A long Walk Home by Judith Tebbutt. Book review.

Good morning. We had a welcome thunderstorm last night, it hammered it down. Thankfully that gave a bit of respite to the relentless heat we have been having. Today it is sunny so I will organize my day according to how hot it gets later. It's nice to be able to nip indoors for a few minutes to cool down. Yesterday I did a bit more work on the summer house, it's an ongoing project. After clearing the rubbish out from behind the garage it has left a nice space that can be utilized in some way. Not sure what I will put there yet, but it is exposed to the garden next door. I had a spare door so I have attached it to the corner of the summer house to give some screening, and create a bit more privacy for both of us. It's white at the moment, I might paint it another colour when I get some more paint. 

I always have lots of books out of the library, always non fiction, don't read them all from cover to cover, but this one gripped me from the start. Judith Tebbutt writes about how she was kidnapped from her holiday retreat by a band of armed pirates while on holiday in Kenya. They took her to a village in Somalia where she was held hostage in a tiny and squalid room, with a ransom on her head. The responsibility of securing her release fell to her son Ollie back in England. 

This all happened in 2011, she remained in captivity for just over six months. This is her story in her own words. a memoir of the life she shared with her husband, and the ordeal that overturned her world. Jude as she prefers to be called, was a social worker, and all her training and knowledge held her in good stead as regards storing things in her memory which might have well been forgotten. She recalls every detail from her surroundings, her daily routine, and the appearance and personalities of her captors. It was this insider knowledge of dealing with different mindsets which gave her the fortitude to survive. On a starvation diet of rice and potatoes, she had shrunk to five stone and was hardly recognizable to the person she was six months earlier.

Here is a short interview after her release.


I have found a condensed version of her story on the BBC web site, but it is well worth reading the book to understand the full implications of her ordeal.

Thanks for popping in. I'm off out now. Catch you soon. Toodle pip