Bliss

Hello. It's thanks to my sheddie friends Oliver and Adele, for telling me about this latest article in Good Woodworking magazine, which features both our sheds. I am not in the habit of perusing magazines of any kind, let alone one about woodworking. I might flick through the odd trucking magazine, but only to get a free read before putting it back on the shelf. However, I was in town today and spent £4.50 just to get a copy of this for my scrap book. 

Next to mine was a picture of Oliver and Adele in front of their Shed of dreams. I am so pleased they won their category. They put a lot of work into that, it looks fabulous.

I had a quick whip round Aldi for a few bits and bobs. The main reason for going to town was to get the magazine, have a look at a new exhibition in the Arts Centre, and choose some books from the library. This is what I found.

The cats are all in for the night, Heidi has had her tablet, and I am not going to do my three miles tonight because I am going on an eleven mile walk tomorrow. I have a glass of wine, and I am going to sit in a comfy chair and enjoy the books. My idea of bliss.

Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your weekend. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Susan Boyle by John McShane. Book review.

Hello. I've actually found time to read a book. It's been in my possession for eight weeks, and is now due back at the library. It will be returned on Tuesday to Stan in the mobile van. He used to be here on a Monday, but has had to change days because parking at the Health Centre was blocking some of the car parking spaces. They thought it better to change to Tuesday afternoon when the Centre is closed. He is still in the village for the whole day, and people can catch him at any of the five locations. 

So what did I think of the book? I have been watching Susan's progress ever since she was discovered on Britain's Got Talent, reading newspaper articles and watching video's on yoootoooob, and was looking forward to reading this book. As I got into it I realized that most of it was a rehash of what I had already read. The author appears to have trawled through numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and bodged together what he calls an Autobiography. It isn't. Most of what I read in the book, I already knew about, so if you are a Susan fan, I wouldn't bother buying it. His writing is very repetitive, the same quotes over and over again. I wanted to shout, 'you've already said that six times'.

I did finish it to the end, although I almost gave up half way through it. The book was published in 2010, so there is nothing beyond that. It left me thinking I needn't have bothered.

For those who don't know the story it might be an interesting read, but unless you have been on planet Mars for the last few years, you will have already picked up most of the story in the press.

It seems I am not alone in my opinion. Reading the reviews on Amazon there are nine positive and six negative reviews. Get it from the library if you want to read it, but I wouldn't bother buying it.

Thanks for popping in. Life gets back to normal, everything in the garden is growing madly and needs keeping under control. I want to get my walled garden picture finished by the middle of June ready for the art exhibition in the Village Hall. I'll pop back here when I can.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Toodle pip.

Monday is always busy at Tightwad Towers

Hello. Aren't you just glad that the shortest day is almost over, tomorrow they start going the other way and we get a little bit more daylight. It was nice and warm in the Village Hall this morning, not quite a full house as some of the ladies are busy with Christmas preparations. 

A little bit more playing on my practice piece of needle felt. The needle bodger thingy has five needles in it,  I think I prefer to use them singly. 

I went to the mobile library today and changed some books. Stan won't be coming next week as it's a Bank Holiday. Don't know why I picked up Fitness Cycling, I have a bike but don't use it much. Still, it looks interesting to read, and it might prompt me to get on my bike. I like Jo Brand, she makes me laugh.

Last week I went to the big library in town and chose these three books.

I took Heidi to see Marian the vet this afternoon. She took a sample of blood and she will test it. Heidi seems perfectly ok at the moment, she has just finished a course of tablets. Maybe this is going to be the pattern in the future. When she is poorly some tablets will help boost her red blood cells.  Marian will tell me more when she looks at the sample under a microscope.

It was Carol Singing and poetry in the church tonight, I thought I would show my support and meet friends. After the singing there was refreshments. I must say, the mulled wine was very nice.
 

Can I ask if any of my readers live in or near Horncastle in Lincolnshire? You  might remember I visited there once and wrote about it. Someone in Surrey has sent me an email, they are thinking of downsizing and moving to the Horncastle area. If anyone can help with local information please let me know, send me an email, then I can pass on your details so the person can email you direct, and you can communicate with each other. I don't have a great knowledge of the place so if you live there you would be in a better position to help.

