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Archive Entries for March 2014

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Monday March 31, 2014

Books in March

  • Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood, the Victoria Vanishes, and the Invisible Code
    by Christopher Fowler
    Determined to catch up with all the other Bryant and May outings. Excellent.
    [Was less keen on the Memory of Blood - I didn't like the subect matter nor the technique used in unravelling the plot. However the latest, Invisible Code, was excellent and well worth its Crime Thriller award nomination.]
    BOM-B&MTheInvisibleCode.jpg BOM-B&MVictoriaVanishes.jpg BOM-B&MMemoryOfBlood.jpg


  • StageStruck by Peter Lovesey [read by Steve Hodson]BOM-Stagestruck.jpg
    I would term Peter Lovesey as a good old fashioned crime writer - in the very best of ways. Don't mistake my meaning and think I mean nostalgic or twee; his books are very much in the here and now. But he seems to possess a solidity and high quality craftsmanship that one used to associate with a "Jolly Good Book". This one provided a welcome interlude and escape on my journeys to work during a period where nothing else seemed at all solid or reliable.

  • PerfectSpy.jpg A Perfect Spy - with James Fox, Brenda Bruce, and Harriet Walter.
    BBC full-cast radio drama of John le Carre's bestselling novel with James Fox as Magnus Pym. Apparently this recording (from 1993 I believe) was thought to be lost but then recently rediscovered - which is great, as it has a truly excellent cast including Harriet Walter as Magnus' wife and Julian Rhind-Tutt as the young Magnus. The character Jack Brotherhood is the unmistakable voice of the excellent James Grout who sadly died in 2012.

Posted on March 31, 2014 at 11:58 AM. Category: Books of the Month.

Sunday March 23, 2014

Paying the piper

Pipes.jpg

Fired with enthusiasm by the progress in France, I decided after only 7 years (or is it 8?!) to repair the damage to my work room dating from when the plumber did the alterations to our bathroom. My first act was to screw down the base flooring - using the holes the screws previously came out of.
And from that point on it turned into something like a ditty by Flanders and Swan .... or the fable about a small Dutch boy and the dyke.... you get the idea.

Anyway - as the song says - on the Monday morning the plumber came back.... and I am pleased to report that with a lot of fiddling about I managed to sand off glue, discard broken pieces of laminate, and the floor is finally properly down. Photos of this another time, as although I am now able to use my office again, we have quite a way to go in reclaiming the room.

Posted on March 23, 2014 at 4:25 PM. Category: Crafts.

Thursday March 13, 2014

Olympia

KnittingOnTheTrain.jpg

As an experiment to see how I felt, I spent my day off at the Knitting and Stitching Show. I thought if I went to a different venue without Sheila then it might not be so bad. On that score, I can't say it worked out too well. However, I knitted my sock on the train, and saw some arty quilts. I'm not keen on picture quilts but there seemed to be a seaside theme which redeemed them in my eyes.

KSSQuiltsOlympia.jpg

I also spotted one of those delightful relics of former railway splendour at Clapham Junction - a part that they have failed to mess up with modernisation. To be fair I think it was in the process of renovation rather than demolition and I am not sure how old it is - but wonderful in its shabby state.

Bannister.jpg

Posted on March 13, 2014 at 1:08 PM. Category: Days Out.

Sunday March 9, 2014

Leaving

LeavingCaen.jpg

The weather has been fine - quite a contrast to this time last year when we were here in March - and I took some photos as we left port - George took such ghastly (though sadly accurate) views of me being blown about on deck that you are left with a more photogenic yacht with wind surfers in the background (click on the picture for a closer view of the surfers).

Posted on March 9, 2014 at 6:37 PM. Category: France.

Saturday March 8, 2014

Gutted

Gutted1.jpg

We managed to squeeze in another weekend in France - lots to discuss about refurbishing the kitchen there. [Yes .... the final straw was that not only had the shower tray broken but some undefined animal - larger than a mouse (so logic suggests a rat) with very tidy habits - has taken to using our kitchen cupboard as a lavatory].
The interior has now been gutted [revealing how all the local wildlife were able to wander in with such facility] and Peter has finished removing the corrugated asbestos roofing [yes you heard right] and almost finished slating the roof. This has become a sufficiently urgent project now that we cannot follow through on the plan for a 2 storey rebuild which would involve planning permission and new foundations.

Gutted2.jpg

Posted on March 8, 2014 at 12:54 PM. Category: France.