into the week!
Stick with blog for the moment...

So, another January week gone...and in one week the garden birds have eaten their way through practically the whole 6 cours meal at the bird station. Today I refilled it all and they are going to get FAT. We have had a couple of new visitors in the form of long-tailed tits which I have not seen in our garden before - exciting.
Did some more pruning today (more cuts - need to invest in better secatours and decent gloves if i am to do more of this...) and Stuart put the "soil improver" stuff over the the veg patches - wanted to take photo so blog would record progress of veg patch from now to when they are over-flowing with food in the summer (dream on...) but not only has my camera not yet turned up, today my phone died suddenly, cause of death as yet unknown (PM needed).

Book Update

"My Dear, I wanted to tell you" by Louisa Young, was a good read. It was radio 4's "book at bedtime" last week, cooincidentally as I was half-way through when I learned that. Ii know I said as I finished 3 day journey that I'd read something a bit lighter, but I am drawn to war novels and this one was in the house.
Tatler described it as Birdsong for the new millennium and there was something of the Birdsong about it.  Deeply romantic and not too heartbreaking...

Book update

Another book under my belt. Whagwan?? 
"Rooms" by James L Rubart given to me by my lovely daughter for Christmas.
Now I did enjoy it. But tis the kind of book I'll need to pass around the family and discuss - the book club type book. It made me think, but also left me a little confused (easily done)

"Feed the birds..."

So...today, unlike yesterday, the temperature rose a little above zero.  A trip to the (yawn) garden centre was needed, to pick some "soil improver" - stuff to enrichen the earth in the two new veg patches that I am determined will be a grand success this year. Amazing when you get to the garden centre and find those things you never knew your husband needed. But he's a bit soft on the old birds and likes to keep 'em in peanuts this time of year - we came home with a "bird station"...
Actually not too bad an idea as everything is placed too high for the fluffies to get anywhere near the feeding visitors...hoepfully.

Now, where are the birds?!...

Book update...

So, I was impressed by my sister's Christmas letter where she listed her "top five books of the year" and I suddenly wondered, a little horrified, if I had indeed read five books last year!  Little brother Jon fessed up at Christmas that he most certainly had not.  I probably have read perhaps 2 or 3 times as many, but that's not great.  So, thought I'd keep a note here of when I finish a book and what I thought about it. Who knows, maybe I, too, can come up with a top five!


So, completed 2 books this year so far...(slightly cheating as both were started in 2011)
Grace Choices by Jeff Lucas - v good read - he's just as good and inspirational when he's serious as when he's being very silly/funny.
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden - "the most haunting story of war and loss since Birdsong". Heavy read, just had to keep going. Yes, moving, and enjoyed but...grim. Guess we do need to read about the reality of war..and loss..and suffering.  But next novel gonna be a bit lighter I think...

Resolutionary...

So, day 12 of 2012. That's one of those satisfying dates to write 12.01.12. All ones and twos..almost.
And I am reflecting today on how goes the whole New Year's Resolution "thing".
Because I am a believer in the concept.  Every day brings a fresh opportunity I know..but the beginning of a year marks a great big psychological break between what can be the old and what may be the new.
So far so good.  One of the ideas was to leave work ON TIME! And I have managed that..so far.
Also to try to treat work as a bit more of a hobby and less as a total body and heart commitment. Tick.
I have committed to pulling/pushing myself out of bed a little earlier to have a short time with a coffee and book in the sun room before work. The cats tend to join me and I am a short way into an indepth Roman's commentary. Very good...challenging and inspiring - I need an hour a day! Not going to happen at present. Baby steps. Back to the gym, at least once a week, aiming for two.
Lastly just have a go at things and don't dismiss them "out-of-hand" because "I haven't got time" - not true, can make time. eg. chill on playstation guilt-free; read a newpaper occasionally; get into the garden.
Will review this topic in a month or so...see what's stuck! lol

Wisteria...

Today, being the mildest sunniest January day one could hope to experience, took me out into the garden full of great intent.  The Wisteria had its first proper haircut. I watched Alan Titchmarch on you tube trimming his, and, armed with secatours and step ladder, hacked back the rampant beast.  I am not sure who came off worst, but half an hour later it looked a little tidier and I was bleeding, muddy and in need of a cuppa.
All I can say is, I hope the flowers are spectacular later this year...