I've left this late again, naughty me. Time to go for a walk. I'm on target with the miles, 43 so far this month. Another ten days and it should be around 65 if I do a few three milers.

Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip

Steps in the Dark by Joe Willisch. Book review

Good morning. It's chucking it down outside, best stay indoors for a while. I want to get on with fixing up a door for the summer house, got a good idea, but it will have to wait till the rain stops. Yesterday I cut a piece of the plasticky roof stuff to fit a window hole just above the door. I didn't cut it from a roof panel, but from a smaller piece I already had. Blimey, sawing plastic is much harder than sawing through wood. I'm glad I didn't attempt to trim the roof panels, it would have taken me ages, with a lot of cursing. I think a special saw is needed for that job, and I am not prepared to spend money on more that the basic tools I already have. 

Right, lets get on, I have plenty to do today. First off a book review. I have just finished Steps in the Dark, by Joe Willish. It was a random pick from the mobile library. It was a fascinating read. I don't know why but I am becoming more interested in the times around the first and second world war. Could be something to do with the passing of time, and the fact that the end of the war has just been celebrated. Ancient history has never interested me, but anything to do with the time my mother was living in bombed out Hamburg seems to be drawing me in. 

Reinhold Joseph Willish was born in 1924 in the small Czechoslovakian village of Partschendorf. The simple life he had until his teens revolved around family, friends, and a passion for learning. When he was 18 years old he was forced to leave his home and family to face the fallout of Hitlers tyranny in Europe. It was a treacherous journey that led to hardship, and heartache, which eventually led to him changing homeland and nationality. 

It took many years for him to write this book because he wanted to forget everything, but his children urged him to do so. Since it has been published Joe and his family have spent some time in Czechoslovakia visiting many of the places mentioned in the book.  

Joe tells it how it really was. His warts and all tales of a tank commander on front line battles, his time in a labour camp, really brings it home on the horrors of war. Despite the content, it's an easy to read book.

A quote from Joe. "When you hide things away and keep them secret, they have power. Eventually you have to open them up, face them and lay them to rest."

This book ties in with some programmes I have been watching on BBC iplayer. There are three programmes currently, called 'Britain's Greatest Generation.' They look at stories of extraordinary courage, terrible suffering, and miraculous survival from service men and women between 1942 and 1945. I won't embed them all here, but they are on yooootooob if you want to look. Each one is around one hour long. well worth a look. 

Episode 1. Britain's Greatest generation.

A quick look at my food. Yesterday I had some cooked pasta to use up, so I put it in a pan with a knob of olive spread and warmed it up. Then I added two eggs and scrambled them, and some leaves of spinach. Served on a bed of fresh spinach with beetroot. A loverly lunch.

Breakfast this morning. In the mini chopper went dried fruit, almonds, two dessertspoons of porridge oats, and three prunes. Under this is Special K, I bought a box from the cash and carry at a cheap price. Won't bother again, it's like eating sawdust, but palatable with the topping and soya milk and plain yogurt.

Well it's still raining, I think I'll crack on with the shopping bags. No one has contacted me about a meet up at either Haworth or Saltaire, so I assume no one will be around. Arrangements are made to meet Simplesista at Saltaire, looking forward to that. Thanks for popping in.
Toodle pip

Sentenced to Hell, by Natalie Welsh. Book review.

Hello. I've been a bookworm for a week, it hasn't taken me long to read, 'Sentenced to Hell', by Natalie Welsh. Another quick pick from the library van. Wasn't sure I really wanted to know about Venezuela's notorious prison system, but I thought, give it a try, it's a true story. 

 The story pulled me in right from the start, it begins with the authors attempts to board a plane at Margarita Airport, carrying a doctored suitcase with five kilo's of cocaine with a street value of £325,000, hidden inside. She was a naive 21 year old single mum who had dabbled with drugs in the past, now she was looking to make big money in the smuggling game.

After a very quick trial she was sentenced to ten years in prison. Her daughter who was travelling with her was shipped back to England alone to live with a friend. The first chapters look back over her early childhood, how she got into trouble, didn't get on with her step dad, and ended up in a children's home, mainly through choice because she had more freedom there than she did at home. The familiar story of getting in with a bad crowd, she started experimenting with drugs.

As I was reading I felt that there were parts of the story that didn't add up, like there was a lot more going on than she was revealing. However, it is a book which keeps your interest because you want to know what happens next. It was a hellish prison system, where guards were too powerless or corrupt to control the escalating violence. Murders, rapes, and all out gang warfare were carried out by the armed and powerful inmates. In four years she spent time in three prisons, each time learning the new ways to keep herself out of trouble.

Her escape came about with the help of her Venezuelan boyfriend, and the fact that she was successful in applying for day release from prison so she could work in the town. I won't reveal any more of the story, in case you want to read the book, but if you want more background to her, there was a lot of publicity in the press when the book came out. Natalie's escape is not the end of the story, it's a wonderful thing this internet. I Googlied her name and found out what has happened since then. Read this article from May 2010 in the Guardian to reveal more of the story. Or this one in the Mail. Sadly the horrors of the four years she spent in prison was soon forgotten, she was caught again with drugs and at the time of the articles was awaiting sentencing, this time in an English prison. A sad ending, but a good read.

Right, what was for lunch today. I had this pack of Butternut squash and sweet potato to use up. I fancied soup.

Chop into small pieces, (cooks quicker), add spices, garlic powder, bring to the boil then simmer for five minutes. Zap with a stick blender, add some cream cheese with garlic, and two spoons of plain yogurt. 

Lunch for 15p, and it was lovely. There was enough for two portions, but I scoffed the lot with a slice of wholemeal bread.

It was a day at home today, with a walk in the park this afternoon. I'm eating some chargrilled vegetable cous cous for dinner, straight out of the plastic tub. No shopping needed this week.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.

Lost and Found. Book review

Another book finished, this one definitely has the aaaahhh factor. I was a bit apprehensive about taking it out. I don't want to read about animal cruelty, I have a pretty good idea what goes on. It would upset me to read all the details, but thankfully this book has none of that. If it had gone into the background of how the animals came to be in the care of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, I would not have been able to read it. Thankfully though, it is stories about the people who were looking to adopt a dog or a cat, how they found the perfect pet for them, and in the end how they all lived happily ever after.  

There are twelve chapters on twelve successful rehomings. Some of the stories are quite amazing, and all are very heartwarming. Bryn the collie went on to become a search and rescue dog with his new owner. Johnie Reggae was a little terrier of seventeen years old, no one wanted to take on an old dog, then Stephanie came along and fell in love with him. Ice, an English bull terrier was adopted by Ulla who took him home to Denmark for his new life. Wriggler was one of eight tiny kittens who were dumped at Battersea at only one day old. They were hand reared by staff members, sadly the girls didn't make it but Wriggler was adopted by his foster mum.

Each chapter is a separate story, so it's easy to spend a spare half hour reading one story, and not have to pick up where you left off when you next pick the book up. Definitely a book to give you a warm fuzzy feeling, with happy endings. If you are an animal lover you will love this book.  

Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker by Thelma Madine. Book review.

It's taken me three weeks to read this book, picking it up for twenty minutes at a time just before I go to the land of nod. I can't seem to find time to read during the day, far too much to do, so a little read in bed sends me nicely off to sleep. I never did see the TV programmes about gypsy weddings, so I didn't have much idea what this book was about when I took it off the shelf at the mobile library.  

Thelma Madine tells an interesting story about her dealings with the gypsy travelling community. After her marriage broke down and a messy divorce, she found herself skint and living on benefits with children to support. She looked for some way to make a living, using the skills she had as a dressmaker.

One day she was asked to make some dresses like 'Gone With the Wind', and it wasn't long before she had dozens of travellers asking for the same. A few years later she was asked to make a wedding dress with a 107 foot train, and eighteen bridesmaid dresses. From then on she was known as the dressmaker to the gypsies.

There has been a lot of ups and downs in Thelma's life, one of which was that she spent some time in prison. She fraudulently claimed benefits while not declaring her earnings from her business. She admits it was an oversight on her part as she was struggling to pay her bills.

I always thought it would be nice to be able to move around the country and go wherever the fancy took me. It conjurs up a romantic nomadic lifestyle, where all the stresses of life can be left behind as you move on. Thelma's insight into the travelling world is a bit of an eye opener. I had no idea that there are quite a lot of millionaire travellers who have substantial properties in Ireland, yet they choose to live in caravans. They are very secretive about the wealth they accumulate, but not afraid to splash the cash when it comes to flash cars and expensive weddings.

The life of a traveller is far more complex than it appears. We see them in their encampments, and we see them in the news when they are turfed off a site for which they haven't got the necessary planning permission.

Read Thelma's book if you want to learn about gypsy travellers. This book will shock, amaze, and make you laugh, and bring the secretive traveller world to life.

An offer I can refuse

My friend Graham gave me his Ramblers magazine yesterday, he passes them on to me when he has finished with them, saves me paying to join. I then pass them on to Paul, saves him paying to join also. This leaflet dropped out which caught my attention. I usually skim and chuck most leaflets, but this looked like a particularly good offer, worth further investigation, I thought. The complete Pictorial Guides by Alfred Wainwright, for only £14.95. 

Wainwright is a legend, he spent twenty years walking the Lakeland Fells, writing up his guides. His books have inspired thousands of people to take up walking, and this collection would be welcome on any enthusiasts bookshelf. Right, I'll send off my cheque for £19.90, which includes P & P, and wait for my book set to arrive, along with the free gift of a compact Oxford Dictionary, a Thesaurus, and a Parker pen. Can't be bad, just look at the money I'll save over the normal price.   

But hang on a minute, surely it can't be that simple. Surely there's a catch in it. Read on, yep, there is. In exchange for this wonderful offer you have to agree to buy four more books over the following four weeks, the cheapest being £17.95. OK, so what can you get for £17.95? I've been on the web site to check out the titles, and to find a book at that price is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Even if you did find four books, with titles that you might be interested in, 4 x £17.95 = £71.80 + I'm guessing £5 P & P for each book, gives a total of £91.80. 

So, in total, the whole caboodle, boxed set, plus four books at £17.95, would cost £111.70. I suppose if you add in the free dictionary, and thesaurus, and pen, it might be an ok deal, if you had the money lying around waiting to be spent. But what if you don't need those two books and pen, and struggled to find any books of a subject you liked at £17.95? You would end up either buying books you didn't like or need, or paying a lot more for books that you would like. The £17.95 is a carrot to hook you in.

What galls me is how much they say their books are worth. It seems to me they make the prices up to make the offer look good. Mind you I have lost touch with book prices, it's many years since I last bought one from a real bookshop. How come a dictionary and a thesaurus costs a whopping £59.95, good grief, I'll go and get one from the discount bookstore, The Works.
I don't know how they arrive at the figure of saving £212.35. What most people forget when they order online or through something like this, is the cost of P & P. I always add it to the price of the goods, because that's what it's going to cost me. Fair enough if you live in the sticks, paying the P & P would probably be cheaper than getting in your car to go and buy whatever you want. I am near enough to town to be able to go shopping.
Anyway, the moral of this story is to read the small print, then bin the leaflet. Don't get hooked into buying something which you will live to regret. I don't need the books anyway.
Toodle pip.
Please excuse me if I add a polite request here. I am getting over 100 spam comments daily. Most go straight into my 'spam' box as filtered by blogger, but quite a lot don't and end up in the 'comments pending' box. I have to sort these out, which takes time. All the spam comes from Anonymous, and are generated automatically by machines. I don't want to stop allowing Anon comments because I know there are a lot of genuine readers who use that facility. Could I ask that everyone who does use Anon, to start their comment with their name. Something like, Susan here, Carol here, etc. It would help me enormously to whiz through the checks a lot quicker, I don't want to zap genuine comments, and this would help me to spot them. If this works I won't have to disable the Anon option. Thanks very much.